Shelter from the Storm is the Uniting Church in Australia’s statement on asylum seeker and refugee policy. It was adopted by the 14th Assembly in July 2015.
The ‘Policy Principles for the Protection of Asylum Seekers and Refugees’ includes a Preamble and 10 Principles for Good Policy. The Preamble sets the foundation on which the principles are based and the ten major principles describe the Uniting Church’s vision for policy responses which uphold human dignity, promote human rights and protect asylum seekers and refugees.
Together with the Shelter from the Storm Statement, the Assembly adopted a series of resolutions which affirm the commitment and actions of Uniting Church members, groups and congregations in caring for and supporting people seeking asylum and refugees and call on the Australian Government to end the harsh and punitive policies and work positively in the region to develop a genuine multilateral protection solution.
The Background and Rationale for Shelter from the Storm includes a statement of Theological Foundations and a Background Note. The Background Note describes the global situation for refugees and the history of Australian policy. It also includes an explanation of the Uniting Church’s long-standing commitment to human rights and a comment about the public debate in Australia about how to best respond to people seeking asylum who arrive by boat.
Shelter from the Storm is available as a single interactive document and also in two parts – the Principles for Good Policy and Assembly Resolution (Part 1) and the Theological Foundations and Background Note (Part 2).
