Essay On Asylum In Australia

Asylum seekers who are held in mandatory and indefinite detention for prolonged periods of time

International law under the 1951 Refugee Convention, permits the right to seek asylum and allocates a responsibility to provide protection for those who lie under the definition of refugee. Since then policies have been modified and used to suit the interests of the government. In particular, the Border Protection Legislation Amendment Act 1999. Authorised the removal of undocumented ships in Australian territory and proclaimed that anyone aboard the ship can be forcibly returned and denied application of asylum. Other legislation, such as the Migration Legislation Amendment Act 1999 makes it illegal for a person to carry people who are not citizens without valid documentation. These policies allow the government to portray itself as strong on border protection and terrorism. This plays well to its core constituencies but is rightly lambasted by human rights organisations and civil liberty groups. Refugees are undocumented people fleeing from their country of origin, so there isn’t a variety of travel options to escape to safety. The policy disclaiming that ‘everyone who lands by boat doesn’t get to stay’ is ignorant to the concept of why people are forced to leave. It’s not a choice to be removed from your country, it's a matter of survival and safety. The core principle of the Refugee convention is that people are not forced to return to a country where they face the threat of persecution or danger.

Asylum seekers have been escaping their hostile countries for decades now, but where are they fleeing to? Not to Australia. With the Australian government forcing asylum seekers to Thailand and other foreign countries, it is lessening the number we, as Australians, have to "deal with", at least that is the government’s plan. Many Australians believe that asylum seekers and refugees don't deserve to come here to Australia, however if those Australians were to be forced to flee Australia due to war, they would support them coming. The point being made is that asylum seekers deserve as much as any Australian. Australia is a free country, and we want the entire world to believe that, so why are we trying to relieve asylum seekers of the joy of

Citizens often thought those people would bring terrorists, unemployment and infrastructure stress. However, refugees will be able to make out importance in affecting the potential social, cultural and economic contributionsupon their area of resettlement. Australia has a long history of accepting refugees for resettlement and over 700 000 refugees. As a consequence, Australia’s offshore humanitarian programme is heralded as one of the best in the world. Accepting more refugees and boat people into the country is one of the greatest contributions that can make to improving the world around us and enhancing our own living standards. In addition, by having more people in country there are more people to cooperate with, more people to trade with and more people to grow the market. They help supply the economy through participating in the labour market and bring with them diversity, new work approaches and funds. As our wealth and economy grows there is more money for the finer things in life.

There a bit of confusion between refugee and an asylum seekers. An Asylum seeker is a person who left their home country in search of a better life but is yet to be accepted as a refugee. A refugee is a person who have been recognized under 1951 refugee convention . A refugee is define as a person who is outside their home country and is unable to return due to fear of being persecuted. The majority of asylum seekers that arrive in Australia are from war-torn counties like Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria whom fear violence and persecution in their homeland. Asylum seekers pay large amount to be smuggled in Australia which is very risky with hundred have died making the dangerous journey.

Australia has let Syrian refugees into their country and would allow only 12,000 refugees. Australia has immigrated around 13,750 Syrian refugees into our country and have provided help to them. As Syrian refugees have moved into the Australian country, some feel welcome and see a bright future. 5% of Syrian refugees feel unwelcome in Australia, 28% feel welcomed most of the time and 52% feel welcome in Australia. As far as safety goes, 74% of refugees felt safe in Australia, and 56% say their children are living happily in the country. Syrians who moved to Australia feel better to have settled here than staying in Syria. Some Syrians have dealt with discrimination but most of the Syrian population are treated fairly.

Australia, a country formed and shaped by migrants and world war two refugees refuses to take responsibility for ensuring the safe asylum of war refugees escaping torn countries such as Syria and Iraq. The act of negligence from the Australian Government in regards to Nauru is a clear breach of the United Nations Right To Asylum Declaration which evidently states that "1. Everyone has the right to seek asylum and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution." And "2. This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political arising or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations"

In the history Australia has been accepting refugees and other humanitarian entrants from all over the world, and assisting their settlement in the country. In 1945, after World War II, Australian government established the first federal immigration portfolio which leaded to more than 800,000 refugees and other humanitarian entrants’ settlement in Australia (Phillips, 2015). According to Australia’s refugee and humanitarian programme fact sheet, 13,750 places were set under the programme between 2014 and 2015 (Department of Immigration and Border Protection [DIBP], 2016). During that period 6,002 people in a total of 13,756 new migrants who granted visa under the Program were refugees (DIBP, 2016). The top ten countries of origin were Iraq,

The Australian government has been allowing refugees to enter Australia for the last (SEARCH HOW MANY YEARS) The term refugee and asylum seeker definition often are confused to mean the same thing. The term asylum seeker refers to, “An asylum-seeker is someone who says he or she is a refugee, but whose claim has not yet been definitively evaluated.” – The UN refugee agency. However the term refugee refers to, ‘…a person who has fled persecution, has sought protection and has been granted refugee status.” – Red Cross. B0

An asylum seeker is someone who has applied for protection as a refugee but their claim has not yet been accepted, accessed or confirmed. While a refugee is someone who has been recognised under the 1951 Refugee convention as mentioned hose claim has been accepted and their status falls in line with the guidelines of The Refugee Convention. Despite this, the UNHCR explains that the definition of ‘refugee’ does not actually account for the individuals or groups of people that leave their country because of war, other civil disturbance, famine, natural disasters or to seek a better life. (UNHCR,

Australia today has two programs of immigration one the migration policy which is seen as ‘economically” motivated which has two main components family and skill. The second is the humanitarian program which has three parts refugees, special humanitarian and special assistance. (Holmes et al 2007) As part of the humanitarian program refugees constitute a specific component of Australia’s humanitarian program.

Australia has a long history of involvement in the international response to the refugee situation, resettling over 700,000 refugees since 1945. Although, in a world where 42,500 people become refugees, asylum seekers, or internally displaced every day, this figure is simply embarrassing. Around the world, an unprecedented 65.3 million people have been forced from their homes. Among them are nearly 21.3 million refugees, over half of whom are children under the age of 18. Wars, conflict and persecution are the leading cause of displacement, with the Vietnam War and Syrian Civil War creating some of the largest amounts of refugees the world has ever seen.

In fact asylum seeker and refugee policies remain as one of the most controversial political debates in Australia. In the recent years the Austrian government has been adopting various strict measurements mainly as a political response to the increasing number of asylum seekers and refugees. Australian major political parties have been keen to adopt deterrence-based policies to discourage and prevent access to protection in Australia.

As a former refugee who has 11 years in Australia, I am well aware of the needs of the refugees who have arrived Australia. I was resettled here as a refugee on 30/11/2004, and since then, I have been able to started my own family business (Smile Kids Family Day Care), providing and caring for the children of working parents currently with 60 registered educators and hundreds of children being look after. As a result, I believe that I can assist the applicants by providing them with necessary support activities given my background and experience. This application is being submitted to try to resettle my family members who have been affected by the war in South Sudan and I will do everything in my power to support their resettlement in Australia.

Due to several reasons, such as to escape war, domestic persecution, conflict, natural disaster, climate change impact, poverty, or other serious threats for reasons of race, religion, or nationality, many people had been forced to leave their home country and move to another country for their own safety. These people are called asylum seekers (Amnesty International, n.d.). Given the fact that their rights are preferred and protected under international law, such as a protection from being sent back against their will to their country of origin where the chaos happening, an access to employment as well as education, and not to be discriminated, they enter certain country with the aim of getting international protection as a refugee. In order for their claim to be accepted and their status to be determined by the national government or the international agency such as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), they need to meet certain requirements, such as they must have a valid visa, both types of tourist visa or student visa to apply for a refugee visa, as well as health standards (International Justice Resource Center, n.d.). Australia itself has an international obligation on refugees and asylum seekers that continued to arrive with total number that keeps growing from year to year. Australian Human Rights Commission (n.d.) states that under the Refugee Convention, Australia agreed to assist all the asylum seeker and refugee that come to it’s Department of