Choose one human right issue facing Australia (The

treatment of Asylum Seekers).

1. Discuss the nature of this issue, explaining using

examples and statistics why this is a Human rights
Challenge facing Australia.

The concepts that all humans are equal and deserve fair
treatment and basic human freedoms. The challenge is to
implement human rights equally and fairly in Australia. The
treatment of Asylum seekers and refugees is a current human
rights issue due to the fact that Australia is the only
developed country that has mandatory detention.

Some statistics of the asylum seekers are:

UN estimates about 15.4 million refugees
28.8 million Internally Displaced Persons (refugees who
have not yet gone to another country) worldwide.
In 2012-13, a total of 26,427 people sought asylum in
Australia.
The boat arrivals are mainly from three countries Sri
Lanka (27%), Iran (24%) and Afghanistan (20%) in 2012-
13.
The length of time asylum seekers spend in detention centres
are held for an average of more than nine months, which is far
longer than international standards.

Asylum seeker and refugee policy remains one of the most

contentious issues in contemporary Australia. Australia
maintains one of the most restrictive immigration detention
systems in the world. It is mandatory and people are not able
to challenge the need for their detention in a court of law. The
Commission has for many years called for an end to this
system because it leads to breaches of human rights
obligations under treaties to which Australia is a party.

Globally there are an estimated 59 million people who are

displaced. 22 million refugees globally. Developing countries
have accommodated 4/5 of the worlds refugees. Australia
accommodates less than 2% of the worlds refugees. With
global conflict on the rise and political conflict in locations
such as Syria there is increasing pressure on countries to
accept asylum seekers.

Australia signed the UN Refugee Convention in 1951, which is

the key legal document that defines who is a refugee, their
rights and the legal obligations of States. This is to ensure that
all those who make claims for protection while in Australia
must have their claims assessed.
2. Discuss the role of government in response to this
issue
Australias refugee policy involves a humanitarian program
that accepts a set quota of 13,500 people each year. This
number has grown due to increased global pressures. This
number is very small compared to other countries e.g. Turkey,
Pakistan 1.7 million, Islamic Republic of Iran 886500, Germany
800,000.

The Australian government response to this issue began many

years ago with the introduction of Mandatory detention in
1992. Australia is the only western country with Mandatory
detention.

The pacific solution is the name given to the Australian

government policy of transporting asylum seekers to
detention centers on island nations in the Pacific Ocean,
rather than allowing them to land on the Australian mainland.
The Pacific Solution includes:
Offshore processing in Nauru and Papua New Guinea
Excision of offshore territories from Australias migration
zone
Introduction of non-statutory refugee status
determination process for unauthorized arrivals to
excised territories.

2012 Federal government report made a series of

recommendations including:
An increase in Australias intake from 13,000 to 20,000
2013 Newly elected PM Tony Abbott promises to turn back
the boats.
Offshore processing 2013-the Federal government signed
an agreement, which will see refuges that come by boat to
Australia, resettled in the Pacific nation of PNG and Naru.
Plus Aid for Resettlement deal with Cambodia.

September 2015- the federal government agrees to accept

extra 12,000 Syrian refugees. The main focus would be on
women, children and families from persecuted minorities.
The government is also set to provide $44m extra for the
UN refugee agency and other agencies, with a focus on
assisting the situation in Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan.

3. Discuss the role of Individuals and groups in response

to this issue
Individuals such as those seen in the SBS Documentary Go
back where you came from put themselves in the refugees
shoes and travelled to the locations where these asylum
seekers where fleeing such as Afghanistan and Somilia.

This documentary was confronting because it is a true story of

what the asylum seekers are going through. The way they ran
away from their country, how they ended up where they are
and how difficult it was going through all this risking their
lives.

Chilout aims to raise awareness to the public about the plight

of children in immigration detention centres. Chilout provides
accurate information showing what is happening to children
inside Australia's immigration detention facilities. The
protection of children is first and that they afford their basic
rights, freedom, healthcare, education and play. Chilout will
continue to operate until there is federal legislation to ensure
that no child is detained in an Australian immigration
detention centre for more than seven days.