Australia's shame - Amnesty slams offshore asylum policy and UNHCR agrees

ABC reports "Amnesty International says the Federal Government's new immigration policy is a violation of the United Nations convention on refugees.

Secretary-general Irene Khan has launched the organisation's annual report into human rights abuses, which also criticises Australia's record on violence in Indigenous communities, and its stance on the death penalty and the US prison at Guantanamo Bay.

Ms Khan, who is the recipient of this year's Sydney Peace Prize, says in the past year the Government has introduced a range of positive reforms on the treatment of refugees, including its decision to free all children from detention.

But she says the introduction of offshore processing for all asylum seekers arriving by boat will tarnish what has been a good record on refugees.

"If people are sent to remote locations, if they are separated from family, if they are left there without a solution in detention-like conditions, then it is certainly an abuse of their rights," she said.

"I think Australia would be skirting its obligations there."

Amnesty's criticism has been echoed by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Erika Feller, the Assistant High Commissioner for Protection, says offshore processing lowers standards of treatment.

"It doesn't provide for legal assistance to asylum seekers to present their case, to develop their case," she said.

"It doesn't provide access to a merit review, it doesn't provide access to the [Refugee Review Tribunal] in Australia or indeed the national court system.

"Arguably, it is not a full and effective process because it doesn't include a number of due process guarantees, which onshore processing arrangements do."

The UNCHR processed some of the asylum seekers that Australia sent to Nauru during the "Pacific Solution".

However, Ms Feller has given a strong indication that it is reluctant to help this time.

"We haven't formally been asked in relation to the current legislation to do it," she said.

"If we were to be asked, from what we know about the system that the legislation will put in place, we would be disinclined to undertake the same sort of responsibilities we did during the time of the Tampa crisis."

Both Ms Feller and Ms Kahn say Australia will set a negative precedent by introducing the policy, which is unique.

"Australia's approach to treating refugees like this will send a very dangerous message to its neighbours in Asia, many of whom are not parties to the 1951 convention, many of whom have a history ... of pushing boat people away with dire consequences," Ms Khan said.

"For Australia to set such an example would be very dangerous in that region."