People Movement: Responses by Relevant Global Actors Flashcards
- Responses by Relevant Global Actors
The International community has responded in a variety of ways to uphold human rights in regard to the treatment of immigrants and asylum-seekers.
- States
Australia?
The issue of migration, and in particular asylum-seekers, within Australia highlights the contentious and highly political nature of the issue.
This has much to do with Australia’s historic ‘threat mentality’ whereby Australia has traditionally feared its regional neighbours, as epitomised by the White Australia Policy. In the 21st century, migration policy is still contentious.
- The controversial nature of asylum seeker migration to Australia was underlined during 2010 federal election when Tony Abbott promised to “stop the boats”.
- In July 2011 Prime Minister Gillard signed a deal with the Malaysian government, known as the Malaysian Solution. The Gillard Government hoped the new policy would deter people from risking the sea voyage to Australia and thus also dissuade people-smugglers.
- In July 2013, Kevin Rudd announced a drastic shift to the right in which no asylum-seeker making their way to Australia will be processed. Instead, they will be transferred to PNG under a deal signed with the PNG Prime Minister, where they will be processed and accepted as genuine refugees or resettled in a different country other than Australia.
- States
Australia?
STATS N FACTS?
- Australia received 0.6% of the world’s asylum seekers in 2009 and they accounted for less than 8% of migrants accepted into Australia.
- The Pacific Solution: Introduced following the 2001 Tampa incident by John Howard. It processes asylum-seeker claims in two Australian funded camps in the Pacific—one in Papua New Guinea and one on Nauru. The policy was highly contentious and globally criticised, with Oxfam labelling it as ‘inhumane’. It was argued Australia was trying to shirk its international obligations because under international law any person is entitled to make an application for refugee status.
- Rudd: The pacific solution was disbanded with the election of Labor in 2007, which closed the offshore processing centres but kept mandatory detention of asylum-seeker boat people on Christmas Island in place. However refugee policy has not remained static—embargoes were placed on asylum-seekers in April 2010 for a period of three and six months respectively in response to perceived “out of control people smuggling” which saw 2706 asylum-seekers reach Australia by boat in 2009 (90% of Australia’s refugees arrive by plane).
- Gillard’s Malaysia Solution: Under this program Australia would send 800 asylum-seeker boat people to Malaysia and in return would expand its humanitarian intake and resettle 4,000 refugees from Malaysia over four years. Unlike the Pacific Solution, the UNHCR would monitor those sent to Malaysia. However, in September 2011 the High Court ruled against this solution.
- States
United Kingdom?
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom helps asylum-seekers return home, if they wish. The UK Home Office introduced Assisted Voluntary Return (AVR) programmes in 1999 to all current and failed asylum-seekers.
• The AVR aims to help those who have failed to settle satisfactorily in the UK or who wish to return to their country of origin, but lack the means to do do.
In 2002, the Return to Afghanistan Program offered grants of 600pounds per adult and up to 2,500 for a family.
- Institutes of Global Governance
The United Nations?
-The UN’s High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)?
The UN’s High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) attempts to promote a formal, multilateral approach to refugees and to protect and promote the rights of refugees.
The agency is mandated to lead and coordinate inter-national action to protect refugees and resolve refugee problems worldwide, although its mandate has been expanding to focus on repatriation, the provision of humanitarian assistance and the forced displacement of people, within as well as between states.
• In 2006, the Budget of the UNHCR was $1.45b and since its inception the organisation has aided over 50million refugees through its staff of 6,300 in over 100 states.
United Nations (through the UNHCR) As well as humanitarian aid, UNHCR also tried to resettle many of the refugees where there was no realistic prospect of them being able to return home.
> In 2009,112,000 refugees were resettled in a total of 19 states. 84,000 of these were settled with the help of UNHCR.
- Institutes of Global Governance
The United Nations?
-The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) ?
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) operates a number of programs of education, relief and humanitarian assistance for Palestinian refugees in Gaza, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and the West Bank.
• In 2006 its budget was $462.9m although it faced a shortfall of $117.9m
- Inter-Governmental Organisations
The International Organisation for Migration?
Established in 1951, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) is committed to humane and orderly migration, believing it benefits migrants and society. The IOM provides services and advice to governments and migrants.
- This has been facilitated by more than 7,000 staff working in over 400 locations in 2,820 projects, supported by a budget in excess of $1b in 2010.
- The Health Promotion and Assistance for Migrants ensures the provision and access to equitable quality health services for migrants and mobile populations, including migrants in irregular situations.
- Non-Governmental Organisations
General NGO?
As a result of changes in communication technology, NGOs are able to link people from across the globe that have common concerns and in so doing, create global voices for change, helping to develop new norms and standards.
This is no less true than for asylum seekers and refugees for whom there are literally hundreds of organisations seeking to uphold their rights.
- Non-Governmental Organisations
Refugee Action?
Asylum Access?
Refugee Action
Refugee Action is an independent charity that provides advice and support to asylum-seekers and refugees in the UK. It provides reception, resettlement, development and integration to asylum-seekers and refugees, as well as legal advice and advocacy. For example, the organisation campaigned successfully to stop government cuts to asylum support in 2009.
Asylum Access
Asylum Access is a US-Based organisation seeking to assert refugee rights in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
MR WOODS RESPONSE BY STATES:
Pakistan?
-In 2009, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees estimated that there were 15.2 million refugees in the world.
Pakistan
>Four fifths of these, or 80%, were being hosted by developing states. Pakistan was the largest recipient of refugees, hosting 1.7 million.
-This was a result of it sharing a border with Afghanistan, which was the largest source of refugees in the world during that year. 2.9 million refugees, roughly a quarter of all the refugees in the world, were from Afghanistan.
Pakistan was not a party to the Convention on Refugees, and being a poor state it did not have the resources to provide for its refugees to the standard envisaged by the Convention
Along with the UNHCR, Pakistan developed a strategy called the Government of Pakistan
’
s Management and Repatriation Strategy for Afghan Refugees in Pakistan, to try to cope with the scale of the refugee problem.
As Pakistan was not able to provide social welfare services for the refugees, they were compelled to either live of aid or of such irregular work opportunities as they could find. This often put them at risk of exploitation.
The UNHCR assessed Pakistan as meeting international standards in only 50% of its laws and policies for the protection of refugees.
A main plank of the strategy adopted by Pakistan was to repatriate the refugees back to Afghanistan wherever possible.
Between 2002 and 2012, approximately 3.7 million registered Afghan refugees returned to Afghanistan
MR WOODS RESPONSE BY STATES:
Fkn STraya CUnt?
-Australia was a party to the Convention.
In 2012 it had 22,548 refugees, roughly 10% of whom had outstanding asylum applications pending.
This put Australia 47th in the world ranking for accepting refugees.
Between 2001 and 2011 Australia accepted 133,475 refugees, an average of about 13,400 a year. This represented 7.5% of Australia’s total immigration during the period.
Because of concerns about refugees arriving by boat in Australia, after making a dangerous see crossing from Indonesia, Australia debated, and at times instituted, a policy of processing asylum applications off shore.
This took place in Papua New Guinea, rather than allowing asylum seekers to remain on Australian soil. |
The purpose of this policy was to discourage people from trying to land in Australia, as they would know that they would not be allowed to remain there while their applications were being processed. This policy was controversial politically.
In 2012, Australia announced that it would increase the number of refugees it accepted, to 20,000 a year.
