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PrintAustralia's Response to Asylum Seekers
Date of Adoption: 19 March 2002Policy Serial No: POS 2.3.3
The Problem
The past century has witnessed increasing numbers of refugees fleeing persecution in their homelands, many of whom are women and their dependent children. There is a range of causes for rising refugee numbers, including increasing civil, ethnic and religious conflict, tensions generated by inequality within and between countries, and the failure of governments to protect vulnerable groups.
In recent years many nations, including Australia, have curtailed their support for refugees. This hardening of attitudes reflects the failure of governments to identify workable solutions, domestic political-economic pressures and a related loss of empathy with refugee situations.
Consequently, asylum seekers are increasingly left with limited alternatives to escape ongoing persecution. Their health, security and human rights are placed at further risk by having to shelter in under-resourced camps (frequently in poor countries that have little capacity for adequate protection) or take hazardous measures to travel to a safe destination.
Australia is a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol, which build on the fundamental right to seek and enjoy asylum from persecution (Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights) and set out internationally recognised obligations of states towards refugees.
However, Australia's commitment to the spirit of its international refugee obligations is in doubt. Australia has attracted criticism both domestically and internationally for its policy of mandatory, extended detention of asylum seekers -in harsh and isolated conditions. In addition, the Australian Government has failed to actively pursue preventative solutions: it has allocated too little in aid to the regions where most refugees originate, while skewing aid allocations in favour of neighbouring countries that have detained and processed the claims of individuals who would otherwise have been entitled to seek asylum in Australia.
Although the Australian Government's policy on asylum seekers has received considerable popular support, public debate around the issue has been marred by unreliable, unbalanced information and manipulative political tactics. This has generated a climate of fear and antagonism that has hindered constructive public engagement with refugee issues.
Oxfam Australia's Principles
- Australia's policies on refugees should operate within the spirit of its international commitment to refugees and their human rights.
- Australia should take an active part with the international community in focusing on tackling the root causes of people's dislocation and need for asylum.
- Australia should strive for best practice in the acceptance, processing and care of refugees. In accordance with UNHCR's policy and 1999 Guidelines, detention should be used only as a last resort, and only for preliminary health, security and identity screening.
- Particular attention should be paid to protecting the rights of all children involved, in accordance with Australia's obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, acknowledging the importance of the child's best interests and family unity.
- Public debate on the rights, cultures and predicaments of refugees should be conducted fairly and democratically, in accordance with principles of respect, balance and accuracy.
Consequently, Oxfam Australia calls for:
- The Australian Government to:
- Develop constructive, long-term strategies to help build peace in conflict zones, and support neighbouring countries to care for refugees without resorting to short-term plans that distort aid allocations;
- Encourage governments, international institutions and other stakeholders to work together for positive outcomes on asylum-seeker issues in coordination with UNHCR;
- Incorporate further human rights instruments protecting asylum seekers into domestic law, such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention against Torture, and encourage other national governments in our region to do so;
- Implement best practice alternatives to long-term mandatory detention for dealing with people – particularly children – who arrive in Australia, and refrain from exporting mandatory detention policies to other countries in the region;
- Abolish measures that penalise asylum seekers for their mode of entry, such as the practice of issuing only temporary protection visas to people who are found to be refugees but arrived without a valid visa;
- Ensure that, for as long as detention remains the policy of the Australian Government, internationally recognised standards relating to humane conditions of detention are observed;
- Process refugee claims expeditiously and fairly;
- Provide accessible, comprehensive and efficient legal processes for appealing Government decisions relating to refugee status;
- Provide adequate resettlement services to those who are recognised as refugees, in particular adequate funding for English language training, employment assistance and trauma counselling;
- Ensure that public deliberation on refugee issues is conducted fairly and constructively by disseminating timely and accurate information to the Australian public, facilitating access by media and monitoring bodies to detention facilities, educating the broader Australian community about the benefits to Australia of accepting refugees, and enabling greater participation of civil society organisations and the Australian people in shaping national refugee policies.