Hi everyone. Please see below for forum overview/brief. Any questions? please email us at amnesty.gugc@gmail. Also, if you would like the Microsoft word copy of the overview to be emailed to you, please let us know. Look forward to seeing you there. EVENT AGENDA: 1. 6:15 pm arrivals, light refreshments and beverages will be available 2. 6:45 pm brief slide show and video presentation 3. 7:15 pm informal discussion begins 4. 8:30 pm discussion ends and attendees are encouraged to get to know one another 5. 9:00 pm end of event OVERVIEW – BRIEF FOR ‘AUSTRALIAN ASYLUM SEEKER AND REFUGEE FORUM BACKGROUND: There are 15.4 million refugees worldwide, part of the 45.2 million people worldwide displaced by war, extreme poverty, persecution and discrimination. Meagre offerings of resettlement from a handful of countries means that the UNHCRs resettlement programme, while a valuable tool, resettles only 88,000 people per year. Only 27% of the worlds refugee population resides in refugee camps and those selected for resettlement are not necessarily those most in need, but those who can most easily integrate into their new host country. At the current rate of resettlement, it would take 190 years to resettle all currently registered refugees. Since 2001, Australian community attitudes have been shaped by concerns about deaths at sea, about border protection and the idea that asylum seekers arriving by boat are breaking the rules and gaining an unfair advantage over those who come via resettlement. The debate around asylum seekers and refugees has produced increasingly focused on abusive, discriminatory, illegal and unsustainable policies designed to deter asylum seekers from taking boat journeys to Australia. The most severe of these deterrent policies was introduced in July 2013 by the Labor Government under former-Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. The Regional Resettlement Arrangement, an agreement between Papua New Guinea, Nauru and Australia, has seen all asylum seekers arriving by boat sent to deliberately brutal detention centres in Manus Island in Papua New Guinea and Nauru, where the governments claim they will be processed and eventually resettled. After the win of the federal election in September 2013, the Coalition Government under the leadership of Prime Minister Tony Abbott was determined to take a range of measures designed to deter asylum seekers arriving by boat and to impose physical barriers to the arrival of boats carrying asylum seekers to Australia. The Coalition Government’s ‘Operation Sovereign Borders’ (OSB), a military-led response to combat people smuggling, reinforces the idea of protecting Australia’s national borders. The Coalition immediately announced the expansion of the facilities on Manus Island and Nauru, and the shifting away from planned Australian based detention centres. An element of the policy to stop asylum seekers arriving by boat was the reintroduction of Temporary Protection Visas (TPVs) for refugees already in Australia. The Senate disallowed the reintroduction of TPVs and in response to this Minister Scott Morrison announced the capping of onshore PVs which extends to all asylum seekers arriving by boat and plane. Human rights abuses against asylum seekers are widespread in the Asia Pacific. Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand - key transit countries for asylum seekers and refugees - criminalise, detain, punish and exploit asylum seekers and refugees while denying them access to public services or any hope of a safe, stable future. The region also continues to produce refugees, most notably Sri Lankans and Tamils fleeing continuing abuse by the Sri Lankan authorities, and Rohingyans, the Muslim minority from Burma who face brutal persecution by the Buddhist majority. More recently, a young Iranian man named Reza Berati was killed during the riots on Manus Island. Furthermore, a recent study conducted by Amnesty International after a visit to Manus Island found that the living conditions didn’t provide a safe and or healthy environment for all occupants. QUESTIONS: Here are some of the questions we’d like you to think about answering during the discussion-based part of the forum that will occur after the brief slideshow presentation. We already have our own answers to the questions, but we would like to hear yours! Why has the Australian Government taken a bipartisanship approach to this ‘refugee issue’? What are Australia’s obligations under international law? Why does the Australian public express negative sentiment on the issue of asylum seekers and refugees? Should Australia, as a nation, feel moral empathy towards asylum seekers and refugees? How can we change negative sentiment and prejudice against refugees arriving by boat, what do you suggest/what are your opinions? What are the solutions? Is there a better way that can suit all parties involved (government, Australian people, refugee/asylum seekers/PNG etc)? LINKS FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: abc.net.au/news/2014-03-21/media-tour-of-manus-island-detention-centre/5337660 abc.net.au/news/2014-04-04/manus-island-asylum-seekers-witness-statements-reza-berati-death/5367118 theconversation/factcheck-are-newly-arrived-asylum-seekers-paid-more-than-pensioners-17501 abc.net.au/news/2014-02-27/who-is-responsible-for-asylum-seekers-detained-on-manus/5275598 https://humanrights.gov.au/publications/questions-and-answers-about-refugees-asylum-seekers#q2 abc.net.au/news/2014-03-31/children-in-detention-is-australia-breaching-international-law/5344022 abc.net.au/news/2014-02-24/liberal-mp-kelly-odwyer-incorrect-on-australias-refugee-intake/5270252 amnesty.org.au/refugees/comments/33587/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+AIACampaigns+Amnesty+International+Australia+Campaigns abc.net.au/news/2014-01-24/tony-abbott-incorrect-on-asylum-seekers-breaking-australian-law/5214802 abc.net.au/news/2013-09-06/morrison-correct-illegal-entry-people/4935372 https://humanrights.gov.au/asylum-seekers-and-refugees-guide
Posted on: Sun, 25 May 2014 10:33:38 +0000
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