The United Nations refugee agency is looking at changing its international protection guidelines for Sri Lankan and Afghan asylum seekers.

The changes would pave the way for Australia to send many more of the detainees on Christmas Island back to where they started.

The Tamil Association is urging against any change to the guidelines, saying it is no safer for Tamils in Sri Lanka.

The protracted civil war in Sri Lanka ended last May with the Tamil Tigers admitting defeat. The UN Refugee Agency has decided it is time to review the guidelines for assessing the international protection of Sri Lankan asylum seekers.

The regional representative for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Richard Towle, says January’s presidential election is a key factor in the UN’s reassessment.

“Well, I don’t want to pre-empt what the guidelines will say, but clearly there has been a significant number of people who’ve left the camp populations in Sri Lanka, and are in the process of returning to their places and regions of origin,” he said.

“There’s a long way to go in terms of a rehabilitation and dealing with humanitarian issues, but it’s certainly moving in the right direction and we think any review of the guidelines needs to reflect these positive changes.”

The UN is a key source of evidence used by Australia to determine refugee claims.

Since the beginning of 2009, 843 Sri Lankan asylum seekers have been intercepted on their way to Australia and sent to Christmas Island. Just over a third have so far been granted refugee status and visas.

This year, 13 have been returned to Sri Lanka, including three ethnic minority Tamils. Another three Tamils will be sent back next week and the ABC understands a number of others have had their refugee claims rejected.

‘Brutal human rights abuses’

Dr Sam Pari, the national Tamil Congress spokesperson, is urging the UNHCR not to relax its protection guidelines.

“There is still 100,000-150,000 Tamils being held in military-run camps in the north and … there’s about another 10,000-15,000 Tamils being held in undisclosed areas where there are allegations of rape and torture that have been continuing for more than a year,” he said.

“I do not believe that the guidelines should be relaxed. Sri Lanka is still a very dangerous country for Tamil civilians regardless of whether they’re from the north, whether they’re from the east or anywhere on the island.”

Refugee lawyer David Manne, from the Refugee and Immigration Legal Centre in Melbourne, is also urging caution.

“Throughout Sri Lanka, it’s clear that there is systematic and brutal human rights abuse and there’s a real concern that it’s far too premature to be sending back asylum seekers to that type of situation,” he said.

The UNHCR is also revising its protection guidelines for Afghan asylum seekers. In the past 14 and a half months more than half the 3,780 asylum seekers have come from Afghanistan.

Mr Manne says the UNHCR has made premature decisions about the ability of asylum seekers to return to their country of origin.

“There have been premature judgements made about the ability of asylum seekers to return, both in the early 1990s and more recently we saw this after the fall of the Taliban,” he said.

“Other bodies that provide assessments of protection needs… time and time again what we’ve seen is these superficial and dangerously premature judgements have resulted in people being sent back to places which are not safe, as alleged, but which have resulted in people fleeing again from persecution.

“In fact, what we’ve seen recently is that some Afghans who were returned to Afghanistan under the Pacific Solution have had to flee further persecution and have been forced back to Australia by boat.”

Assessment delay

Mr Manne is currently representing 17 Tamils on Christmas Island who have had their refugee claims rejected.

They are now seeking an independent review. The ultimate decision rests with the Immigration Minister.

Mr Manne says the Government should resist any temptation to delay refugee decisions for Sri Lankan and Afghan asylum seekers while the UN reviews its protection advice.

“Under normal legal principles, the Government should not deliberately delay assessment of refugee cases,” he said.

The Opposition says the ever-changing security status reinforces the need for temporary protection visas which it is advocating.

The Coalition’s immigration spokesman, Scott Morrison, wants a more standard global approach to deciding refugee claims.

“These situations around the world are very fluid. One day someone may be in a position to claim asylum and then, at a later time, that asylum claim may not stand up because of the hopefully improved situation at home,” he said.

“And the Coalition’s policy seeks to reflect that sort of dynamism.”