CURRENT ISSUES - INTERNATIONAL

INTRODUCTION

Refugees around the world are some of the most vulnerable people who invariably do not receive protection from their own countries or even once they have sought asylum in a second or third country.

The world refugee situation today is more pressing than ever with the UNHCR recording the highest numbers of refugees and displaced people under its mandate in the agency’s 57-year history. In 2007 UNHCR cared for 25.1 million refugees and displaced people, up by 10% from 2006 and a figure which is set to continually rise. The typical push factor has largely been conflict, however in recent years, forced displacement is being exasperated by rising food prices, climate change and a worldwide economic slowdown. People fleeing Iraq and Afghanistan made up the biggest cohort of people escaping their homelands for a better life.

REFUGEES – THE GLOBAL PICTURE

Worldwide at the end of 2007 there were around 25.1 million refugees and internally displaced people falling under UNHCR’s protection. The actual number of refugees and internally displaced people requiring assistance is of course much higher and is estimated to be around 67 million.

Where are refugees and internally displaced people living? In 2007 roughly one third of all refugees were living in countries in Asia and the Pacific, with around 80% of these being Afghans. The Middle East and North Africa hosted around a third of all refugees and asylum seekers, principally from Iraq, while Africa and Europe hosted respectively 20 and 14 per cent of the world’s refugees.

The top ten countries of origin as of Jan 1 2007 (Source UNHCR):

Afghanistan 2,108,000
Iraq 1,451,000
Sudan 686,000
Somalia 464,000
DR Congo 402,000
Burundi 397,000
Viet Nam 374,000
Turkey 227,000
Angola 207,000
Myanmar 203,000

The UNHCR has a focus on finding durable solutions for refugees. This takes the form of a) voluntary repatriation to the home country b) resettlement in another country and c) finding appropriate permanent integration mechanisms in the country of asylum.

Resettlement is a vital instrument of protection and durable solution. Resettlement under UNHCR auspices is geared primarily to the special needs of refugees under the Office’s mandate whose life, liberty, safety, health or other fundamental human rights are at risk in the country where they sought refuge. It is also considered a durable solution, in particular circumstances, for refugees who do not have immediate protection concerns.

The decision to resettle a refugee is normally taken, with priority, when there is no alternative way to guarantee the legal or physical security of the person concerned. In light of this, the common description of resettlement as a “last resort” should not be interpreted to mean there is a hierarchy of solutions and that resettlement is the least valuable or needed among them. For many refugees, resettlement is, in fact, the best – or perhaps, only – alternative. See the UNHCR Resettlement Handbook.

RCOA INVOLVEMENT IN INTERNATIONAL ADVOCACY

Each year a representative from the Refugee Council of Australia attends the annual United Nations Commissioner for Refugees Executive Committee meetings as well as UNHCR's annual NGO Consultations (Pre ExCom) and Annual Tripartite Consultations on Resettlement (ATCR) in Geneva. These meetings are an opportunity for the community sector to put forward issues of concern to the peak international agency mandated to lead and coordinate international action to protect refugees and resolve refugee problems worldwide. To see the Refugee Council’s reports of previous years' meetings, click here.

Participation in UNHCR's 2008 NGO Consultations and Annual Tripartite Consultations on Resettlement

In June and July 2008, UNHCR held its Annual Consultations with NGOs, June Standing Committee meeting and Annual Tripartite Consultations on Resettlement (ATCR). RCOA Board Members Paris Aristotle (Director, Foundation House), Jenny Semple (Secretary, National Council of Migrant Resource and Settlement Agencies) and Melika Sheikh-Eldin (Manager, AMES Victoria), together with RCOA’s National Policy Director, Anna Samson, represented the Council at these meetings convened in Geneva, Switzerland.

RCOA’s participation in the meetings was undertaken in coalition with the Australian Refugee Rights Alliance (ARRA), an umbrella group of Australian NGOs who engage in advocacy at an international level with and on behalf of refugees in Australia and the region. The forums are viewed as important opportunities for improving partnerships between NGOs, UNHCR and states and influencing the tenor and direction of international responses to refugee crises.

More than 100 NGOs from around the world attended the NGO Consultations that focused on the intersection between the 60th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the spirit of the Refugee Convention, both of which emphasise the right of every person to seek and enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution. The Refugee Council’s representatives and other ARRA members contributed most markedly to discussions regarding:
• Efforts to accommodate and manage the deteriorating refugee crisis caused by the ongoing war in Iraq, including pursuing effective resettlement options;
• The development of a UNHCR policy and implementation guidelines regarding urban refugee populations;
• Sharing expertise in the successful use of alternative human rights mechanisms to obtain protection for persons of concern;
• The expansion of protection mechanisms for internally displaced people, including resettlement options for women at risk and other highly vulnerable groups;
• Promotion of the Heightened Risk Assessment Tool as developed and road-tested by University of NSW’s Centre for Refugee Research, Amnesty International Australia and the Federation of Australian Services for Survivors of Torture and Trauma (FASSTT);
• Statelessness;
• Detention of undocumented migrants;
• The challenges of creating protection space in states with large refugee populations that are not parties to the Refugee Convention, many of which are located within Asia and the Pacific;
• Protection for unaccompanied and separated children;
• Budget priorities for UNHCR; and
• The development of an Asia-Pacific network of NGOs to provide support and work on regional refugee campaigns.

The ATCR provided an opportunity to not only share the expertise and experience of Australia as a relatively major player among resettlement states, but for the Refugee Council to promote innovative solutions and approaches for creating sound settlement outcomes. Paris Aristotle co-chaired a workshop on resettlement of refugees with medical needs, highlighting the benefits of focusing on establishing effective settlement strategies to accommodate mental health needs rather than attempting to structure referral procedures that pre-emptively assess integration potential for individuals who have experienced trauma.

Melika Sheikh-Eldin and Anna Samson co-facilitated a workshop on strategies for sustainable employment outcomes for refugees. Melika’s presentation of the programs she has developed and implemented with refugees across a range of different skill levels piqued the interest of UNHCR High Commissioner, Antonio Guterres, who commented positively on the initiatives. The Director of UNHCR’s Resettlement Service, Vincent Cochetel, has subsequently invited Melika to assist UNHCR in the further implementation of the Heightened Risk Assessment Tool among Eritrean refugees in Sudan. Other areas of interest included the strategic use of resettlement, implementation of sensitive family reunion policies, development of a toolkit and twinning arrangements to assist new resettlement countries, operationalising the Conclusions on women and girls at risk and children at risk, and resettlement in the Iraqi context.

The Refugee Council also participated in the drafting of the NGO Statements presented at the UNHCR Standing Committee meeting, with the Council’s National Policy Director having the opportunity to read the NGO Statement on Resettlement.

INTERNATIONAL REFUGEE ISSUES

The most significant issue facing refugees, asylum seekers and internally displaced people is their need for protection. The UNHCR has a responsibility to provide protection to those falling under its mandate however sovereign states also have an obligation to protect their citizens against harm. It is when states are unable or unwilling to do this that the responsibility falls on the international community to assist and who then must decide at what point an international intervention should occur.

In many countries around the world, a growing number of governments have introduced tighter “border security” measures which restrict opportunities for people to access asylum. This trend has been most marked in Europe, where many nations, despite being signatories to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, have introduced policies which seek to limit their responsibilities to people seeking to escape persecution, mirroring the worst aspects of recent Australian policy. Consequently millions of refugees are being left stranded elsewhere with little protection and no long-term solution.

Finally, another significant issue faced by refugees, asylum seekers and internally displaced people today includes the increasing role that climate change and consequent environmental degradation, extreme deprivation and conflict are becoming major push factors for people fleeing their homelands.

In June 2008, UNHCR High Commissioner Antonio Guterres highlighted climate change as being one of the most significant factors influencing people’s decision to move. Climate change is having an enormous impact on many parts of the world in the form of increased droughts and other natural disasters. Guterres added that the inter-linkage between the environment, the economy and conflict and security issues is becoming more and more serious. It is becoming more and more difficult to separate and identify the main reason people are forced to leave their countries. In many instances it is a combination of all these factors.

ROLE OF AUSTRALIAN NGOs

Australian non-government organisations (NGOs) play an important role in assisting refugees and internally displaced people in their resettlement. Australian NGOs have also been crucial in supporting larger organisations like UNHCR in providing on the ground support for humanitarian disasters such as the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami.

Examples of Australian NGOs assisting refugees overseas include:

• Austcare

Austcare has worked in more than 30 countries over the last 40 years. The organisation’s mission is to work with people affected by conflict and natural disaster to build human security. This encompasses their core values of integrity, innovation, effectiveness, responsiveness, inclusiveness, engagement and empowerment. Their priority areas are protection, community resilience and capacity development, conflict sensitive development and peace building, disaster management and emergency response, mine action and the prevention of armed violence, research, knowledge management and advocacy.

• Australian Council for International Development (ACFID)

The Australian Council for International Development (ACFID) is an independent national association of Australian non-government organisations (NGOs) working in the field of international aid and development.
www.acfid.asn.au

• Australian Lutheran World Service

The Australian Lutheran World Service (ALWS) is the overseas aid and resettlement agency of the Lutheran Church of Australia. They engage in projects both in Australia and abroad with the aim of relieving human suffering and poverty.

In Australia, ALWS’ work relates to resettlement support provided to refugees and others ‘at risk' who have come to Australia under the Australian government's Humanitarian Migration Program. The primary means of assistance offered by ALWS to refugees and other recent entrants is the provision of loans. The purposes for which the loans are given can be broken down into three categories helping refugees and the displaced settle into Australia – these loans are designed to help new arrivals buy the basics necessary to set up a new home and meet essential expenditures. The loan purpose is generally limited to the purchase of household items (eg. beds, fridge), with requests for assistance to meet education and medical expenses being considered on a case-by-case basis, helping reunite families – these loans aim to assist sponsors in meeting the costs of these airfares and thereby enabling families to be reunited in Australia. ALWS works in cooperation with the International Organisation for Migration, which is an agency that specialises in migration and travel assistance for refugees, getting established in Australia – these loans provide access to capital (funds) to enable applicants to establish a small business. These loans must be for business-related purposes, and applications will generally only be considered where the applicant has been unable to secure funding from a bank or other 'mainstream' financial institution.

ALWS also has an Overseas Program focused in seven countries: Cambodia, Mozambique, Nepal, Sudan, Kenya, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. ALWS works in partnership with the Lutheran World Federation’s (LWF) Department for World Service (in the first five countries listed), LWF member churches in Indonesia and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Papua New Guinea. ALWS has a coordinating office in Lae, Papua New Guinea. LWS also responds to emergencies in partnership with Action by Churches Together International (ACT/I).

A variety of resources is available from ALWS, including annual reports, brochures, powerpoint presentations, print materials dealing with different development issues and a wide range of school resources.

• The Australian National Committee for Refugee Women (ANCORW)

The Australian National Committee on Refugee Women (ANCORW) was established as a vehicle for supporting refugee women, both within Australia and internationally. It is a lobbying, advocacy and research group which works with and for refugee women and their families.
By working with the strengths and knowledge of refugee communities to identify issues and gaps in settlement services, ANCORW aims to inform settlement policy in Australia and internationally. ANCORW supports women through the provision of advocacy training and by providing opportunities for refugee women to participate in national and international forums.

ANCORW’s key activities include advocacy at a national level, which involves lobbying for changes in domestic law, social policy and improved service provision, advocacy at an international level, which involves lobbying at the United Nations for changes in international law, conducting research into issues which adversely affect the lives of refugee women and their children, creating opportunities for refugee women to participate in national and international forums, providing advocacy and human rights training.

ANCORW is currently funded by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship to offer an African Women’s Advocacy Unit. This program works with women from a diverse range of countries in Africa to strengthen their skills and capacities in advocacy and self representation.

In 2008, ANCORW has partnered with the Centre for Refugee Research at the University of New South Wales for a three year ARC Linkage project to examine the resettlement experiences of refugee women at risk and their families in Australia. This project entitled, ‘Refugee Women at Risk: Protection and Integration in Australia’ will include consultations in regional, rural and metropolitan areas.

• Caritas Australia

Caritas Australia is the Catholic agency for international aid and development. They support programs for human development and self-reliance with the aim of overcoming injustice and poverty, as well as managing education and advocacy programs within Australia.
Caritas Australia manages and support development, relief and education programs at home and abroad. These include supporting long-term development programs in impoverished communities in Africa, Asia, East Timor, Latin America and the Pacific which help oppressed people to rediscover their dignity by taking greater control over their lives, supporting community development projects in Indigenous communities in Australia, providing rapid disaster response in cases of natural disaster or conflict, raising awareness of the reality and causes of poverty, hunger, oppression and injustice through education resources and programs. Caritas Australia also has a team of global education advisors who are able to assist various educational institutions and other groups, engaging in advocacy to work for structural change for some of the world's poorest communities, as well as providing avenues for social action engagement through which Australians can take action.

• The Centre for Refugee Research

The Centre for Refugee Research is an interdisciplinary academic institute Centre at the University of New South Wales, which focuses on refugee flows and resettlement issues in the Asia Pacific Region. In partnership with state, national, regional and international agencies, the Centre conducts in-depth research and initiates innovative education programs

The Centre for Refugee Research aims to produce research which will benefit the Australian community by maximising the capacity of refugees to become productive members of society. Their activities include conducting research into the social, economic, legal, political, health and medical impacts of refugee intakes in countries of resettlement such as Australia, as well as countries of first asylum with whom Australia is likely to have links based on trade and foreign relations, conducting research into the provision of foreign and humanitarian aid for peoples displaced within their own countries as a result of armed conflict, as well as for exile and refugee communities internationally, evaluating the effectiveness of current human rights instruments for refugee populations, providing research to guide government policies and services, disseminating information through the Centre’s website, including publications and a program of symposiums and conferences.

• International Organization for Migration

The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) is an intergovernmental organisation offering migration management assistance to governments and migrants worldwide. IOM Canberra coordinates activities in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands, and liaises with concerned governments on regional migration processes.
IOM is committed to providing humane and orderly migration to migrants and society. Along with its partners in the international community, it assists in meeting the growing operational challenges of migration management, advances understanding of migration issues, encourages social and economic development through migration, and upholds the human dignity and well-being of migrants.

IOM manages numerous migration projects which offer differing levels of assistance and financial support to migrants and refugees, the IOM Refugee Travel Loan Fund, an interest-free loan program designed to help proposers/migrants meet the travel costs of refugees bound for Australia under the Special Humanitarian Program (SHP), Sponsor Pre-paid Movements to Australia and New Zealand, a program for those who have been accepted for permanent residency in Australia and New Zealand under various categories, in which travel and other related costs are pre-paid by sponsors, Self-Payer Movements to Australia and New Zealand, a program for those who have been accepted for permanent residency in Australia and New Zealand under various migration categories, in which travel and other related costs are pre-paid by the refugee/migrant before departure, resettlement of those refugees accepted under Australia's funded component of the Humanitarian Programme, with other services (such as medical screening, processing, etc) also provided on request, travel assistance and medical screening of the refugees accepted under New Zealand government’s refugee quota, return and integration assistance to the irregular migrants in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific region who wish to return to their country of origin, IRLF Movements, which facilitate the movement of refugees by securing a down payment equivalent to 100% of IOM service fee and 50% of total travel costs from sponsors in Australia. The balance of the travel costs is an interest-free loan secured by promissory notes duly signed by the loan beneficiary or his/her sponsor in Australia.

• Jesuit Refugee Service

The Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) is an international Catholic organisation with a mission to accompany, serve and defend the rights of refugees and forcibly displaced people. JRS undertakes services at national and regional levels with the support of an international office in Rome.

Jesuit Refugee Service Australia implements the mission of JRS within the Australian context through support and accompaniment of asylum seekers at Villawood Immigration Detention Centre in Sydney’s west, support and accompaniment of asylum seekers through the Shelter Project which houses and supports asylum seekers in the community who are income-ineligible, research into forced displacement in the Pacific in order to advise government and NGOs on policy and program responses in this area and research and Advocacy for just policies in the asylum and refugee areas within Australia.

• Oxfam Australia

Oxfam Australia is one of Australia’s biggest overseas aid agencies and has played an important role in assisting refugees and asylum seekers around the world. Oxfam Australia’s key focus is to advocate for refugees’ and asylum seekers’ rights, protecting people in crisis and community education about the refugee situation. Recent overseas assistance has included assisting internally displaced people in Sudan’s Darfur region and in Timor-Leste.

RESEARCH AND RESOURCES

Virtual Refugee Camp

Today, about 33 million people live in temporary shelters throughout the world. Although some people ultimately return home or move to another country, the number of refugees and internally displaced people continues to grow. To mark Refugee Week, Médecins Sans Frontières has created a Virtual Refugee Camp. A visit to the site will show the basic needs - shelter, food, water, sanitation, and health care - of people who, because of conflict or disaster, find themselves in a refugee camp.

Refugee Realities Project

In a similar way, Oxfam Australia has recently launched a new website about the Refugee Realities Project. This new website represents a useful resource for anyone who would like to broaden his or her knowledge on the experience of refugees. For more information about this project, please click here.

UNHCR International Handbook

UNHCR has produced an International Handbook to guide reception and integration of resettled refugees. Its aim is to provide information and ideas to guide integration practice. It does this by articulating the broad conditions required for successful resettlement and by identifying some of the critical issues that need to be considered in the planning process.

Book outlines Australian campaign against landmines

The Australian Network of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines has published a book of reflections on 15 years of its work to eradicate landmines. The book, “A Path is Made by Walking It”, has been edited by Sr Patricia Pak Poy, the founder and the driving force behind the Australian campaign. It includes reflections from people who have played a part in the campaign, including the Refugee Council’s Vice President Professor William Maley and CEO Paul Power. Copies ($25 plus $7.50 postage and handling) can be ordered from the ICBL Australian Network, GPO Box 9830, Adelaide SA 5001, phone/fax (08) 8234-8642 or email australia@icbl.org . For more information on the Australian campaign against landmines, visit http://australia.icbl.org

Book: My Life As A Traitor

Following her arrest and brutal imprisonment for taking part in student demonstrations, Zarah Ghahramani realized there was no future for her in her native Iran and she fled to Australia, where she now lives. By Zarah Ghahramani and Robert Hillman, My Life As A Traitor follows Zarah’s incredible journey and provides valuable insights into contemporary Iranian society, radical Islamist politics and the growing voice of dissent in Iran. Published by Scribe Publications.

Report: Burmese refugees in Malaysia

A new report, "We Built this City: Refugees from Burma at Risk in Malaysia" has been released by Project Maje. The report reveals the plight of refugees from Burma who have worked on Malaysia's massive infrastructure projects. The report highlights persecution of refugees by a highly controversial government-sanctioned anti-immigrant vigilante force called Rela, which has been hunting down, beating, robbing and imprisoning foreigners in Malaysia. The full report can be found at www.projectmaje.org

Report: Sri Lanka

Human Rights Watch has released its latest report on Sri Lanka “Return to War: Human Rights Under Siege”. The report highlights the current crisis in Sri Lanka as hostilities between the Sri Lankan Government and the armed secessionist group LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam have resumed. Despite a 2002 ceasefire agreement, fighting has escalated since mid 2006. The Human Rights Watch report details widespread human rights violations such as unlawful killings and disappearances. Concerns have also been raised regarding more than 300,000 people who have been displaced since 2006 and that security forces have continued to attack civilians and impede the delivery of humanitarian aid. The full report can be found at http://hrw.org/reports/2007/srilanka0807/

New Iraq report: “Millions in Flight: the Iraqi Refugee Crisis” Amnesty International

This new report from Amnesty highlights the unfolding refugee crisis stemming from the ongoing conflict in Iraq. The report calls on the international community to provide greater levels of assistance to millions of refugees in Syria and Jordan in the greatest population movement in the Middle East since the formation of the state of Israel in 1948.
The full report is available online at web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGMDE140412007

New Book: Forced Migration, Human Rights and Security

Edited by Dr Jane McAdam, Director of International Law Programs at the Faculty of Law, UNSW this collection responds to some of the contemporary challenges faced by the international protection regime, with a particular focus on the human rights of those displaced. The international protection regime for refugees and other forced migrants seems increasingly at risk as measures designed to enhance security – of borders, of people, of institutions, and of national identity – encroach upon human rights. Contributing authors include: Guy S Goodwin-Gill, Savitri Taylor, Susan Kneebone and Erika Feller. Published by Hart Publishing, Oxford. For further information, please visit:
http://www.hartpub.co.uk/books/details.asp?isbn=9781841137704

New Book: Harvesting Hope

By Christian Ayling, this novella tells the story of Yasemin Sandulli whose life is turned upside down when her brother is accused of murder. Set in a predominantly Christian country, Harvesting Hope provides the reader with a thought provoking insight into the ideological and cultural turmoil faced by many Muslims in contemporary Western society. Published by Ginniderra Press.

New Book: ‘Assessing the Costs and Impacts of Migration Policy: an International Comparison'

Published by IOM and Eurasylum, the book explores some of the key issues, at a policy and practical level, relating to the design, implementation and outcomes of public evaluation systems in the field of migration policy. It reviews the ways migration policies are evaluated in several EU member states, the USA, Canada, the European Commission, IOM and UNHCR, and provides a range of recommendations for improving the design and implementation of evidence-based and accountable policies in the field of migration and asylum. For further information please click here

Report: UNHCR Global Trends 2007

For a full copy of this report detailing the global situation for refugees, asylum seekers and displaced persons please visit: http://www.unhcr.org/statistics/STATISTICS/4852366f2.pdf

Briefing Paper: Sri Lanka. Protracted Conflict: Protection Challenges for Humanitarian Agencies

By Hazel Lang and Anita Knudsen. Internal displacement in Sri Lanka exists in the context of protracted war. Humanitarian agencies seeking to enhance the protection of internally displaced persons (IDPs) confront operational realities of working in a difficult—politicised and insecure—environment. Based on field interviews with humanitarian agencies in Eastern Sri Lanka, this briefing paper examines challenges and obstacles of humanitarian protection in protracted conflict. To download the paper please visit: http://www.austcare.org.au/media/56973/arcsrilankabp-lowres.pdf

Bhutanese Refugees in Nepal: Anticipating the Impact of Resettlement