Abraham, Isaac and Jacob lived as “aliens” around the land of Canaan (Gen 35:27) and their descendants in Egypt (Ex 23:9). So God calls his people to act in response to the fact that their ancestors were once aliens in a foreign land:
The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God. (Lev 19:34)
Recently a community health care nurse had been trying to help an asylum seeker address serious health issues. But the hospital she’d been in contact with refused medical services to this ‘alien’ because the asylum seeker couldn’t pay (asylum seekers aren’t covered under Medicare). However the nurse attended training on how to use the Victorian Charter of Rights and Responsibilities. She used that to question the hospital’s senior staff about their responsibilities under the Charter. As a result of the nurse’s email the hospital realised it had not been following a Health Department directive to provide asylum seekers and refugees medical services at no charge. The hospital then issued a directive to staff advising them to provide medical services to asylum seekers. The Charter helped a large public institution realise its responsibilities and act on them.
This example (listed on the Human Rights Law Resource Centre website) highlights that when human rights are put into our systems, such as via a Charter, real people with real needs receive real assistance. It’s another reason why Christians should ask ourselves why shouldn’t we support a Charter of Rights? Especially since a Charter will help our society care for the vulnerable such as asylum seekers and refugees, who unlike us, can’t take medical care for granted.