Issues in Depth

Complementary protection - why Australia needs a formal system

The Refugee Convention isn’t the only international convention under which Australia has obligations to provide protection.  We also have obligations under the Convention Against Torture, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.  These obligations are called complementary protection obligations.  This means that Australia has a responsibility not to return people to specific types of danger including torture, civil war, generalised violence and statelessness.

Under current Australian law, these complementary protection obligations are only met by Ministerial Discretion, a non-reviewable and non-compellable power for the Minister to grant visas.  Australia is the only developed country that does not have a formal mechanism of complementary protection.  Read on to find out why reform is urgently needed.

Access to legal advice - giving people a 'fair go'

Deterrence

The actions taken to prevent people from applying for asylum onshore in Australia. This includes the navy blocking boats, excision and remote island detention and processing.

Current policy allows for the Australian Navy to intercept boats suspected of carrying asylum seekers and force them out of our waters, endangering lives and avoiding our international protection responsibilities.  In addition, current excision laws mean that asylum seekers who land in an excised zone are not given the same legal rights as other asylum seekers and are sent to off-shore detention centres, where they are denied adequate humanitarian and legal support, with limited oversight and at a greatly increased cost.

Detention

The conditions (legal and welfare) in which we detain people whose applications are being processed

The mandatory detention of asylum seekers who have committed no crime and pose no threat to the Australian community is unnecessarily harsh, breaks international law and is much more costly than more humane alternatives.  Many asylum seekers in thecommunity are denied workrights, medicare or income support. This can mean that children, elderly persons and single parents may be living in conditions of abject poverty.

Deportation

Do we deport people to unsafe areas or under inhumane conditions?

Australia in the past has sent back to danger refugees who failed our system and were later found to be refugees by other countries.  Australia has also sent failed asylum seekers back to situations of generalised danger such as war and civil unrest in Afghanistan and Iraq. In many cases the methods of removals are themselves inhumane, such as the use of involuntary sedation, physical restraints, removing people without notice to family or lawyers, or sending people to third countries with only a limited stay visa, from where they faced deportation if caught.  We need better case management of asylum seekers by trained staff and a better system of pre-removal risk assessments.

Durable Solutions

Solutions that can reduce the need for forced migration.

The Australian Government needs to work co-operatively with neighbouring countries, urging them to sign and abide by the Refugee Convention and work with UNHCR to protect asylum seekers while conflicts in home countries are resolved.  To credibly advocate such human rights standards by our neighbours requires that Australia must fully abide by our own international human rights obligations. Such approaches could minimise dangerous sea journeys on poor quality boats by asylum seekers seeking effective protection.

Determination