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
The Australian Government, as does every government of our world, creates laws, which ensure the greater good of the people, and these are found in the Constitution of Australia. The Constitution is a set state of rules in
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Based on the evidence of the Australian principles and the policies around asylum seekers, it is clear their human rights are not being met. Article 31 of the Refugee Convention states that refugees should not be penalized for entering Australia without a visa. Furthermore it should not be viewed as illegal activity if the circumstances do not allow them to lodge a refugee status. Allowing refugees to enter our prosperous, safe country is not only doing something to help alleviate the number of global human sufferings, but also enriches our nation through the values we like to display such as diversity, equality and compassion. There is no doubt that we are forgetting about our values in Australia’s treatment of refugees. How can Australia be showing compassion, a value we claim to uphold, if there are detained human beings thrown in detention centers purely for attempting to seek safety and protection from their horrible past? They are instead treating human beings with zero dignity and respect. These actions should be completely opposed by our Government and the citizens of our country, yet why is it still in action? The Baxter Detention Centre is an immigration and processing center located in Port Augusta, South
The focal issue of this argument is when an Asylum Seeker arrives in Australia without a visa, they are required to stay in detention well beyond the period of time it should take to gather basic information about an asylum claim, health identity or security issues. This can lead to an asylum seeker often being detained for months and sometimes for years. Under the Migration Act (Cth.) 1958 there is no time limit on this detention and only very limited review by the courts is available. The ‘United Nations Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty’, rule 11 (b) (UNHCR) considers ‘detention as; confinement within a narrowly bounded or restricted location, where freedom of movement is substantially curtailed, and where the only opportunity
Despite being granted a visa to enter Australia as a refugee visa (visa subclass 200) refugees must then satisfy other numerous criteria even more challenging. An example of this is apart from meeting national security requirements and health screening the minister of Australian immigration considers applicants must have a "compelling reason for giving special consideration to granting the visa”. Their connection with Australia, the capacity of the Australian community and the degree of severity of persecution they are faced with
Australia has a legal obligation towards Asylum Seekers and Refugees as it is a signatory to the UN Human Rights and Refugee Conventions. Furthermore, Australia has a moral obligation based on its membership of the world community.
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
Asylum seekers or refugees have fled their countries’ due to volatile circumstances such as war, or fear of prosecution. Upon arrival in Australia they are moved to detention centres. Detention centres hold people who have come without a visa, any non-national and all unauthorised boat arrivals (Australian Human Rights Commission, 2014). These centres hold refugees for indefinite periods and in poor conditions. They are used as a spectacle to represent illegality and a threat to Australian society (Marfleet, 2007, p672).
I'm an ambassador for amnesty international, campaigning for refugees rights. Amnesty works to protect the safety of millions of refugees who are forced to flee their homes to escape war, genocide and torture. The main debate of this issue is of national security vs human rights. Every Australian has their stance on this and for those that oppose it, often believe that “we are letting in terrorists”. This generalisation, based off ill-legitimate fear, is anything but true. In fact, it is just racist. According to the the Australian Parliamentary Library, between 70-100% of people who arrived by boat have been found to be refugees. This means, these individuals have been forced to leave their
This report examines that the impacts of immigration detention and violating of human rights with the mental health care of asylum seekers. In the recent years, increased number of illegal immigrants arriving by boat in Australia. This raises key issues concerning about mental health of asylum-seekers, especially for detained immigrants. Research shows that Australia currently own around 13,000 refugees per annum, under the Refugee Convention (1951), Australia has obligation to evaluate refugee claims, but it processes only 2.2% of them made to 44 industrialised countries (p.315).
Australia has obligations to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) to promote and ensure “the economic, social and cultural rights of all people in Australia”, this includes asylum seekers (Australian Human Rights Commission, 2013, p. 5). Further, under Australia’s International human rights obligations they are required to permit asylum seekers to live in the community, while their claims for refuge are being processed. Unless they are assessed as posing a threat to the community. If an asylum seeker is considered to be suitable to live in the community, there are strong conditions attached to the bridging visa, this includes a prohibition to work.
Asylum seekers are some of the most vulnerable and exploitable people in the world and need the protection of various legal instruments to ensure that their human rights are protected. All of these issues and more are discussed in Sasha Lowes article, ‘The Legality of Extraterritorial Processing of Asylum Claims: The Judgement of the High Court in the ‘Malaysia Solution’ Case’. Parts of the her discussion involve various human rights issues including the extra territorial processing of asylum seekers, irregular migration and the obligations and policies that can effect asylum seekers. It is a very insightful and well written article which does make a reader question the merits behind certain Australia Government policies.
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.
Over the years we have seen how much easier it is for Governments and humanitarian institutions to address refugee situations than it is for them to deal with impending problems traumatising the refugees who are already traumatised.This research aims at the current framework for the protection of refugees,their struggles while seeking asylum as they flee from life-threatening circumstances.Refugees are defined as those people who live outside their country of origin who are unwilling or unable to return as they owe a ‘well-founded fear of persecution' and so obtain sanctuary and protection from other country by seeking asylum.Australia is well known as an compassionate country that respects human rights and also has international obligations
According to settlement services international, Australia accepted 17,555 refugees in total in the 2015-2016 period. Although these people were simply entering Australia to flee prosecution in the country from which they departed, many still saw it as a compromise to safety. This is not without reason though; most of us will remember the Sydney siege in late 2014, in which a gunman held 18 people hostage inside a Lindt cafe, or the Brighton siege just earlier this year in which a gunman killed a receptionist at an apartment complex and took another woman hostage. There is no doubt about it: national security, among other important things, is paramount. But this does not justify the current state of the recently-closed Manus island, or the atrocities
The Immigration Department reveal statistics showing that throughout 2013-14 financial years, 6500 visas were granted to refugee’s abroad that had applied to be resettled to Australia. (Media Release, Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2015)
Refugees are people who have been forced to leave their country because of things such as war or serious natural disasters. persecution, or natural disaster. They are held in places such as detention centres and are kept their to wait for month. They come seeking hope and a place to stay however they are treated as if they are not human or don’t belong in our country. They come facing problems in Australia but come anyway because they have no choice. These problems have a huge impact on the lives of these people. They can give them from post traumatic stress disorder to anxiety.
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