Australias policy toward refugees
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Research Essay: Refugees
Australia generally fulfils its obligations under international law to those refugees who apply for asylum from outside Australia, however its treatment of unauthorised arrivals fails to satisfy international law in a number of areas.
The main source of international law on refugees is the 1951 Geneva Convention relating to the status of refugees (hereinafter referred to as the Convention) and the amendments and changes to the Convention in the 1967 Protocol relating to the status of refugees (hereinafter referred to as the Protocol). Australia is signatory to these documents, as are other most member states of the United Nations theoretically making them binding. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has jurisdiction over disputes arising from the interpretation and application of the Convention, however the ICJ has not yet exercised its jurisdiction and therefore there has been no interpretation or development of international common law relating to refugees.
The general definition of a refugee which overlooks certain conditions and exceptions, is someone who "owing to 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 nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country" (Convention 1951, Article 1). A person who fulfils this definition has certain rights and also a responsibility to act within the laws of the nation in which the refugee has asylum.
International law in the form of the Convention states that refugees should not suffer from discrimination on the grounds of race, religion or country of origin, should be issued with identification papers and be permitted to stay in the country of refuge permanently after three years of asylum in that country. Some of the rights the Convention sets out for a refugee are equal to those enjoyed by the citizens of the nation in which he/she has asylum. These rights are in regard to freedom of religion, marriage, patents, court proceedings, labour legislation, public relief, fiscal charges, to food if the country has a rations program and to public education. Other rights are those a foreigner would enjoy relating to freedom of association and movement, employment, housing and property...