WHO WE ARE
The Charter of the Refugee Council of Australia
Download the Charter here.
With the help of Bankstown City Council, the Charter has been translated into
Arabic, Chinese,
Dari, Dinka,
Farsi and Vietnamese.
What is the Refugee Charter?
The Refugee Charter is an initiative of the Refugee Council
of Australia. It is a statement of 12 principles about refugee protection and
was developed to meet a number of objectives, namely:
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to inform the refugee sector and the wider community about the
basic principles of refugee protection; |
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to reinforce the fact that refugee protection is about human
rights; |
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to remind us that behind these principles is the weight of international
law; |
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to remind the various groups working with and for refugees that
there are common principles that bind us all; |
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to strengthen advocacy in the sector; and |
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to inspire and energise those working in the sector, in particular
when the challenges seem insurmountable. |
Where do the Articles Come From?
Not only do the articles in the Refugee Charter form an ethical
and humane framework for responding to the needs of refugees, each can be linked
directly to principles of International Human Rights Law. This is important as
it provides substance and credibility to the Charter and reminds us that States
have obligations that go beyond decency and common sense.
The first Article of the Refugee Charter is drawn from the
seminal document in International Human Rights Law, the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights (UDHR):
Article1. Recognition of the inherent
dignity and equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is
the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world.
This is a plain English restatement of the preamble to UDHR.
Article 2 reinforces the fact that refugees have rights because
they are refugees and at the same time, they do not relinquish the rights they
have as members of the human family.
Article 2: Refugees, asylum seekers
and internally displaced persons have the right to be treated in accordance with
international standards which accord respect to and protection of their fundamental
human rights.
Refugees have rights specific to them as refugees and these
are set out in Articles 12 to 24 of the Refugee Convention. In addition, the fact
that they do not lose the rights they have as members of the human family is affirmed
in Articles 3 and 5 of the Refugee Convention and Article 26 of the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Articles 3 to 6 reflect some of the most important refugee-specific
rights.
Article 3: Everyone has the right to
live without fear of persecution and to flee persecution.
This encapsulates the purpose of the Refugee Convention and
has direct links to Articles 3, 4, 5 and 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights and, inter alia, Articles 6, 7, 8, 9, 16, 17, 18, 19, 22 and 25 of the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Article 4: Refugees have the right
to seek and enjoy asylum from persecution in another country without having their
entry prevented and without being penalised.
This is a restatement of Article 31 of the Refugee Convention
and is further supported by ExCom Conclusion Numbers 5 (1977), 22 (1981) and 82
(1997).
Article 5: No refugee or asylum seeker
shall be forced to return to a country where he or she might face persecution
or torture.
The principle of non-refoulement is the cornerstone of refugee
protection and is set out in Article 33 of the Refugee Convention.
Article 6: Refugees are entitled to
the security of an effective and durable solution in the form of voluntary repatriation,
local integration or resettlement, within a reasonable time frame.
The existence of a Cessation Clause in the Refugee Convention
(Article 1C) is an important reminder that it was never intended that a refugee
be a refugee for the rest of his or her life. UNHCR have done much over the years
to promote the importance of securing a durable solution for refugees. This has
had recent expression in Goal 5 of UNHCR’s Agenda for Protection and the
Convention Plus initiative.
Articles 7 and 8 remind us of two key rights that refugees
share with all other human beings.
Article 7: The unity of the refugee
family is a fundamental right which must be respected.
The right to family unity is derived from, inter alia, Article
16 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Articles 17 and 23 of the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 1966, Articles 10 of the International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 1966 and Articles 9, 10 and 22
of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Although there is not a specific
provision in the Refugee Convention, the strongly worded Recommendation in the
Final Act of the Conference of Plenipotentiaries, reaffirms the "essential
right" of family unity for refugees.
Article 8: Especially vulnerable members
of refugee communities are to be treated with special care and where children
are involved, the rights of the child must be paramount.
This is derived from the Convention on the Rights of the Child
and also from a variety of ExCom Conclusions including Numbers 85 (1998) and 89
(2000) on the Elderly, Numbers 39 (1985), 54 (1988), 60 (1989) and 64 (1990) on
Refugee Women and Numbers 47 (1987) and 59 (1989) on Refugee Children.
Articles 9 and 10 set out rights particularly relevant to asylum
seekers, be they in a western country such as Australia or a country of first
asylum.
Article 9: Asylum seekers have a right
to have their claims processed through procedures which are transparent, fair
and timely.
The Refugee Convention is silent on the issue of asylum, though
there are references to it in the Final Act of the Conference of Plenipotentiaries
and the Preamble to the Convention. This substance of this article is derived
from ExCom Conclusion No. 71 (1993) on Access to Asylum Procedures and can also
be linked to Article 26 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
and to Goal 1(2) of the Agenda for Protection.
Article 10: Asylum seekers are not
to be subjected to arbitrary or unreviewed detention.
This is taken directly from Articles 9.1 and 9.3 of the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and draws on Article 16 of the Refugee
Convention.
The final two articles of the Refugee Charter set out the key
responsibilities of States towards refugees.
Article 11: States have a responsibility
to create a safe and welcoming environment for refugees, free from xenophobia
and discrimination.
This is derived from ExCom Conclusion No. 85 (1998) on Discrimination
and Goal 1 (8) of the Agenda for Protection.
Article 12: States have a responsibility
to ensure that their refugee policies are ethically sound and consistent with
international legal standards.
States, when they accede to human rights treaties, make an
undertaking to ensure that their laws and policies are consistent with the treaty
obligations. This final article is simply reinforcing the necessity for States
to take every effort to ensure that each of the articles set out above is reflected
in national law and practice.
Formally adopting the Charter
In June 2008, Bankstown City Council in south-western Sydney
became the first local government authority to adopt the Refugee Charter formally.
The Council also translated the Charter into six community languages - Arabic,
Chinese, Dari, Dinka, Farsi and Vietnamese (see translations above).
How Can I Use the Refugee Charter?
How you use the Refugee Charter is really up to you. Here are
some suggestions:
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place the Refugee Charter on the agenda for your next board or
management committee meeting so that the principles can be discussed and your
work considered in this context; |
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hang the Refugee Charter prominently in your office so that it
can be seen by staff and visitors; |
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better still - hang a version of the Refugee Charter in your
office that includes the words “In signing this Charter, (name of your agency)
recommits itself to upholding these principles of refugee protection” followed
by the signature of your President or Director; |
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use the Refugee Charter to inform your constituency about the
principles of refugee protection; |
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make reference to the Refugee Charter in your advocacy work; |
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use the Charter as a teaching tool; |
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reflect on how the various people working for refugees all have
something in common, no matter how disparate their activities might seem. |
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take a moment to look at the Charter when things all seem a bit
too much. |
Feel free to download a copy of the Refugee Charter from the
RCOA website.
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