The challenge

One of the major challenges facing the world today is protecting refugees who have been forced to leave their homes by armed conflict and human rights abuses. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that there were 43.7 million forcibly displaced people worldwide at the end of 2010, the highest number in 15 years. Of these, 27.5 million were internally displaced persons, 15.4 million were refugees and 837 500 asylum seekers.

Activity
K What do I know about refugees and international law W What do I want to know about refugees and international law L What have I learnt about refugees and international law

Overview

Who are refugees? International Conventions which relate to Refugees Australias Policy on Refugees

Background Videos
1.

(choose one to watch)

Videos Students to take notes Clickview: Refugees Rebuilding shattered lives

10 mins, defines refugee, asylum seeker, where are refugees located, life as a refugee etc

2.

Clickview: Seeking Asylum

53 mins, Insight, gov policy, why are more boats arriving

Who are Refugees?

The 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (and its 1967 Protocol), to which Australia is a signatory, defines a refugee as: Any person who owing to a well founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his/her nationality and is unable, or owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself/herself of the protection of that country.

What is the difference between a refugee and asylum seeker?

An asylum seeker is a person who is seeking protection as a refugee and is still waiting to have his/her claim assessed. The Refugee Convention definition is used by the Australian Government to determine whether our country has protection obligations towards asylum seekers. If an asylum seeker who has reached Australia is found to be a refugee, Australia is obliged under international law to offer protection and to ensure that the person is not sent back unwillingly to a country in which they risk being persecuted.

International Conventions
Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that: "Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution."

International Conventions
The United Nations body responsible for protecting refugees and overseeing adherence to the Refugee Convention is the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

International Conventions
1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees Australia is one of 147 signatory countries to the Refugees Convention.

The Refugees Convention defines a refugee as a person who:

is outside their country of nationality or their

usual country of residence is unable or unwilling to return or to seek the protection of that country due to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion is not a war criminal and has not committed any serious non-political crimes or acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

The Refugees Convention does not oblige signatory countries to provide protection to people who do not fear persecution and have left their country of nationality or residence on the basis of war, famine, environmental collapse or in order to seek economic opportunities. Protection obligations may also not be owed to a person who already has effective protection in another country, through citizenship or some other right to enter and remain safe in that country.

International law recognises that people at risk of persecution have a legal right to flee their country and seek refuge elsewhere, but does not give them a right to enter a country of which they are not a national. Nor do people at risk of persecution have a right to choose their preferred country of protection.

Complementary Protection

Complementary protection is the term used to describe a category of protection for people who are not refugees but cannot be returned to their home country, in line with Australias international obligations, because there is a real risk that the person will suffer certain types of harm.

How did the convention come to be?

Research this in pairs and write a paragraph response.

Stories of Refugees
In our Catholic history, is there any link to refugees? Term 1 we read a story in RE What if? (Dimension 6) 2. Australian Story
1.

28 mins, real life look into what happened to an Afghan boy who came to Australia as an asylum seeker. http://www.abc.net.au/austory/specials/stranger ontheshore/default.htm

3.

In your pairs, find a story of a refugee that you could share with the class

Australias Policy on Refugees

Under the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) (the Migration Act), asylum seekers who arrive on the Australian mainland without a valid visa must be held in immigration detention until they are granted a visa or removed from Australia. Under the Migration Act, asylum seekers who arrive without a valid visa in excised offshore places, such as Christmas Island and Ashmore Reef, may be held in immigration detention until they are granted a visa or removed from Australia.

Australias Policy on Refugees

Australia's Immigration Program has two components:
Migration Program for skilled and family

migrants Humanitarian Program for refugees and others in refugee-like situations.

The Humanitarian Program has two important functions:

the onshore protection/asylum component fulfils

Australia's international obligations by offering protection to people already in Australia who are found to be refugees according to the Refugees Convention the offshore resettlement component expresses Australia's commitment to refugee protection by going beyond these obligations and offering resettlement to people overseas for whom this is the most appropriate option.

Offshore resettlement
The offshore resettlement component comprises two categories of permanent visas. These are:

Refugeefor people who are subject to persecution in their home country, who are typically outside their home country, and are in need of resettlement. The majority of applicants who are considered under this category are identified and referred by UNHCR to Australia for resettlement. The Refugee category includes the Refugee, In-country Special Humanitarian, Emergency Rescue and Woman at Risk visa subclasses. Special Humanitarian Program (SHP)for people outside their home country who are subject to substantial discrimination amounting to gross violation of human rights in their home country, and immediate family of persons who have been granted protection in Australia. Applications for entry under the SHP must be supported by a proposer who is an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen, or an organisation that is based in Australia.

The Facts and Figures

In 201011 a total of 13 799 visas were granted under the Humanitarian Program, of which 8971 visas were granted under the offshore component and 4828 visas were granted under the onshore component. See the tables below for further details on the 201011 program outcomes.

201011 offshore visa grants by top ten countries of birth

Countries Iraq Burma Afghanistan Bhutan Congo (DRC) Ethiopia Sri Lanka Iran Sudan Somalia Number of visas granted 2151 1443 1027 1001 565 381 289 271 243 190

Extension Activity
"I think on a debate like asylum seekers people should feel free to say what they feel, and for people to say they're anxious about border security doesn't make them intolerant. It certainly doesn't make them a racist. It means that they're expressing a genuine view that they're anxious about border security." -- Ms Gillard on the asylum seeker debate, July 5, 2010

Write a letter
Write a letter to your local member of parliament or amnesty international regarding Australias policy on refugees and asylum seekers. It must provide relevant statistics and arguments to support your views.