Monthly Wrap Dec 2024

In the media

In community and locked detention

Serco lost the contract for immigration detention in Australia, a role they have played since 2009. The new contractor has not yet been announced. A human rights lawyer told the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention that Australia’s detention centres are prisons where people are often detained unlawfully. The High Court ruled that it is unlawful to impose curfews and ankle bracelets on people who are moved into the community. Additional High Court cases are underway as to the lawfulness of detaining people while their protection applications are being assessed.

Boat arrivals

Indigenous rangers have criticised the rapid response of Border Force to boats carrying asylum seekers compared to the absence of response when they report illegal fishing in the area. After assisting four men recently, they demanded assurance from authorities that the men would be cared for.

International

As the ongoing conflict in Sudan has caused the world’s worst humanitarian disaster, the UN World Food Program detailed the scale of the famine threat and the complexity of delivering food aid. The UNHCR recognised Thailand as leading the world in their efforts to end statelessness. Italian Courts blocked the transfer of asylum seekers to Albania on the basis that EU law only permits the accelerated removal of people where they have come from countries considered safe. As President-elect Trump promised mass deportations of asylum seekers and illegal migrants, businesses working in detention and prison services expect to profit from the policy.

In policy

The government ended the parliamentary year by introducing legislation that will enable (i) Australia to pay a third country to receive failed asylum seekers, (ii) the re-detention of people who were released due to the NZYQ High Court ruling, and (iii) the Minister to declare any item (e.g. a mobile phone) to be prohibited in detention. A Senate inquiry heard that up to 80,000 people could be affected by the proposed removal powers. A bipartisan Parliamentary committee found that the re-detention legislation could impact on people’s human rights on multiple levels. The Coalition asserted that they are basically running the government’s immigration policy.

In research

The largest known study into the prevalence of mental health ill-health among people who spent time in Australian immigration detention found it was profound. On PTSD they were at 16-22 times more risk than the general population, the rate depended on whether their detention was onshore or offshore and whether it was above or below six months duration.

The Human Rights Law Centre and the University of Melbourne analysed the increase in visa cancellations and its effect on immigration detention and deportation.  The Refugee Council of Australia published evaluation findings of a decade of their Refugee Stories for Change program.

New releases and events

70th anniversary of the Convention on Statelessness, a webinar by the Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness on 12 December 2024.

Monthly Wrap Nov 2024

In the media

Permanent residence protest

On the final day of a 100-day rally for permanent residency in Melbourne, white supremacists sought to sabotage the event. The asylum seekers rallying for residency were subject to the flawed ‘fast track’ decision-making process and have been in legal limbo for over ten years. 

In court

A new class action case was brought on behalf of South Sudanese refugees who have finished their prison sentences but remain in indefinite detention because they cannot be deported to their country of origin. 

Nauru and PNG

Following the National Anti-Corruption Commission report into the offshore detention contracts to Paladin, Crikey published a 3-part series on the questions that remain outstanding. Radio National’s Late Night Live discussed the rise in the number of people that have been sent to Nauru and the conditions they are experiencing.

In Israel, the Palestinian territories and Lebanon

The Israeli Knesset passed legislation to ban UNRWA from operating on Israeli soil. The move was widely condemned for the impact it will have on vulnerable people and the precedent it sets for conflicts elsewhere. The Conversation published a feature on the bidirectional flight of refugees between Lebanon and Syria as they seek safety from violence and conflict in their respective countries of origin.

International

The ongoing war in Sudan has caused one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world. The UNHCR data portal on Sudan provides a live update on the number of people who have fled the conflict, over 11 million displaced, and their whereabouts. More than 48 people died and a further 100 were reported missing when they were apparently forced off a boat near Djibouti. The European Court of Justice found that the Taliban’s treatment of women constitutes persecution, the latest restriction being women are prohibited from praying aloud. In practical terms this means individual assessments of Afghan women are not necessary to determine their eligibility for refugee status. The EU Commissioner talked up the concept of regional “return hubs” outside of the EU based on the arrangement that Italy and Albania have agreed.

In policy

The government proposed legislation to increase the search and seize powers of staff at immigration detention centres. The Foreign Affairs Minister released Australia’s latest Humanitarian Policy. The UNSW Kaldor Centre published a Policy Brief on redesigning Australia’s asylum procedures, using Switzerland as the model. 

In research

The Scanlon Institute’s Australian Migration and Population Dashboard brings together statistics on the various aspects of migration. The Measuring Irregular Migration and related Policies project, MIrreM, published an updated working paper on irregular migration across 20 countries.

New release

Seize the Summit, a documentary directed by Arwa Damon

Monthly Wrap Oct 2024

In the media

PNG and Nauru

The men who Australia sent to PNG once again face eviction due to unpaid rent. Denmark’s Immigration Minister visited Nauru to look at the pros and cons of Australia’s offshore detention system.

Palestinians in Australia

The number of Palestinians who lodged asylum applications in Australia continued to grow. The Home Affairs Minister confirmed that he authorised temporary protection visas to a handful of Palestinian families. Documents show that all applications from Palestinians were checked by ASIO.

International

Rohingya men reported that they are being abducted and forced to serve in the Arakan Army, who are fighting the Myanmar army for control of Rakhine state. Melbourne’s Peter McMullin Centre for Statelessness will hold an online seminar on the situation of stateless people in Rakhine state. As the Taliban passed a new law that prohibits women from talking outside of their home, CNN reported on the determination of Afghan girls to get educated. The Venezuelan presidential candidate, who many states recognise as the winner of their election, fled to Spain. Germany has reintroduced border checks for a period of six months. Documents secured under freedom of information detail the situation of people who were subject to the UK’s Rwanda transfer program.

In policy

The government proposed legislation that would further limit asylum seeker’s access to AAT merits review. Submissions on the proposed change can be viewed here. Guardian Australia published a feature on the inconsistency in government treatment of people based on where they have come from. The Refugee Council of Australia urged the government to reconsider the applicants who were rejected under the controversial ‘fast track’ decision-making process in 2014.

New releases

Being stateless, an oral history podcast, a podcast series by the Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness.

Monthly Wrap Sept 2024

In the media

Israel-Palestine war

August’s news cycle was dominated by the Opposition leader’s claim that granting visas to Palestinians seeking safe haven from Gaza poses a national security risk. The former Immigration Deputy Secretary accused the Coalition of quoting him selectively in order to substantiate their position. Guardian Australia published an explainer on the situation and the security clearances that Palestinians need to pass in order to exit Gaza. Meanwhile the government granted healthcare and work rights to a small number of Israelis and Palestinians who have sought sanctuary in Australia. Reuters published an explainer on why the city of Jenin, and the large refugee camp there, is a focal point in the Israel-Palestine war.

Immigration Detention

Independent MP Kylea Tink moved a private member’s bill that would put a 90-day limit on immigration detention, including at offshore locations.

In the community

A Tamil man who was on bridging visas for over 11 years took his own life. The Tamil Refugee Council reported that he was the second asylum seeker to suicide in a month. The Saturday Paper featured a story on the community refugee sponsorship program, CRISP,  and Guardian Australia ran a story on a social enterprise that is employing refugees as florists.

International

The perilous situation for Rohingya’s persists and was discussed in an interview on ABC Radio National. The number of Sudanese refugees entering Libya has surged. The largest ever refugee team at the 2024 Paralympics celebrated their first ever medal, in taekwondo. After suspending deportations to Afghanistan when the Taliban regained power, Germany has resumed deportations of Afghans who have committed crimes. In one of the worst drowning incidents in the English Channel, at least twelve people drowned when an overcrowded boat carrying many women and children sank.  

In policy

As the revamped Administrative Appeals Tribunal AAT takes shape, The Saturday Paper published an assessment of the extent to which the government honoured it’s commitment to merits-based appointments.

In research

UNSW launched a research project into the professional development needs of women who were forcibly displaced prior to settling in Australia. The UNSW Kaldor Centre published a panel discussion on resettlement and complimentary protection.    

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