ANDREW WILKIE has written to the International Criminal Court seeking to prosecute the Abbott government for crimes against humanity, specifically asylum seekers.

The Tasmanian Independent MP and human rights advocate and lawyer Greg Barns have requested Tony Abbott and his 19 Cabinet colleagues be the subject of inquiries by the ICC prosecutor.

In his letter, Mr Wilkie nominates evidence of crimes against humanity, including “imprisonment and other severe deprivation of physical liberty in violation of fundamental rules of international law”.

There is also the “deportation and other forcible transfer of population” and “other intential acts causing great suffering, or serious injury to body and mental and physical health,” he writes.

“Members of the Australian government are pursuing policies that are designed to deter persons arriving by boats from seeking protection in Australia.”

They include sending people to Nauru and Manus Island, he says.

“The effect of the policy is that men, women and children are being forcibly relocated and then subjected to arbitrary imprisonment through mandatory and sometimes indefinite detention.

“The conditions they are forced to endure in detention are causing great suffering as well as serious bodily and mental injury.”

Mr Wilkie accuses the government of not only breaching the article of Crimes Against Humanity, but also “the Refugee Convention, Convention on the Rights of the Child and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights”.

Large numbers of asylum seekers are also being put at risk by being “forcibly” returned to countries from which they have fled, including Sri Lanka and Afghanistan, he said.

“The Government is pandering to racism, xenophobia and selfishness instead of acting like leaders. This is why I’ve asked the Prosecutor to initiate an investigation into the Prime Minister and the Cabinet because, if they won’t listen to the swathe of community outrage, then hopefully they’ll listen to the International Criminal Court,” Mr Wilkie added in a statement.

“Article 7 of the Statute defines ‘crimes against humanity’ to mean acts such as deportation, imprisonment or other severe deprivation of liberty in violation of fundamental rules of international law, torture and other similar acts that are committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population.”

Mr Barns said the pair is asking “the ICC Prosecuting authority” to “gather information, analyse evidence and make a report to the pre-trial chamber of the ICC asking it to authorise an investigation into the commission of offences by the Cabinet of the Abbott Government”.