Monthly Wrap May 2024

In the media

Boat arrivals

Chinese nationals who reached the Kimberley coast by boat, and were labelled asylum seekers by the media, stated that they were seeking economic opportunity. At the time of their arrival, an ABC reporter provided an insight into local reaction to the situation.  

In detention

Sayed Abdellatif’s twelve years in immigration detention has ended after the Immigration Minister granted him a temporary protection visa. One of the people released after the High Court unlawful detention ruling is in custody on charges of a violent home invasion. Separately, another former immigration detainee was cleared of all sexual assault charges after the prosecution failed to provide any evidence in court.  The High Court has adjourned in the matter of ASF17, a case to clarify the lawfulness of ongoing detention where a person does not cooperate in the deportation process.

In the community

One of the people killed by the Bondi Junction attacker was a Pakistani refugee who was working his  first day shift as a security guard.

International

The UNHCR and the Asia Venture Philanthropy Network have partnered to create innovative financing programs to support initiatives that improve the lives of forcibly displaced people in the Asia-Pacific region. The EU Parliament approved the New Pact on Migration and Asylum, which mandates countries to cooperate on the reception and relocation of asylum seekers to reduce pressure on the southern states. The UK government passed legislation to enable the implementation of their policy to send asylum seekers to Rwanda. Cyprus suspended asylum applications from Syrians in response to an increase in arrivals. Azerbaijan asked the International Court of Justice to dismiss an Armenian case that alleges ethnic cleansing is occurring in the Nagorno-Karabagh region.  

In policy

A Senate Inquiry has been told that legislation, which criminalises a person’s refusal to cooperate with the deportation process, could inadvertently affect 4,463 people on Bridging Visa E. The Human Rights Commission’s latest inspection report on the Yongah Hill Detention Centre highlighted serious safety concerns from behaviours that are common to a prison system and inadequate health care.    

In research

Research commissioned by the Queensland government found more than 6,000 refugees and migrants have qualifications that match current skill shortage areas but cannot gain employment in those fields. It charts a way forward to enable appropriately skilled refugees and migrants to access employment in their field of expertise. The International Association of Refugee and Migration Judges (IARMJ) called for papers for their 2024 Asia-Pacific Conference.

Monthly Wrap April 2024

In the media

NZYQ High Court decision

In the wake of the High Court’s determination that indefinite detention is unlawful, lawyers believe that the government is settling cases out of court in order to prevent the lawfulness of curfews and ankle bracelets being tested in court. The AFP mistakenly arrested an Iraqi refugee based on incorrect information. This follows last month’s wrongful arrest, by Victoria Police, of a former immigration detainee in Melbourne.

Detention

Guardian Australia revealed that Serco, the contractor that runs immigration detention, uses a software program to determine the risk rating of detainees. The risk rating is used to decide how a person is managed in detention and has been found to have frequently been based on erroneous information.

Nauru and PNG

The coronial inquest into the death of Faysal Ishak, on Manus Island in 2016, heard how he was repeatedly dismissed by the contracted medical provider, IHMS, in the weeks leading up to his death. Hundreds of refugees, who were subjected to offshore processing, have passed 5 years since they were placed on rolling 6-month bridging visas.

Community

Hazara women in Shepparton have established the first Afghan-based Rural Australians for Refugees group in Australia. Despite Australia’s persistent skill shortage challenge, skilled refugees still find it difficult to secure work in their field of expertise.

International

According to the latest Missing Migrants Project report, more than 63,000 people died or disappeared on migration routes in the last ten years. The majority drowned. The UNHCR reported a 20% jump in philanthropic support for refugees from Islamic communities in 2023. Around 70 Rohingya people are feared drowned after their boat capsized off Indonesia. The UNHCR published new guidance on international protection for people fleeing Haiti.

In policy

The government rushed through legislation that criminalises a failure to cooperate in the deportation process, but the legislation has not yet passed the Senate. The legislation expands the Immigration Minister’s power and was passed through the lower house without any opportunity for debate.

New releases

Statelessness in Asia, edited by Michelle Foster, Jaclyn Neo and Christoph Sperfeldt, published by Cambridge University Press

Monthly Wrap March 2024

In the media

In Nauru and Papua New Guinea

A review into how offshore contracts were awarded found that inadequate due diligence resulted in large contracts being awarded to people involved in crime and corruption. The approximately 40 people who arrived by boat in Beagle Bay, Western Australia, were transferred to Nauru. Residents of Beagle Bay spoke of their dehydration and the frequency with which they see foreign fishing boats at sea. The Border Force Commissioner issued a statement on the level of funding for Operation Sovereign Borders after Peter Dutton claimed that their budget had been cut.

Rwandan Genocidaires in Australia

The Guardian published a number of stories on the Rwandan genocidaires living in Australia, and an apparent lack of action by Australian governments to deport them.

Overseas

The ABC published a pictorial of the fire that destroyed more than 7,000 informal homes in Cox’s Bazar. A Sudanese refugee tested Spain’s assertion that people could apply for asylum at a Spanish embassy rather than trying to enter Spain without a visa. A former Russian commander of the Wagner paramilitary group was refused asylum in Norway. ABC’s Religion and Ethics report discussed the allegation that asylum seekers in the UK were falsely converting to Christianity in order to boost their refugee application.

In policy

The commonwealth ombudsman issued a scathing assessment of Australian Border Force’s deportation procedures, including an apparent lack of procedural response to the recent High Court ruling.  The Attorney General asked the High Court to rule on the lawfulness of detention in situations where the individual refuses to cooperate in the deportation process. Legal experts warned that the new preventative detention powers could be unlawful on the basis of contravening human rights obligations. The University sector is lobbying for a program that would enable refugees to apply to come to Australia for study.

In research

Researchers considered the situation of refugees who remain in situ after the UNHCR has withdrawn from a refugee camp, and the extent to which those communities can access the safeguards under the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage. A collective of NGOs and scholars published guidelines on the how to co-design research with refugees and displaced people. The UNSW Kaldor Centre mapped the use of hotels as places of detention in Australia.

New releases

Damage: a story of refugees and refuge, a film by Madeleine Blackwell, starring Ali Al Jenabi (who was convicted of people smuggling in 2004). 

Monthly Wrap February 2024

In the media

In Court

A man, who forced a refugee to work in slave like conditions, was sentenced to more than 3 years in prison. Three High Court cases were abandoned after the government dropped the requirement for the plaintiffs to wear ankle bracelets.

In Nauru and PNG

A businesswoman with links to Australia’s offshore refugee program in PNG faced court on drug smuggling charges. A number of the people who were transferred from Australia to Nauru in September 2023 have returned to their countries of origin.

In Gaza

Confirmation that UNRWA had terminated the contracts of staff who were allegedly involved in the Hamas attack on Israel caused a number of countries, including Australia, to pause funding to the UN agency.

In Indonesia

The Australian Federal Court ordered the government to pay compensation to Indonesian people who were charged with people smuggling and jailed as adults on the basis of a flawed age testing technique. Acehnese people have become increasingly hostile to the arrival of Rohingya people as the government has adopted a hard-line approach to dealing with their plight.

In policy

Legal experts have raised doubts about the need for the Preventative Detention legislation that was rushed through parliament in December. Human Rights Watch criticised Australia’s treatment of people seeking asylum and the conditions under which Australia detains them. Guardian Australia profiled the Community Refugee Integration and Settlement Pilot CRISP and some of the families who have settled in Australia through this pathway.

In research

The UNSW Kaldor Centre has commenced a 5-year research program into ‘Evacuations in International Law: Disasters, Conflict and Humanitarian Crises,' including the creation of Laureate Postdoctoral Fellowships.

New releases

Prosecuting Evil, a documentary on the last surviving prosecutor of the Nuremberg trials, available on ABC iview.

Australian Epic: The Tampa, a re-telling of the events that unfolded when the MV Tampa rescued refugees at sea, available on ABC iview.

Back Roads Naracoorte, a program on the small South Australian community that has embraced refugees, available on ABC iview.

Monthly Wrap December 2023

In the media

In Court

The High Court ruling, that the continued detention of people who cannot be deported is unlawful, resulted in the release of over 140 people and legislation rushed through Parliament. That new legislation was immediately challenged in the High Court. The Federal Court ordered the immediate release of a refugee who had been detained for over 11 years.

In Gaza

UNRWA, who have the mandate for the care of Palestinian refugees, warned that the conflict may result in over 1 million people becoming refugees. The ABC published an explainer on the repeated shelling of refugee camps in Gaza by the Israeli Defence Force. 

In PNG and Nauru

The government agreed to settle a negligence claim brought on behalf of an infant that became seriously ill while detained on Nauru. The eviction risk for the men who remain in PNG remains unresolved as the PNG government calls for further funding from the Australian government.

Afghans in Pakistan

Pakistan’s policy to forcibly return 1.7 million undocumented Afghans has resulted in many thousands of people living in tents as winter takes hold. NGOs have blamed western governments, including Australia, for abandoning Afghan people. Al Jazeera published a story on the options that Afghan people face.

International

Finland closed four border crossings with Russia to decrease the number of asylum seekers and undocumented migrants entering the country. Italy secured a deal with Albania whereby they would detain and process asylum seekers on Italy’s behalf. The UK Supreme Court ruled the Rwanda deal was unconstitutional and Austria stated its intention to pursue a similar policy. People entering Greece to claim asylum reported that they were subjected to invasive strip searches on arrival. Cate Blanchett urged the European Parliament to return humanity to the core of asylum policy. Refugees fleeing Darfur reported ethnically based killings amidst the ongoing fighting in Sudan. Canada’s new skilled refugees pilot program was criticised for potentially setting a dangerous precedent if refugees are assessed on their skills rather than their protection needs.

In policy

In response to the High Court ruling, the government announced its intention to pass preventative detention legislation in the final sitting week. Documents tabled in the Senate showed the Attorney-General approved the Human Rights Commission’s request to intervene in the High Court case, as it is required to do. Independent MP Kylea Tink introduced a bill to place a 90 day time limit on immigration detention and to ban the detention of children. The Refugee Council of Australia published their letter to government outlining their concerns on the new immigration detention legislation. The UN Special Rapporteur on Torture urged the government to address the failures of contracted businesses to ensure detention centres are safe for detainees and staff.  The UNHCR published the program and papers for December’s Global Refugee Forum in Geneva.

In research

The Australian Institute for Health and Welfare published research into the health service use, health outcomes and causes of death for people who sought safe haven in Australia. A collaboration between Universities and NGOs researched the impact that Covid-19 measures had on refugee and migrant communities access to justice. The Human Rights Law Centre, in the UK, published an assessment of the first six months of the Streamlined Asylum Process.

New releases

Evacuation, a documentary on the British evacuation of Afghans in 2021