Policy about International Covenant the Australian - Research Paper Example

POLICY RESEARCH PAPER CABINET Number “Insert number here” Copy number “Insert Copy Number here” SECURITY THREATS POSED TO AUSTRALIA BY ILLEGAL ASSYLUM SEEKERS Minister “Insert name here” Purpose (a) To analyze the threats posed by illegal asylum seekers entering Australia through its borders, both at sea and at land (b) To assist the government in developing and implementing appropriate immigrant laws in order to safeguard the sovereignty of Australia and enhance the security of its citizens. (c) To help the government establish considerate policies and laws regarding refugees and asylum seekers. The government has to follow the recommendations of the United Nations High Commissions for Refugees. Program context (a) Asylum seekers enter Australia mainly through the sea using makeshift boats. Some immigrants arrived in ships and planes. (b) Most asylum seekers originate from Africa and Asia and flee from war or destitution. Some, especially those escaping from Cry Lanka, could be escaping the effects of floods and Muslim radicalism ideologies. (c) This paper analyzes the effects brought about by asylum seekers and possible security threats. Relation to Existing Policy (a) under The Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees 1954, it is the duty of everyone to conform to the laws and regulations of a country where they find themselves in (where they seek asylum). (b) Under the Migration Act 1958, asylum seekers arriving in Australia without a visa must be held in detention until they obtain visa or until they are removed from Australia. (c) The Migration Legislation Amendment Act 1989 provides for mandatory deportation of illegal entrants. Funds may be recovered from such entrants to meet cost of their detention and deportation. Sensitivity/Criticism (a) The Austrian policies on refugees and asylum seekers is unfairly discriminative in nature; more punitively treating illegal entrants who arrived in the country using boats. (b) Australian policies regarding asylum seekers and refugees are abusive or ignore individuals or organizations willing and able to be hospitable to new entrants (c) Australian policies regarding asylum seekers and refugees are particularly harsh and potentially harmful to juveniles. Significant Dates/Events (a) On 2nd April, 1954, the Petrov Affair was commenced. This followed from the events that promped Vladmir Petrov of Russia to deflect from his country and seek asylum in Australia. The Asylum was granted. (b) On 13th December 1973, Australia acceded to the protocol relating to the status of refugees (c) On 29 August 2001, Australia introduced the border protection bill, which amongst other things, authorized the Australian government to remove any ships found within its territorial waters. (d) On 3rd September 2001, Operation Relax commences. This operation was meant to interdict any and all vessels carrying asylum seekers. The operation was led by The Defense Forces; in a period not exceeding one month, 13 vessels were interdicted. (e) On 23rd October 2002, the Australian government selected a committee to investigate the Tampa affair, SIEV X and the Pacific Solution. The committee found out that children had been thrown overboard a foreign ship. Consultation ministers (a) Minister for Immigration (b) Minister for Planning and Finance (c) Minister for Foreign Affairs Is there agreement? (a) There is agreement that the policies and laws regarding refugees and asylum seekers in Australia need to be reviewed. These laws need comprehensive reviews in order to reflect the changing humanitarian conditions and laws. (b) Whereas any given country has the right and freedom to design its own laws and regulations regarding asylum seekers, countries should never be excused for undermining the rights of children and juveniles; whether they are native or refugees. (c) The laws and regulations regarding refugees and asylum seekers should be reviewed in such a way that it considers the needs and concerns of humans. Though harshness and strictness is supposed to aid the process of reducing potentially harmful individuals, due regard should be given to the human life and dignity. Evaluation Strategy (a) To evaluate the effects of asylum seekers on the security of the people of Australia, it would be necessary to analyze the security situation and provide the link between the security situation and the influx of asylum seekers. (b) To effectively evaluate the effect of asylum seekers and refugees on Australia, it is important to analyze the scholarly articles written in different times addressing the same issue. (c) Implementation follows immediately after evaluation. Evaluation, therefore, needs to be accurate and reflective of the situation on the ground to avoid making wrong, hasty and potentially harmful decisions. THE THREAT POSED BY ASSYLUM SEEKERS ON THE SECURITY OF OUR NATION Protect Our Borders Campaign October 15th, 2014, Melbourne, Australia There has been a significant increase in the number of men, women and children originating from different parts of the world, who cross into Australia illegally. These individuals fail to inform the government of their arrival, their purpose of visit, their duration of visit, their countries of origin and their motivations. The government of the Commonwealth of Australia cannot assume benevolent intentions by these individuals. Many social help organizations and humanitarian aid groups argue that these people flea their countries of origin into Australia to seek asylum, but there is no certainty that asylum is what they truly sought. The increase in recent times of attacks on the Australian soil and rise in incidences of insecurity within the country are thought to have a direct correlation with illegal asylum seekers. Whereas the Commonwealth of Australia is responsive of the fact that some counties experience great humanitarian challenges that force some of its citizens to flee to other countries, it is not oblivious of the fact that terrorist can grab the opportunity and seek asylum under the pretence of desperation - yet they are driven by more sinister internal motives. Of significant concern to Australia is the rice in number of supporters of the radical Islamic state. Though the law enforcers will remain vigilant to thwart as many terror attacks as possible, the intentions of this country going forward is to eradicate terrorism by eliminating all its possible instigators. The fact that the country faces numerous security threats due to the increase in the number of illegal immigrants is not a myth. As a country, there are several issues that have not yet been addressed; our aim at the moment is to solve these issues. Unless and until we address our own social problems amicably, we do not intend to shift our attention to international matters that are frivolous to us. We, therefore, have determined that increasing surveillance at our borders and territorial waters as well as increasing screening at our airports and other entry points is necessary to curb the problem of increased illegal immigration. Our nation is our pride and our heritage and we must be willing, ready and able to stand in its defense in times of need. Immigrants illegally present within the country will be found and kept in detention camps before being deported back to their countries of origin. It should, however, be noted that the intentions of Australia to engage in anti illegal immigrations campaign are inspired by the general need to guarantee Australians and legal visitors’ security. We understand that, even within our people, there are some who have individualistic rather than altruist intentions. There are those who engage in criminal activities against their mother land. Regardless of their motivation and or intention, these individuals, too, will be found and brought to book. We envision a more peaceful Australia. Literature review According to Cornelius (2001a), the efficacy of immigration control policies in any given country is influenced by the quality of research that informed those policies. There is a need to conduct appropriate research on the issue of illegal immigration, determine all the facts on the ground and provide appropriate and relevant recommendations (Cornelius, 2001a). This is vital as it prevents formation of policies that bring unintended consequences while handling immigration related problems. Many countries have failed to achieve the objectives stipulated in their illegal immigrants’ policies and strategies due to political decadence, laxity and lack of aggression. Cornelius (2005b) argues that any properly formulated strategy should be subjected to strict implementations and monitoring, otherwise the process of creating the policies would be a waste of both time and resources. The implementation stage of a policy is the critical stage and must be thoroughly regulated and monitored to achieve desired outcomes (Cornelius, 2005b). Fekete (2009) argues that, even though the issue of asylum seekers is critical to the security of a nation, there is need to implement policies that prevent harm to innocent immigrants. It is recommended that the detention camps should be safe for individuals honestly seeking asylum (Feteke, 2009). Feteke further argues that the illegal immigrants’ detention camps should be under close surveillance in order to adequately monitor the immigrants (Feteke, 2009). Guerette and Clarke (2005) maintain that illegal entries into different countries play a pivotal role in smuggling drugs and enhancing criminal activity. Though he uses the Mexican US border for his analysis, he concludes that the activities within this border are reminiscent activities in many other inter country borders. Hutton (2012) attempted to provide a tabular record of SIEV deaths at four levels of veracity, including confirmed, probable, doubtful and disproven between 1998 and 2011. According to Hutton (2012) table, there have been approximately 456 ‘confirmed’ deaths, 207-217 ‘probable’ deaths, 380 ‘doubtful’ deaths and 183 ‘disproven deaths. Jimenez (2009) recommends the use of inter-country strategies to protect the human rights and dignity of asylum seekers. The harsh and undignified treatment of humans due to the mere fact that they belong to different nationalities is not only regrettable, but also unacceptable (Jimenez, 2009). Referring to the US-Mexico border, Jimenez proposes that countries should come together and foster mutual relationships by removing physical or geographical borders. Kevin (2011) argues that the Australian government, through the Australian Border Protection System, has a role to play in preventing the loss of lives of asylum seekers at sea. Though the risk of attack by Suspected Irregular Entry Vessels is eminent, policies should be put in place to ensure that there is no loss of innocent lives at sea, especially for those genuinely seeking asylum (Kevin, 2011). According to Nevins (2013), there is need to concentrate on all issues pertaining to the human rights violations and not just the loss of lives and the statistics relating to these effects. An understanding of the human rights situation at the border as it influences migrants beyond the matter of migrant deaths has vital moral and political connotations for academic and policy analysts concerned with the well-being of unauthorized immigrants (Nevins, 2013). Weber observes that humanitarian aid bodies and other non-governmental organizations have continued to play an important role in aiding asylum seekers and in providing all the data relating to deaths of asylum seekers at sea. NGOs are the only organizations within this country that have taken it upon themselves to monitor and mourn the many deaths occurring at the borders (Weber, 2010). There is need to eliminate social exclusion and denial and other processes that prevent the appropriate identification of the mistreatment and deaths of asylum seekers (Weber, 2010). Weber and Pickering (2011) consider a possible correlation between border deaths and border policies. A country’s border policies should be a bit relaxed and reflective of the humanitarian rights (Weber and Pickering, 2011). Extra judicial border killings (for instance the sinking of the SIEV X that resulted in many deaths, including children) are unnecessary and uncalled for (Weber and Pickering 2011). The global policies concerning human rights and refugees should be reviewed to reflect a general concern for the well being of the inhabitants of the world as a whole. Australia continues to be the favorite destination for refugees emanating from Asia; specifically the Asian countries of Afghanistan and Iraq (Harper, 2008). They have, however, continued to receive little assistance even as they cross into Australia and have been accused of propagating the Islamic state ideologies (Harper, 2008). There is need to view asylum seekers with a humanitarian eye (Harper, 2008). Not all asylum seekers pose security threat to the country. There is need to distinguish myth from facts if sustainable development and adequate fight against global ills is to be achieved. According to Hoffman (2010), refugees face despicable challenges in their quest to find asylum both while occupying a particular country and during their journey to that particular country (Hoffman, 2010). From 1999 to 2001, thousands of Iraqi immigrants fled their countries to foreign nations in the hope that they would find peace and better lives as Iraq had become hostile and inhabitable due to violent wars (Hoffman, 2010). The problem of asylum seekers and illegal immigrants can be addressed amicably if individual countries addressed such issues as war and famine. The increase in the number of Sri Lankans seeking asylum abroad such as in Australia is due to the escalation of internal feuds (Hellmann-Rajanayagam, 2007). Wars and internal feuds have negative effects on development and growth; the more they persist, the more negative the effects (Hellmann-Rajanayagam). There is evidence that any country can change from being peaceful to a warring, overnight, and how one treats genuine asylum seekers can determine how they get treated when their time of trouble comes. According to Hellmann-Rajanayagam (2007), humans should exist together to help one another especially during crises. According to Taylor and Rafferty-Brown (2010), most Asian immigrants wishing to travel to Australia go through Indonesia where they experience numerous humanitarian challenges. Refugees in Indonesia go through a lot of difficulty in getting recognition as refugees as they cannot get easy access to UNHCR’s refugee status determination process (Taylor and Rafferty-Brown, 2010). These problems persist even as they enter Australia; there is need, therefore, to influence the making of considerate refugees and immigrant policies Under the International Covenant, the Australia government has a duty to safeguard the lives of those seeking asylum within its borders. Asylum seekers apprehended through Indo-Australian policies should never be subjected to undignified treat (Taylor, 2010). They should, rather, be deported back to their countries of origin or kept in dignified concentration camps. According to Selvamalar (2010), women and children suffer the most in concentration camps across different countries in different times. The UNHCR should influence countries to adopt reasonable asylum seekers laws and policies (Selvamalar, 2010). Although different methods have been used in Australia to educate young refugees in, little has been done to improve on these methods and systems (Bond, Giddens, Cosentino, Cook, and Hoban, 2007). In order to benefit the nation of Australia, education systems for young refugees and newly arrived individuals should impart the Australian culture and should be reviewed from time to time. The Australian government should consider using peaceful education in order to inspire the young generation. A forceful education program will impart negative attitudes and beliefs. References Bond, L., Giddens, A., Cosentino, A., Cook, M. and Hoban, P., 2007.  Changing cultures: enhancing mental health and wellbeing of refugee young people through education and training. Promotion and Education, 14(3), pp. 143-149. Cornelius, W., 2001.  Death at the border: Efficacy and unintended consequences of US 1993- 2004. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 31(4), pp. 775-794. Cornelius, W., 2005.  Controlling ‘unwanted’ immigration: Lessons from the United States immigration control policy. Population and Development Review, 27(4), pp. 661-685. Fekete, L., 2009. Europe’s shame: A report on 105 deaths linked to racism or government migration and asylum policies, European Race Bulletin, 66, Winter 2009, London, Institute of Race Relations, [online] Available at: [Accessed 10 October 2014]. Guerette R. and Clarke, R. V., 2005.  Border enforcement: Organized crime and deaths of smuggled migrants on the United States-Mexico border. European Journal of Criminal Policy and Research, 11(2), pp. 159-174. Harper, A., 2008. Iraq’s refugees: ignored and unwanted. International Review of the Red Cross ,[online] Available at: [Accessed 10 October 2014]. Hellmann-Rajanayagam, D., 2007.  Drawing in Treacle: Mediation Efforts in Sri Lanka, 1983 to 2007: Internationales Asien Forum, International Quarterly for Asian Studies, [online] Available at: [Accessed 10 October 2014]. Hoffman, S., 2010. Fear, insecurity and risk: refugee journeys from Iraq to Australia, PhD thesis, Murdoch University, Perth, [online] Available at: [Accessed 10 October 2014]. Hutton M., 2012.  Drownings on the public record of people attempting to enter Australia immigration control policy. Population and Development Review, 27(4), pp. 661-685. Jimenez, M., 2009.  Humanitarian crisis: Migrant deaths at the US-Mexico border, American Journal of Human Rights [P], 15(2), pp. 35-58. Kevin, T., 2011.  The four lost SIEVs, Canberra, October 16, 2011. Available at: migration and asylum policies, European Race Bulletin, 66, Winter 2009, London, Institute of Race Relations, [online] Available at: [Accessed 10 October 2014]. Nevins, J., 2003. Thinking out of bounds: A critical analysis of academic and human rights Palgrave Macmillan,[online] Available at: [Accessed 10 October 2014]. Selvamalar, A., 2010.  Challenges Faced by Women Refugees in Initiating Entrepreneurial smuggled migrants on the United States-Mexico border. European Journal of Criminal Policy and Research, 11(2), pp. 159-174. Taylor S. and Rafferty-Brown, B., 2010.  Difficult Journeys: Accessing Refugee Protection in Indonesia. Monash University Law Review, 36(3), pp. 138-161. Taylor, S., 2010.  Australian Funded Care and Maintenance of Asylum Seekers in Indonesia and PNG: All Care but No Responsibility? UNSW Law Journal, 33(2), pp. 337-359. Weber, L. and Pickering, S., 2011. Globalisation and Borders: Death at the Global Frontier, Palgrave Macmillan,[online] Available at: [Accessed 10 October 2014]. Weber, L., 2010.  Knowing-and-yet-not-knowing about European border deaths. Australian Journal of Human Rights [P], 15(2), pp. 35-58. Read More