Illegal? See the UN, says Abbott Tony Abbott's office has defended his continued use of the word "illegal" to describe asylum seeker boats by referring to the UN Refugee Convention. But the UN High Commissioner for Refugees says it does not use the word "illegal" to describe asylum boats, or encourage others to do so. On Monday the Opposition Leader re-launched the Coalition's "illegal boats" billboards, used during the last election campaign. The billboards read: "How many illegal boats have arrived since Labor took over? 639 illegal boats. Labor has lost control of Australia's borders. Reactions were swift, with a petition launched calling on Mr Abbott to apologise for the word. But Mr Abbott's office referred to Article 31 of the UN Convention which states "contracting states shall not impose penalties, on account of their illegal entry or presence, on refugees." Bianca Hall