While the refugee campaign continues to demand an end to mandatory detention, we must also call for an end to forced deportations of asylum seekers who fail in their application for refugee status in Australia.

Forced deportations have already occurred, often involving the use of physical restraint and sedation, and many of those deported face arrest, torture and even death on their return to their own countries. The fact that a person is not recognised as a refugee by the Australian government does not mean that they have no reason to fear deportation.

In order to establish that they are a refugee under the 1951 UN Convention, a person must be unable or unwilling to return to their country of nationality or place of residence "owing to a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion". The mere fact that their lives would be at risk if they returned is not enough. Unless they face persecution for one of these reasons asylum seekers will not be able to claim refugee status.

This means that people fleeing civil war or starvation, for instance, will not count as refugees. Persecution of women on the basis of their gender is also not recognised as persecution on the basis of membership of a social group.

Even if an individual does have a case for refugee status, the refugee determination process in Australia is heavily weighted against asylum seekers.

Refugee law is notoriously complex while the legal support available to asylum seekers is under-funded and of uneven quality. The documents to support a claim must be provided in English, and difficulties in translation may undermine a successful claim. There are numerous examples where these problems have led to genuine claims going unrecognised.

Even those who are assessed to be refugees initially often have to face government appeals to overturn the assessment, and the government is now threatening to revoke the Temporary Protection Visas of dozens of Afghan refugees on the basis that they may be from Pakistan.

For those who cannot qualify as a refugee under the Convention definition, their only hope is a direct appeal to the Minister for Immigration for a visa granted on humanitarian grounds.

The decision to grant refugee status to particular groups is also highly politicised, as can be seen in the case of Afghan asylum seekers who are being told that it is now safe to return to their war-torn country.

Under the Convention Against Torture and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Australia has obligations not to deport people who may face grave human rights violations, even if they do not fit the narrow definition of "refugee".

The reality is that many of those who are deported are in physical danger of arrest, torture or worse on their return. Several cases are already known of asylum seekers who have been arrested immediately on their arrival in their country of origin, and yet the Australian government and DIMA accept no responsibility for the fate of those they deport.

Refugee Action Collective will not sit back while people are sent away to be tortured or killed. We are organising a campaign of resistance to forced deportations. We will seek to prevent asylum seekers facing forced deportation from being removed from detention centres, transported to other facilities and forced onto ships or planes for deportation.

We will build support amongst the community and trade union movement for the call to oppose all forced deportations. Such campaigns have been successful overseas, for example in the United Kingdom, in preventing deportations and saving lives.

If you would like to become involved in this campaign, come to the regular Tuesday night RAC meetings at 6 pm at Trades Hall and participate in the Anti-Deportations Working Group.

If you are willing to be contacted at any time in an emergency to help resist an attempt to forcibly deport someone, please sign the Anti-Deportation Action phone tree list available at any RAC event.

read a transcript of an interview on the use of chemical restraint

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