The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mrs Mary Robinson, added her voice yesterday to international calls for Australia to admit Afghan asylum-seekers stranded on a freighter in the Indian Ocean.
Australia showed no signs last night of allowing the Norwegian freighter Tampa to disembark the rescued migrants on Christmas Island, an Australian outpost 931 miles west of the mainland.
The asylum-seekers, saved from drowning when their ferry sank last Sunday, endured another day of scorching tropical sunshine yesterday. They sheltered under tarpaulins on the deck and among the containers below as Australian troops lined the deck to prevent them trying to swim ashore.
The Tampa's captain, Mr Arne Rinnan, defied the army's orders to leave Australia's 12mile territorial limit and sail back to Indonesia.
In South Africa yesterday Mrs Robinson said Australia had "primary responsibility" to process the Afghans' claims for refugee status.
Although it was not clear if they would be entitled to refugee status on the grounds they were fleeing persecution, Mrs Robinson said they were entitled to land and have their cases examined under the UN Geneva Convention.
"It is a serious humanitarian and human rights issue," she said. "We don't need much imagination to think what it must be like to be one of those 434 asylum-seekers on that tanker with no proper facilities for washing; for the elderly; no privacy; the spreading of diseases etc.
"It's very, very worrying that a country with a fine tradition like Australia would find itself unable to reach out in appropriate terms and established practices to these people . . . I hope the Australian public will put pressure on the politicians to resolve this."
Earlier, the Australian Prime Minister, Mr John Howard, refused to allow the refugees to land. He said he had asked the UN Secretary-General, Mr Kofi Annan, to find another destination for them.
Despite failing to secure emergency legislation, the Australian government insisted it was entitled to force the Tampa to leave its territorial waters.
Mr Annan and Mrs Robinson will open the UN world conference against racism in Durban today. More than 150 countries are represented.
Taoiseach urged to raise Tampa issue in EU: page 6
Australia urged to respect human rights: page 11
Row between US and Arab states mars opening of racism conference: page 9 Editorial comment: page 15