...Australia has a legal obligation towards asylum seekers and refugees. 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. “Australia is one of the 146 signatory countries to the United Nations 1951 Convention and or/ 1967 Protocol relating to the status of refugees”. (Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, 2009) According to Australian Human Rights Commission an asylum seeker is someone who has fled their country and applies to the government of another country for protection as a refugee, (Australian Human Rights Commision, 2012) whereas a person is a refugee the moment he or she fulfils the criteria of the convention. As part of signatory countries to the United Nations 1951 Convention they are “obliged to act according to their efforts to allow everyone to seek and enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution. This right may not be invoked in the case persecutions genuinely arising from non- political crimes or acts of contrary to the purposes and Principles on the United Nations”. (United Nations, 2011) This means that Australia has committed to respect the rights of refugees and to uphold the obligations set out in the treaty. This is in contradiction to the Migration Act 1958, which states, “Australian law requires that asylum seekers who have not been successful in their claims for refugee...
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...A Baptist policy on immigration and asylum seekers The world currently faces a global refugee crisis with up to 40 million displaced people (the majority of whom are women and children). Australia currently accepts around 13,750 refugees each year as part of total planned annual immigration of around 182,000 people. This paper identifies social and political problems relating to asylum seekers and refugees. It examines the biblical teaching on a responsible Christian approach to asylum seekers and refugees, and discusses some of the ways in which Australian Baptists have responded to the challenges of immigration and asylum seekers. It concludes with a new policy proposal for the consideration of Australian Baptist Ministries, the various State and Territory Baptist Unions, and local churches. There is also a guide to further information. The situation facing Australia today Immigration policy is one of the two most bitterly contested issues in Australian politics, and has been for more than ten years. People who seek asylum by boat, and various policy instruments designed to deter both asylum seekers and people smugglers, have been at the heart of an increasingly contentious public and political discussion in Australia for more than a decade. The debate has polarised large sections of the Australian community and prevented many politicians from engaging in a constructive policy dialogue. With little to differentiate their product, especially on economic and employment...
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...our country, no legislature was enacted for immigration. However, with time, many laws have passed, which has impacted the immigrants entering the U.S. Even though, illegal immigration has become a big issue in the United States, people who are attempting to come in legally are affected. These fears affect many asylum seekers who are seeking refuge due to persecution in their own countries. Asylum seekers are being detained or deported, which at times is in violation of their human rights. Due to many injustices asylum seekers face, it is difficult for them to pursue refuge. The detaining of asylum seekers has become a growing concern within the United States. As stated by the Department of Homeland Security, “(DHS) detains thousands of noncitizens who pose no flight risk or threat to public safety while they are awaiting deportation proceedings” (Immigration Policy). However, detaining a person who has come to the U.S. to seek protection because their own country failed to provide it, constitutes a violation of human rights. Asylum seekers are individuals that have passed through traumatizing circumstances, in which they feel threatened or endangered. By having asylum seekers detained, it can ultimately drive them to edge in which can have a negative impact on the economy. The detention of asylum seekers comes at...
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...Throughout the years, there have been articles about asylum seekers resorting to violence due to discontentment with the Australian government regarding the assessment of their refugee status. These are evident cries for help which sparks off debates on the government’s abilities to find a successful solution to the asylum issues. Australia has been criticized due to the requirements of compulsory immigration detention for ‘all unlawful non-citizens, (including asylum seekers)’ (Phillips & Spinks 2013, p.1). The other controversial issue of Australia regarding the asylum seekers is also the claims that it has been avoiding it’s responsibilities under the United Nations refugee conventions by making it hard for asylum seekers to claim refugee protection. Although the Australian government is undertaking various asylum policies in response to the constant increasing influx of refugees and asylum seekers entering the country, many are still constantly suffering and the human rights of these inhumane policies need to be further addressed. This essay will emphasize the inhumane asylum policies by weighing the negative aspects, but also addressing the government’s response in dealing with the asylum issues. Many have questioned the need for the mandatory detention of asylum seekers upon arrival especially when there is no exclusion for women and children. The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) has found that this policy is an infringement of human rights as it...
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...ASYLUMS SEEKERS AND REFUGEES “Like many members of the Hazara minority in Afghanistan, Chaman Sha Nasiri fled his homeland to escape persecution. At the time, the Taliban had been hunting for young men to either recruit or kill. Chaman then spent three years in the Nauru processing centre. It was a time of uncertainty, and as with many other asylum seekers, he became increasingly anxious and desperate” 1 Chama’s Story is just one of many for asylum seekers who seek refuge here in Australia. They come to our country expecting safety and freedom alongside the most basic human right. Yet when they arrive they are imprisoned and treated as criminals. It is clear that the laws surrounding this issue are in dire need of change. Australia is a country well known for its diversity of beliefs and religions, it is said to be accepting of others, however, when the topic of asylum seekers is brought forth, the government and media portrays the need for border protection, and “stopping the boats”. This type of hostile political enforcement and negative media coverage only furthers the portrayal of refugees as something fear, in the mind of most Australians. However, although it is not widely broadcasted by the Government or media, Australia has a legal obligation to help asylum seekers under the United Nations Refugee Convention 1951, to which Australia is signatory. According to the United Nations Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, amended by the 1967 Protocol (the...
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...This convention defines who is a refugee and also sets out basic rights, which signatory countries should guarantee to refugees. By signing this convention, Australia has international obligations to protect the human rights of all asylum seekers/refugees who arrive in Australia, regardless of how or where they arrive and whether they arrive with or without a visa. Besides, according to the convention, the UNHCR has a supervisory responsibility in Australia. Although the Australia government decides the yearly quota of refugees accepted into Australia, the UNHCR can review individual cases and make recommendations to the Australia government. However, Fig.2 highlights that the number of migrants entering Australia through humanitarian program has kept at relatively low quota in 1984-2008. This may suggest that Australia migration policy rather changed the quota of family and skilled migrant than the number of migrants through humanitarian program and further suggest that...
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...Lucienne Yvette Civil, sought political asylum under section 8 U.S.C. § 1158(a), on the well-founded fear if returned to Haiti, she would face persecution for her political beliefs. After being denied, Lucienne Yvette Civil appealed the Board of Immigration Appeals ("Board" or "BIA") decision affirming an Immigration Judge's denial of her application for political asylum. Agreeing with the findings of the Immigration Judge ("IJ"), the Board found that petitioner did not have a well-founded fear of persecution. ISSUE; Whether or not at the time Ms. Civil filed for asylum was her reason for being fearful of persecution well-founded under the Immigration and Nationality Act, § 208(a)? RULES: 8 U.S.C.A. § 1158 (a): Safe third country; shall not apply to an alien if the Attorney General determines that the alien may be removed, pursuant to a bilateral or multilateral agreement, to a country (other than the country of the alien’s nationality or, in the case of an alien having no nationality, the country of the alien’s last habitual residence) in which the alien’s life or freedom would not be threatened on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion, and where the alien would have access to a full and fair procedure for determining a claim to asylum or equivalent temporary protection, unless the Attorney General finds that it is in the public interest for the alien to receive asylum in the United States. 8 C.F.R. §...
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...“other” individuals trying to enter Australia to seek asylum. To help comprehend the complex phenomenon of “others”, it is comparable to stereotyping, used to uphold social order. Richard Dyer (Hall, Evans & Nixon 2013) debates that “we represent people and places that are different from us with a representational practice, which we call stereotyping, which involves feelings, attitudes and emotions, and it also provokes fears and anxieties”. This ‘othering’ is a preface for the Australian Government to disregard their human rights responsibility, proclaiming that it is good for Australia. “Stop the boats” is the slogan and catchphrase the Australian Government and Australian society use when discussion of and around asylum seekers issues. This has triggered asylum seekers to be seen as a political concern instead of a humanitarian issue. Asylum seekers are used for political advance, playing on racial stereotypes or ‘others’ to strike fear within the Australian society. As the political concerns rage on, the public restrain understanding and compassion for asylum seekers. With...
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...To: Meegan Zickus Attorney From: S S Paralegal Re: Jane Doe Asylum Case Date: April 21, 2013 CITATION Gonzalez v. Reno, 86 F. Supp. 2d 1167 (S.D. Fla. 2000) FACTS The parties of this case are Elian Gonzalez with Lazaro Gonzalez and Attorney General Janet Reno. Six-year-old Cuban national Elian Gonzalez, on November 25, 1999, was rescued by two Miami anglers who found him floating on an inner tube several miles off Fort Lauderdale. Elian was transferred to a United States Coast Guard vessel so he could be transported to a nearby hospital for treatment for dehydration and hypothermia. Elian's mother, Elisabeth Brotons, drowned during the voyage from Cuba. The INS temporarily paroled him into the care of Lazaro Gonzalez, his great uncle, in Miami. On January 19, 2000, Lazaro Gonzalez, instituted alternatively as interim temporary legal custodian, of Elian Gonzalez, a six-year-old child, against the Attorney General, the Commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service ("INS"), and other federal defendants. The complaint challenged the INS's refusal to accept and adjudicate two asylum applications that Lazaro submitted with respect to Elian and an essentially identical application that bore Elian’s signature. PROCEDUAL HISTORY On January 27, 2000, the government filed a motion to dismiss or, in the alternative, for summary judgment. The district court heard oral argument on the government's motion on March 9, 2000. On March 21, 2000, the district court...
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...Asylum and borders "Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution." - Article 14 of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights In 1954 the UK signed up to the Refugee Convention, and today almost every country is bound by this international law. Under the law: Anyone in the UK has the right to seek asylum; and The UK Government has an obligation not forcibly to return anyone to a country where they have a genuine fear of being persecuted. The right to seek asylum is completely separate to the issue of immigration: There is no human right to immigration, so fair and non-discriminatory limits can be placed on economic migration; But the right to asylum can never be limited. Human rights, including the right not to be subjected to degrading treatment; the right to a private and family life; the right to free expression and protest etc, apply to all human beings. These rights do not depend on citizenship. Some of the UK's immigration and asylum policies have undermined these basic rights, including: Laws passed following 11 September 2001, which have now been repealed, allowed for the indefinite detention without charge of foreign nationals; Policies denying support and the right to work to asylum claimants leading to destitution and hardship; The unnecessary and inhumane detention of men, women and children for extended periods; The ‘fast track’ system of asylum determination which results in applicants being...
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...Working Outline Topic: Is the Immigration System too harsh? I. Introduction A. How many of yall know what an Immigration detention center is and what really goes on with the immigration system? B. All over the United States, Immigration detention locks up thousands of immigrants every year. These Immigration detention centers is where thousands of illegal individuals await a ruling of deportation or not. These include the thousands of Central Americans families seeking asylum. C. Immigration detention centers are meant to increase public safety, but asylum seekers are not criminals and should have fair trail, the voluntary work program, and the detained of thousands of innocent immigrants does not improve public safety. II. Asylum seekers...
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...Nation, or other racist groups on most issues. The are tremendously anti-Semitic, hateful, and are just plain wrong in many of their tactics and views. However, I do understand what motivates them on some issues. I have seen the stereotypes that fuel their fire. It seems that illegal immigration has sparked a resurgence in their ranks. That is a hot issue with me and much of the U.S. population, as well. From the Alliance Defense League web site: New York, NY, February 6, 2007 … The Ku Klux Klan, which just a few years ago seemed static or even moribund compared to other white supremacist movements such as neo-Nazis, experienced "a surprising and troubling resurgence" during the past year due...
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...Amnesty International (2014) recently spoke to a 43 year old asylum seeker from Iran said in detention at Manus Island. He said, “I have lived in war zones, with bombs and explosions. I have never experienced what I am experiencing here with the uncertainty we face. If we had died in the ocean that would have been better” The following essay will explore the current system of offshore processing of asylum seekers under the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) and alternatives to this legislation. The basis of an amendment to this legislation to mandate onshore processing is in the enabling of a safe and humane migration into Australian communities, faster processing of claims and a process that is more effective and less costly than offshore detention...
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...Diversity January 25, 2014 Nancy Cupp, Facilitator Week Three Individual Assignment I choose the article “Immigration: Asylum some member states have more work to do than other.” This article is about immigrants seeking asylum in other states in Europe and not getting the same results as Greece. In addition, Greece has received support financially more than the other states between 2007 and 2011. According to the courts in Europe, the human rights are not respected, as a result the Commission is monitoring human dignity. The treatments of the immigrants have been awful so as a result they have closed the worst camps. Incidents have shown that supervisors are let go due to their behaviors towards migrants. The Neo-Nazi Golden Dawn Party has also showed racism attacks towards the migrants. Migrants are still applying for asylum in Europe because of the Syria crisis. It shows that there have been 332,000 requests for asylum in Greece in 2012, which is higher than last year (European Social Policy, 2013). In the overview, it first started by simply informing its readers what the definition of immigrants actually is. According to the overview, immigrants are individuals who have left their country or area of origin to settle in another country or territory. It also told us what immigrant really was. When dealing with immigrants and immigration, there are two main categories for the reasons of their migration. The first category is known as “push factors.”...
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...Introduction: The issue in the topic “NO CHILD'S PLAY: CHILDREN IN IMMIGRATION DETENTION” is about the asylum seekers including all non-citizens and children who seek entrance to Australia without a legal visa. They are often refugees from extremely poor and dangerous circumstances. Many of them are detained in detention until their claims are legally processed (Australian Catholic University, 2015, 4.1.2). This issue directly affects the child rights as well as the Common Good for children. Common good is the good and well-being of each individuals. Common good holds that as a social being, human truly flourish in the community. Common good means the fulfillment of the every aspects that helps to reach ultimate can good for every individuals....
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