Amnesty's Q&A

Questions on the suspension policy

What is the new policy?
On 9 April the government announced a blanket ban on processing new asylum claims from Afghan and Sri Lankan nationals. Asylum seekers from these two countries who arrive in Australian territory from that day will still be able to apply for refugee status, but the government will detain these groups for a set period before assessing their claims. Initially claims by Sri Lankans will be suspended for 3 months and claims by Afghan nationals for 6 months.

The government has justified this decision on the basis of updated UNHCR country information, which is yet to be released publically.

What does Amnesty International think?
Amnesty International has unconditionally condemned this policy. Treating a group of asylum seekers differently based solely on their country of origin is not only a breach of international law, but effectively punishes two groups of people who are overwhelmingly found to be refugees. The situation in Sri Lank and Afghanistan remains volatile. As such, it is unjustifiable and impractical to detain vulnerable people for extended periods based on a single country information report that is yet to be released. All asylum claims should be processed in a timely and humane manner, and on a case by case basis.

In an election year where the polarising topics of asylum seekers and border security are clearly going to feature heavily, this is a blatant example of trampling the rights of the world's most vulnerable in order to win votes.

Is this policy illegal?
Amnesty International believes that this policy is fundamentally inconsistent with Australia's international obligations under the UN Refugee Convention, the Convention to End Racial Discrimination and Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Why Sri Lankans and Afghans?
Afghan and Sri Lankan nationals constitute the majority of asylum seekers who arrive by boat in Australia (approximately 60% and 20% respectively). This is a transparent attempt by the Australian Government to respond to criticism about the number of boat arrivals since it took office.

What will happen to the Sri Lankan and Afghan asylum seekers whose boats arrived after the announcement?
They will be taken to Christmas Island for initial checks, and then unaccompanied minors will be moved to Port Augusta and single males will be moved to Curtin detention centre in northwest Australia. Curtin is over 2000 km from Perth and the infrastructure there is inappropriate for housing asylum seekers. The extreme remoteness of Curtin will limit their access to health, counselling and legal services, and greatly increase the negative psychological impact of prolonged detention.

What will happen to the Sri Lankan and Afghan asylum seekers who arrived before the announcement?
They will continue to be processed under the previous system.

Is the situation changing in Sri Lanka?
The war is over, and there are signs that the situation is improving but this definitely does not mean that it is safe in Sri Lanka. Amnesty International's research indicates that the situations for many groups in Sri Lanka, including activists, journalists and some Tamils, remains volatile and dangerous.

More than 100,000 people remain stuck in camps and throughout Sri Lanka. Abductions, enforced disappearances, torture and extrajudicial killings remain serious problems. Often these incidents are not investigated and go unpunished. There are allegations that extrajudicial killings have been carried out by state agents and Tamil paramilitary groups working for the Sri Lankan security forces.

Is the situation changing in Afghanistan?
Amnesty International's investigations show that the human rights situation in Afghanistan remains grave. Many individuals, in particular minority groups, activists and journalists, face real and terrible persecution from the Taliban or government-associated warlords. Women face widespread human rights abuses, including sexual violence and trafficking.

Do other countries have similar policies?
As far as Amnesty International is aware, no other country has a ban on processing the asylum applications of specific nationalities.

Of course there are many countries that refuse to process any asylum seekers at all,, such as China, Zimbabwe, Eritrea and Burma. However, in all the countries which acknowledge the importance of the Refugee Convention, such as the US, Canada and most of Europe, there is no policy that so blatantly discriminates against specific nationalities.

Questions on general asylum seeker issues

Are there actually more boats coming? Why? The number of asylum seekers arriving by boats has increased over the past few years. This is primarily because of a well documented spike in conflict around the world, which has led to more asylum applications globally, not just in Australia.

In 2009, global numbers remained steady while Australia saw an increase. This is because while distant countries like Mali and Colombia generated significantly fewer refugees, the numbers from countries in our region such as Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Burma continued to rise. Obviously, it is the situation in these countries that affects Australia.

What is the difference between asylum seekers who come by boat and those that come by plane? Asylum seekers who come by plane arrive on temporary visas (e.g. visitor visas) and apply for asylum after they are in Australia. Asylum seekers who arrive by boat do not have a visa but ask for asylum once they are in Australian waters.

All asylum seekers in Australia, regardless of their mode of arrival, have their claims assessed against the same standards. If they are found to genuinely be in need of protection, they are granted a protection visa, if not they are sent home. The key difference between boat and plane arrivals is the way they are treated while they wait for their claims to be assessed. People who come by plane wait in the Australian community; people who come by boat are detained on a remote island with limited access to health, counselling and legal services, and few rights.

Asylum seekers who come by boat don't have visas; doesn't this make them illegal? No. Article 14 of the UDHR states, "Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution. This means that people who seek asylum are not breaking any laws, even if they don't have a visa to Australia.

There are more than 50,000 illegal immigrants in Australia but they are primarily visa over stayers from New Zealand, the UK and the US.

We can't take everyone so don't we have to be proactive about stemming the tide of asylum seekers? Australia is geographically an extremely isolated country and receives a very small proportion of the world's refugees. 80% of all refugees globally remain within their region of origin, and of the pending refugee cases around the world, Australia is currently processing less than 1%.

Most migration studies indicate that Australia will never receive more then this tiny proportion of the world's asylum seekers. Speculation that we could see 20,000 or 50,000 people arrive by boat has no founding in reality, and is merely fear-mongering.

Doesn't Australia take its fair share of refugees? Including people we resettle with the UNHCR as well as asylum seekers who arrive by boat and place, Australia currently accepts a total of 13,500 refugees every year. This number represents approximately 7% of our total migration intake every year. The vast majority of the world's refugees live in the poorest and most dangerous countries in the world. For example:

Pakistan - 1,780,935
Tanzania - 321,909
Syria - 1,105,698
Sudan - 181,605

In 2009, Australia received 6,170 asylum applications. Even when you compared us to the 44 most industrialised countries, we are ranked 16th in number of asylum applications, and are ranked 24th in applications per capita.

Aren't 'boat people' taking the place of real refugees in camps?
Australia's obligation to participate in international burden sharing and resettle refugees through the UN program is completely separate from Australia's obligation under international law to process the claims of asylum seekers who arrive here. Confusing these two issues is unhelpful, and in light of the small numbers of asylum seekers we receive compared to other countries (France 41,980; South Africa 227,125; Canada 33,250), it is extremely ungenerous of Australia to restrict number of offshore refugees due to onshore arrivals.

If they can pay thousands to come here, they aren't real refugees.
A refugee is someone who faces persecution as a result of their race, religion, nationality, political opinion or social group. Having money doesn't mean you are not at risk. In fact, in many cases it is the educated people in society who speak out against oppressive authorities and become targets for persecution.

Why don't they stay in other countries? Aren't they country shopping? Countries in between Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Australia are usually very unsafe for refugees and asylum seekers. In Pakistan, Iran, Malaysia and Indonesia asylum seekers and refugees face further persecution, arbitrary detention and involuntary deportation. They generally have few rights and are unable to access health or education services.

If we accept asylum seekers, aren't we supporting people smuggling?
People smuggling is a crime, but asylum seekers are not criminals. It is possible to address the issue people smuggling without eroding the rights of desperate people trying to seek asylum. The Australian Government needs to tackle the reasons why people flee in the first place, and work in the region to help provide durable protection space for asylum seekers and refugees.

Are refugees a threat to national security?
No. Asylum seekers are threatened, not a threat. All asylum seekers who come to Australia undergo thorough security checks by ASIO. If they are found to have committed a serious crime, they are denied refugee status.

Don't they steal Australian jobs?
Refugees make up a very small number of the total migrants coming to Australia every year (about 7%). As such their impact on Australian jobs is minimal, and overall refugees have been shown to have a positive economic impact so have probably helped to create new jobs.

They don't assimilate and have nothing to contribute to our society. Aren't they all on welfare?
Australia prides itself on being a multicultural nation, and the vast majority of Australians descend from migrants. Refugees are amongst the most motivated migrants in Australia. They have fled persecution and risked their lives to get here.

Throughout history, refugees have contributed to their new homes in positive and meaningful ways. A short list of refugees who have contributed positively to their new country:

• Albert Einstein (German-Jewish refugee)
• Jelena Dokic (Tennis player, Serbian refugee)
• Jackie Chan (Fled Hong Kong after being threatened by the Triads)
• Isabel Allende (author, fled Chile after receiving death threats)
• Jesus (fled from Israel because King Herod was trying to kill him)

Some refugees do require some initial support to settle in, such as language training, counselling and rent assistance. But after the initial settling in period refugees are not eligible for any more financial benefits than non-refugee Australians. Refugees ultimately have a positive impact on our economy and our society.

Questions for Amnesty International

What is Amnesty International doing?
We are countering the misinformation that surrounds this issue, and mobilising our supporters to take action. We believe the government needs to be reminded that Australia is a compassionate nation and ultimately values human rights.

What does Amnesty International expect the government to do?
We expect the government to show proper leadership on this issue; to act rationally and in accordance with its international human rights obligations. Instead of pandering to misinformed public hysteria, the government should make policy based on a sophisticated understanding of what is a global situation. A key step is balancing the rights of asylum seekers and border integrity is to work with countries in the region and help them to provide adequate protection to asylum seekers and refugees in their borders.