Boat Arrivals, Australia and Human Rights

Australia’s policy of imprisoning all asylum seekers who travel to Australia by boat has been strongly criticized by human rights supporters. During a visit to Australia in May 2011 the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, urged the Australian Government to end the mandatory detention policy. Amnesty International has repeatedly condemned the policy, saying Australia needs to do more to protect the rights of asylum seekers and refugees. Despite this, it is unlikely that the policy of mandatory detention will be changed.

Partly responding to the criticism of human rights campaigners, the Australian Government announced that asylum seekers arriving by boat could be granted Bridging Visas in November 2011. The Bridging Visas would allow asylum seekers to live in the community while their applications for refugee status were decided. According to the Immigration Department, however, bridging visas are granted on a case by case basis and priority is given to the most vulnerable and those who have been in detention for a long time. The behavior of asylum seekers in detention is also taken into account. Since November only 107 asylum seekers have been let out of detention on bridging visas and 4,409 people remain locked up.

The possibility of Bridging Visas for asylum seekers arriving by boat is a step towards a more gentle response to boat arrivals but it does not mean the end of compulsory detention. Historically, Australia’s policies towards boat arrivals have got harsher when the number of people arriving by boat increases. Mandatory detention laws were introduced in Australia in 1992 by the then Labor government in response to the increasing numbers of asylum seekers from Vietnam, China, and Cambodia trying to reach Australia by boat. The law said that Australian Courts were not allowed to review the decision to detain asylum seekers but said that they could not be detained for longer than 273 (approximately nine months). In 1994 the same government changed the law again, making it even harsher by ruling that mandatory detention could last indefinitely for anyone who came to Australia by boat without a valid visa.

In 2001, in response to the increasing numbers of asylum seekers arriving by boat, the then Liberal Government (led by John Howard) introduced the Pacific Solution. Before 2001, the highest number of asylum seekers boats to arrive in Australia was 19, carrying a total of 660 asylum seekers. In 2001, 43 boats arrived carrying 5,516 asylum seekers. Responding to this increase, the Australian government declared that the Australian islands between Indonesia and the Australian mainland were no longer part of Australia’s migration zone and all asylum seekers arriving by boat would be taken to a detention centre on the tiny island of Nauru. Many of the asylum seekers in Nauru were detained for years. The number of boats arriving dropped dramatically.

In 2008, the newly elected Labor government (this time led by Kevin Rudd) announced that it was ending the Pacific Solution but that some aspects of the detention system would stay the same. Asylum seekers arriving by boat would still have their refugee status determined offshore (on Christmas Island) but they would be let out of detention faster. In October 2010, the new Labor Prime Minister, Julia Gillard said that more changes would be made to the policy so that children and families could stay in community-based accommodation instead of the detention centre. However, since 2008, the number of boats arriving has steadily increased. In 2010 134 boats carried 6,879 asylum seekers to Australia.

Because the numbers of asylum seekers have increased so dramatically, it is likely that mandatory detention will continue to be used as a deterrent. Both of the major political parties in Australia remain convinced of the need for offshore processing and are just debating about where it will take place. The detention center in Nauru is one of the options being discussed. Amnesty International has said that the prospect of reopening Nauru is “horrifying” because “asylum seekers were locked up for years, away from lawyers, media, human rights advocates and community support. They were often not given proper information about what was happening and what rights they had.” Amnesty believes that there is a declining respect for the human rights of asylum seekers in Australia.

Refugee Experiences of Integration in Foreign Countries

Many people are leaving their homelands to go to foreign countries for employment, a better life, security and protection, or education. People migrate to escape their problems at home but there are always new problems that they have to deal with when they get to a new country. Whether migrating legally or illegally, these migrants and refugees often have difficulty integrating and becoming a part of the community in the destination country.

According to recent studies, the most common problems new migrants and refugees have are:

1.      Communicating because they lack the language skills;

2.      Difficulties finding an adequate job and suitable housing;

3.      Having foreign credentials/qualifications recognized; and,

4.      Building a social network because of cultural differences.

Many people migrate for economic reasons, believing that there is a job for them in a foreign country. However finding a job in a foreign country is not easy. A study in Australia found that many refugees were forced to work in low-paid jobs because of discrimination and barriers to participation, such as a lack of local work experience and the fact that educational qualifications in poorer countries are not recognized in foreign destinations. The study said that the challenges they faced were so bad, that many found it “extremely difficult to go on with day-to-day living”.

Also, while some migrants are lucky enough to get a job and earn more than they would in their home country, they also have to spend more to survive. In 2006, half of the refugees in Australia earned less than $250 per week. This may sound like a lot of money but the cost of living in Australia is high. In 2010 Sydney was ranked as the 24^th most expensive city in the world. The cost of bread in the Australia is $2.50, which is 2,746 Tomans or 120 Afghanis. Lamb is $16 per kilo, which is 17,579 Tomans or 760 Afghanis. That is not even considering other important living expenses. The Australian Bureau of Statistics found in 2010 that average housing costs were $223 per week, 245,010 Tomans or 10,592 Afghanis.

The UK is another popular destination for refugees and migrants, attracting thousands of people each year. The UK Home office interviewed refugees on their experiences of integration.

One refugee said: “I think the first barrier is language barrier. I hadn’t any help even with someone who knows English and my language. Even in the shops – when they didn’t give change in the shops. For us to explain it was so difficult”.

Refugees also worried about unfriendly and racist attitudes in the community.

“You can feel you are settled in but they say, `you foreigners…. Go home’ again; they don’t say `Hello’ not warm, not friendly.”

“[They were] hitting me with a ball… calling me names, you know and you are talking about children of 10 going down. Calling me names, telling me, ‘Go back to your country!’ cursing and talking funny and … you just don’t know what to do”.

To stay out of trouble and keep safe refugees sometimes have to isolate themselves from the community.

“I have not made any effort so far to try and talk to neighbors or do anything about that because I don’t want trouble… where I lived before here, I learned to keep to myself because that way you avoid trouble”.

A wide range of factors support and undermine the process of integration. These include social factors such as the characteristics of refugees (ability to speak the foreign language) and the characteristics of the wider community (such as the level of racism and discrimination towards foreigners). Economic factors such as employment and income also affect a refugee’s ability to integrate. People think that life in foreign countries must be better and easier than life at home, but life is not easy anywhere in the world.

Decision to send asylum-seekers to Malaysia will be made next week

The High Court of Australia met on 22 and 23 August to consider the lawfulness of the Australian Government’s plan to send 800 asylum-seekers to Malaysia.

On August 8, refugee lawyers requested that the High Court prevent the Australian Government from sending the first group of 16 asylum-seekers to Malaysia under a deal that was made on 25 July to send 800 newly arriving boat people to Malaysia. In exchange Australia would accept 4,000 refugees registered with the UN in Malaysia over four years.

This week the High Court heard the legal arguments of refugee and government lawyers.

Refugee lawyers argue that Australian Immigration Minister Chris Bowen does not have the power to send asylum-seekers to Malaysia because Malaysia has not signed the UN Refugee Convention and therefore has no legal obligations to protect the asylum-seekers. The lawyers also argue that sending unaccompanied minors to Malaysia is not in their best interests.

Government lawyers say the agreement and declaration of Malaysia as a suitable destination is legal and does meet the obligations Australia has under the UN Refugee Convention. Australia's only obligation is to ensure protection of those with a well-founded fear of persecution.

Government lawyers told the court that Australia could declare a country a suitable place to send asylum-seekers regardless of whether it was a signatory to the UN Refugee Convention or have relevant domestic laws, which is consistent with the previous Government’s policy of sending asylum-seekers to Nauru.

After hearing both sides of the case, the High Court will deliver its verdict on Wednesday 31 August. Until then no asylum-seekers will be sent to Malaysia.

Five boats carrying 335 asylum-seekers, including 92 children of whom 39 are unaccompanied minors have arrived in Australia since the government signed the Malaysia deal on July 25.

Australia and Malaysia sign an asylum-seeker deal

Yesterday Malaysia and Australia signed a deal to swap 800 asylum-seekers that arrive to Australia illegally by boat for 4,000 genuine refugees currently waiting for resettlement in Malaysia.

From midnight last night, any asylum-seeker arriving to Australia by boat will be sent to Malaysia to have their refugee claims assessed. The agreement is part of the Australian government's push to develop a regional solution to people smuggling and to deter asylum-seekers from making the dangerous boat journey from Indonesia to Australia.

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard says the agreement will “smash the business model of people smugglers.”

"My message to anyone who is considering paying money to a people smuggler and risking their life at sea and perhaps the lives of their family members as well, is do not do that in the false hope that you will be able to have your claim processed in Australia,” she says.

Asylum-seekers that are transferred to Malaysia will be treated lawfully and provided with exemption under the Malaysian Immigration Act and Passports Act.

They will be initially accommodated in a transit centre in Malaysia for up to 45 days with support from UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration.

Following initial processing, the transferred asylum-seekers will move into the community, with work rights, access to education and health care. Unlike the 90,000 refugees already there.

The Australian government has said that those who are transferred will receive no better or faster treatment in the processing of their claims or arrangements for resettlement over other asylum seekers in Malaysia.

The Australian Prime Minister also confirmed that the 4,000 refugees coming to Australia would be taken from those refugees already registered in Malaysia before the agreement and would not include any of the 800 asylum seekers sent from Australia.

Australia will pay for all costs - around $300 million over four years - including transport, welfare, health and education. Australia will also assist Malaysia in returning failed asylum seekers currently held in Malaysia to their countries of origin.

The agreement has the backing of both the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Prime Minister Gillard promised transferees would be treated with dignity and respect."They will not be arrested and not be caned," she said. Malaysia has given guarantees that those transferred will be treated in accordance with human rights standards.

However the 500 asylum seekers on Christmas Island who arrived after the Government announced the swap deal but before it was signed will be processed in Australia, not offshore as initially promised. 

This deal is the first of its kind and has been criticized by some organizations. Human Rights Watch has criticized the swap deal and has publicly called on the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to withdraw their support of the deal because the agreement would allow Australia to delegate its obligations to Malaysia, a country that has not signed the Refugee Convention.

It is now very difficult for asylum-seekers to arrive to a foreign country using the services of a people smuggler and be accepted by that country. Foreign governments want to take asylum-seekers and refugees the legal and official way through the UNHCR system found in refugee camps around the world. Australia will no longer accept any illegal boat arrivals to their shore but they will accept more than 14,000 refugees through the UNHCR system.