Monthly Wrap June 2024

In the media

The High Court

The High Court ruled that it is lawful to indefinitely detain people when they do not cooperate with the deportation process. The court is currently hearing another case challenging the lawfulness of legislation requiring all former detainees to have curfews and ankle bracelets placed on them. The court heard that the blanket nature of the legislation, whereby Ministerial discretion was removed at the urging of the Coalition, is a key reason to rule that the legislation is unlawful.

Detention and ex-detainees

The flawed risk assessment tool used in immigration detention, and covered in an earlier monthly wrap, cannot be improved because the ABF data that it uses is unreliable. Since last month’s reporting of the Perth violent home invasion by ex-detainees, the media reported that one of the accused was released from detention when the Coalition were in government.

In Nauru

Thirty-three people who reached Christmas Island by boat were transferred to Nauru. It was unclear whether they had intended to claim asylum. They joined the approximately 54 people who were already on Nauru.

Palestinians in Gaza and Australia

Around ¼ of Palestinians who have come to Australia since the Israel-Hamas war started, have lodged protection applications. Meanwhile the government confirmed that 4,614 Palestinians abroad have been refused a visa on the basis that their intention to stay temporarily was not credible.

In the community

SBS The Feed published a story on the difficulties that people have proving their sexuality when being LGBT in their country of origin was illegal. A South Australian refugee organisation launched an app for migrants and refugees to find relevant services and info.  On her return to Kakuma refugee camp, after 18 years, Nyadol Nyuon reflected [video story] on the role that the camp library played in shaping her future.

International

In Sudan, Human Rights Watch demanded action to address ethnic cleansing that is occurring amidst the ongoing civil war. Ethiopia’s Digital ID program was described as transformational for refugees. The UNHCR commended Brazil for its integration-focused refugee policies and The Conversation profiled the large Palestinian community in Chile. Public servants in the UK launched a court case against the government on the basis that the Rwanda transfer legislation will require them to break the law. The Conversation published an analysis of how the Rwanda transfer program challenges international law. The US government commenced trials to use AI to conduct asylum interviews.

In policy

The Refugee Council of Australia published an analysis of the federal budget as it pertains to the refugee sector. The proposed new deportation laws could result in people who have been in Australia since childhood being deported. The Coalition announced it will pursue amendments to the bill, with a focus on the best interests of children and any impact on diaspora communities arising from the proposed power to dent certain nationalities from applying for protection. After the revelation that a man, now accused of murder, had had his humanitarian visa reinstated by the AAT despite his propensity to violence, the government announced it will amend Direction 99 to require greater emphasis on public safety. SBS News published an explainer on Direction 99. The government has closed the Locally Engaged Employee program that assisted the evacuation of Afghans whose lives were in danger because they had worked with Australian forces.

In research

The World Health Organisation published a report on the third consultation on refugee and migrant health. Philomena Murray and Ainoa Cabada co-authored a paper on the intersection between academics and policy and how academics can work more effectively with refugees and advocates. The UNSW Kaldor Centre co-authored an analysis into the gender and sexuality-based risks for people who are subject to government policies that contract out their refugee obligations to other nations. The Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness opened applications for its 2025 PhD program. 

New releases

Safe Haven, a book by Shankari Chandran, published by Ultimo.

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 October 2023

In the media

Detention

An Iranian man, detained for over ten years, took his case to the High Court after the former Home Affairs Minister suddenly changed his status to get around a Federal Court order that he should be moved into the community. The complexity of his case was detailed in a CNN report.

Offshore detention regime

The AAT ruled that asylum seekers who suffered loss or damage from the 2014 Home Affairs data breach are eligible for compensation. Men who remain stuck in Papua New Guinea due to Australia’s offshore detention policy were issued eviction notices because their accommodation bills had not been paid for over a year.

Protest

Refugees, who were processed under the ‘fast track’ scheme and remain in legal limbo, protested outside Minister O’Neil’s electorate office.

International

Azerbaijan’s seizure of Nagorno-Karabakh caused 60km queues at the border, as ethnic Armenians fled their homeland. The UNHCR stated that more than $1 billion in aid is needed to assist Sudanese people fleeing the ongoing conflict in their country. The World Bank increased its funding to Chad to assist with the arrival of Sudanese refugees. The IOM declared the Mexico-USA border as the world’s deadliest land route for refugees and migrants. Lebanon’s interim PM complained that the significant increase in Syrians entering the country risks unsettling the demographics of Lebanon. Asylum applications in the EU increased 20% in the past year. Italy reacted to the increase by extending the permitted duration of detention for people awaiting deportation. The UK Home Secretary called for an update to the refugee convention to prevent, as she claims, a tendency for courts to interpret the risk of discrimination as being sufficient grounds for refugee protection.

In policy

The Guardian revealed that in 2020 the Auditor-General’s department warned Home Affairs that it had failed to meet the key principles of immigration detention; namely i) the speedy resolution of people’s cases and ii) prioritising community detention over locked detention. The UNSW Kaldor Centre published a policy brief on strengthening asylum systems.  A man who walked from Ballarat to Sydney to bring attention to the plight of asylum seekers who are denied work rights, was granted permanent residency by way of Ministerial intervention. The Saturday Paper published a piece on the role that Australian politicians played in the UK’s current refugee policies.

In research

A study found that 46% of refugee and migrant women in Australia had experienced sexual harassment in the workplace in the last 5 years. A social impact agency called Purpose published a study into the role of the media in online hate speech in Australia, in which the negative framing of refugees was one of their case studies. A review of European resettlement found that 16 EU member states had not resettled a single refugee this year. The UNSW Kaldor Centre released the program for its 2023 Conference on 20 November 2023.

New releases

The Disposables, a drama by the ABC 

When Migrants Fail to Stay. New Histories on Departures and Migration. An anthology edited by Balint, Damousi and Fitzpatrick. Published by Bloomsbury.

Monthly Wrap February 2023

In the media

Litigation

Around 100 people were released from immigration detention in the days leading up to Christmas. Lawyers believe the releases could be attributed to a Federal Court ruling that the threshold for a mandatory visa cancellation should not be based on cumulative sentences. The legality of Australia’s use of indefinite immigration detention will be challenged in court, in a case that could have implications for hundreds of people currently held.

Detention

A man who has spent 5 years in detention died by suspected suicide in Villawood Detention Centre. The latest Ombudsman report into immigration detention found that people’s concerns about maggots in the food were dismissed by Serco guards and that ‘holding cells’ with no toilet or running water were used for prolonged periods in Villawood detention centre, without any health assessment.

Nauru

A refugee remains on Nauru despite requiring urgent medical treatment and the fact that his family is now in Australia after their evacuation from Afghanistan. He was refused resettlement to Canada because Canada does not resettle people if it means they will be separated from their family.  The US prison operator that now runs Australia’s operations in Nauru was accused of gross negligence. Senator McKim requested the auditor-general look into the due diligence that was undertaken to award the contract.

2002 Cabinet Papers

The release of the 2002 Cabinet Papers revealed that the Howard Government was warned that fast-tracking a detention centre on Christmas Island would risk human rights and OHS safeguards, and would be very expensive. It also revealed the Howard Government explored quietly bringing offshore detainees back to Australia.

Housing affordability

The spike in rent across Australia is acutely impacting asylum seekers because they are not entitled to any government assistance and many are in insecure work.

Afghanistan

An Afghan man, who came to Australia as a refugee, brought with him a hard drive containing thousands of photographs showcasing Afghanistan’s landscape and the Hazara culture. His work was featured in a UNSW Library online exhibition.

International

79 children in the UK as unaccompanied minors seeking asylum have disappeared, feared kidnapped, from the government provided accommodation. A Russian commander of the paramilitary Wagner Group claimed asylum in Norway.  

In policy

At a Refugee Council of Australia event, the Immigration Minister took questions from the audience on a range of policy topics. The government announced that 19,000 people on Temporary Protection and Safe Haven visas will be granted permanent residence. The fate of an additional 12,000 people in the so-called ‘legacy caseload’ remains unclear.  Attorney-General Dreyfus said action will be taken to end the ‘inhumanity’ of Australia’s refugee policy.

In research

The latest European Journal of International Law includes an analysis of whether, in light of Taliban policy, all Afghan women and girls should be recognised as refugees.

Human Rights Watch 2022 World Report detailed Australia’s human rights failures when it comes to asylum seeker policy, the treatment of indigenous people in prison and the laws governing protests. Volume 4 of The Statelessness and Citizenship Review was published in December.

New releases

Map of Hope and Sorrow: Stories of Refugees Trapped in Greece, a book by Helen Benedict and Eyad Awwadawnan, published by Footnote Press.