The Pacific plan: The provision of 'effective protection'?

International Journal of Refugee Law

Volumn 18, Issue 3-4, 2006, Pages 696-721

  Kneebone, Susan ^a  

^a MONASH UNIVERSITY   (Australia)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ASYLUM SEEKER; HUMAN RIGHTS; IMMIGRATION POLICY; REFUGEE;

AUSTRALASIA; AUSTRALIA;

EID: 37849188006     PISSN: 09538186     EISSN: 14643715     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1093/ijrl/eel022     Document Type: Conference Paper

References (112)

1. F. Farouque and D. Gray, 'The Afghan diaspora', The Age, 30 Aug. 2001, 2 (with The Guardian).
2. S. Kneebone and S. Pickering, 'Australia, Indonesia and the "Pacific Plan"' in S. Kneebone and F. Rawlings-Sanaei (eds.), New Regionalism and Aylum Seekers: Challenges Ahead (forthcoming), ch. 7.
3. N. Hancock, 'Refugee Law - Recent Developments' at .
4. On 26 Sept. 2001 six Acts were passed including, the Migration Amendment (Excision from Migration Zone) Act 2001; and the Migration Amendment (Excision from Migration Zone) (Consequential Provisions) Act 2001. The amendments excised Christmas Island, Ashmore Reef the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, and offshore sea and resource installations in Australian territory from the 'migration zone' under the Migration Act 1958 (Cth).
5. Migration Act, s. 198A(3).
6. Border Protection (Validation and Enforcement Powers) Act 2001.
7. Migration Act, s. 494AA.
8. Migration Act, s. 36, provides for the granting of'protection visas'. This is the form in which Australia's obligations under the Refugee Convention (1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, entered into force on 22 Apr. 1954, and 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, entered into force on 4 Oct. 1967) are implemented.
9. Migration Act, s. 46A.
10. Kneebone and Pickering, n. 2 above.
11. Ibid.;
12. See also, C. M.-J. Bostock, 'The International Legal Obligations Owed to the Asylum Seekers on the MV Tampa' 14 IJRL 279 (2002), 293.
13. S. Legomsky, 'Secondary Refugee Movements and the Return of Asylum Seekers to Third Countries: The Meaning of Effective Protection' 15 IJRL 567 (2003), 570. Migration Act, s 198A(3) describes a 'declared country' as one that provides 'effective procedures' and 'protection'.
14. Ibid.
15. Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs ('DIMIA'), 'The Principle of Effective Protection in the Australian Domestic Legal and Policy Context' in UNHCR, Australia, Discussion Paper: 'The principle of effective protection elsewhere', available at . The Australian government interprets its obligation under the Refugee Convention to apply only when it is the country of'last resort'.
16. Legomsky, n. 12 above.
17. Ibid.
18. UNHCR, Executive Committee of the High Commissioner's Programme, 51st Session Note on International Protection, UN doc. A/AC.96/930, 7 July 2000.
19. European Commission, 'Towards a more accessible, equitable, and managed international protection regime' COM(2003) 315 Final, 23 June 2003.
20. OAS/Ser.L/V/II.66,doc.10, rev.1, 190-3.
21. L. Barnett, 'Global Governance and the Evolution of the International Refugee Regime' 14, IFRL 238 (2002), 249.
22. Report of the 32nd Session: UN doc. A/AC.96/601, para. 57(2).
23. E.g., UNHCR Executive Committee Conclusion No. 5 (XXVIII) - 1977 on 'Asylum', Report of the 28th Session: UN doc. A/AC.96/549, para. 53.3 at para. (d) appealed to governments to grant 'temporary asylum to refugees who have come directly to their country'.
24. See also UNHCR Executive Committee Conclusion No. 15 (XXX) - 1979 on 'Refugees without an Asylum Country', Report of the 30th Session: UN doc. A/AC.96/572. para. 72(2).
25. E.g., UNHCR Executive Committee Conclusion No.19 (XXXI) - 1980 on 'Temporary Refuge' cl. (e) referred to 'basic humanitarian standards of treatment'.
26. UNHCR, The State of the World's Refugees 2000: Fifty Years of Humanitarian Action, Ch. 4: 'Flight from Indochina', 2000.
27. Report of the 40th Session: UN doc. A/ AC.96/737, part N.
28. Ibid., para. (d).
29. Ibid., para. (e).
30. T.A. Aleinikoff, 'State Centred Refugee Law: From Resettlement to Containment' (1992) 14 Michigan Journal of International Law 120, 125.
31. A/ AC.96/965.Add.I, 26 June 2002.
32. Ibid., Declaration of State Parties, Preamble cl. 2.
33. Ibid., Goal 3, objective 6.
34. Ibid., Goal 2 'Protecting refugees within broader migration movements' objective no. 4 'Reduction of irregular or secondary movements'.
35. A/ AC.96/989, 7 July 2004.
36. E.g., Conclusion No. 58 of 1989, n. 25 above, para. (c)(iv).
37. Ibid., para. (f).
38. UNHCR Executive Committee Conclusion No. 52 (XXXIX) - 1988 on 'International Solidarity and Refugee Protection' Report of the 39th Session: UN doc. A/ AC.96/721, para. 24 described the standard of protection as a 'basic standard' of 'good faith' and 'humanitarianism', consistent with the UNHCR's mandate.
39. See also, Art. 8 - exemption from exceptional measures on the ground of nationality.
40. G. Goodwin-Gill, 'Article 31 of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees: Non-penalization, detention, and protection' in E. Feller et al (eds.), Refugee Protection in International Law: UNHCR's Global Consultations on International Protection (2003), 185-252, explains that Art. 31 covers persons attempting to enter a territory on the basis of de facto control or jurisdiction.
41. Arts. 18, 26, and 32 respectively.
42. Arts. 15, 17, 19, 21, 23, 24 and 28 respectively.
43. J. Hathaway, The Rights of Refugees Under International Law (2005), 162.
44. N. 21 above, ch. II, B.2(b).
45. Ibid., ch. II, B.2(i) refers to 'assistance ... for the tracing of relatives' and (1) of 'material assistance from friends or relatives'.
46. Ibid., ch. II, B.2(c).
47. Ibid., (d).
48. Ibid., (f).
49. This mirrors Art. 12 (recognition of personal status) and Art. 16 (access to the courts) of the Refugee Convention which apply to all refugees, and Art. 25 (administrative assistance) which applies to refugees in a territory.
50. In the Australian context there is an issue of what implications can be drawn from the Migration Act, s. 91R, which provides a definition of 'persecution' involving 'serious harm' to a person for the purpose of interpreting the Refugee Convention definition in Art. 1 A(2). S. 91 R includes 'significant economic hardship', 'denial of access to basic services' and 'denial of capacity to earn a livelihood' where the denial threatens the person's capacity to 'subsist'. This provision was added by Migration Legislation Amendment Act (No. 6) 2001 in the post Tampa legislative package.
51. Council Directive 2004/83/EC of 29 Apr. 2004 on minimum standards for the qualification and status of third country nationals or stateless persons as refugees ... (entered into force 20 Oct. 2004) refers to the standards of the UDHR.
52. Bostock, n. 11 above.
53. S. Joseph et al, The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights: Cases, Materials and Commentary (2nd ed, 2003), 309
54. A (name deleted) v. Australia (Communication 560/1993, UN Doc. CCPR/C/59/ D/560/1993, 30 Apr. 1997).
55. N. 22 above.
56. N. 21 above.
57. 'All persons are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to the equal protection of the law'.
58. Joseph, n. 49 above, 680.
59. Ibid., 681, citing General Comment 18 of the HRC para. 13.
60. A subsequent Senate enquiry found these allegations were false. This led to an apology to the asylum seekers concerned from the Prime Minister.
61. Editor, 'Another case of truth overboard?', The Age, 15 Nov. 2003.
62. M. Forbes, M. Shaw, 'Kurds did seek asylum: Vanstone' The Age, 14 Nov. 2003, 1.
63. Migration Legislation Amendment (Further Border Protection Measures) Bill 2002. See Legal and Constitutional References Committee, Migration Zone Excision: An examination of the Migration Legislation Amendment (Further Border Protection Measures) Bill 2002 and related matters, Senate Report, Oct. 2002.
64. The regulations were subsequently disallowed but in Aug. 2005, the government finally succeeded in excising thousands more islands from Australia's migration zone.
65. The letter is reproduced in Victorian Council for Civil Liberties Incorporated v. Minister for Immigration; Vadarlis v. Minister for Immigration [2001] FCA 1297; (2001) 110 FCR 452.
66. DIMIA Fact Sheet 76 dated May 2005 available at .
67. The Age, 27 Jan. 2006, 8.
68. Oxfam Community Aid Abroad, Adrift in the Pacific: The Implications of Australia's Pacific Refugee Solution, Feb. 2002, at
69. Department of The Parliamentary Library, 'Protecting Australia's Borders' Research Note 2003-04, No. 22, 24 Nov. 2003, 1.
70. N. McLean 'Australian neo-colonialism in the Pacific: Human Rights implications' Castan Centre for Human Rights Law Conference, 'Human Rights 2003: The Year in Review' Dec. 2003 at .
71. The Australian government insisted on the use of this terminology.
72. R. Skelton, 'Nauru bars outsiders during riot trial', The Age, 25 Aug. 2003, 3.
73. Ibid.
74. [2005] HCA 43 (31 Aug. 2005).
75. The Australian government paid for the costs of the appeal, and briefed two top Australia lawyers to appear in the case. See Ruhani v. Director of Police [2005] HCA 42 (31 Aug. 2005).
76. Goodwin-Gill, n. 37 above, 185-252 explains that Art. 31 covers persons attempting to enter a territory on the basis of de facto control or jurisdiction.
77. Goodwin-Gill, n. 37 above;
78. Hathaway n. 40 above, 399.
79. N. 22 above.
80. N. 25 above.
81. Victorian Council for Civil Liberties Incorporated v. Minister for Immigration; Vadarlis v. Minister for Immigration [2001] FCA 1297
82. (2001) 110 FCR 452 (North J)
83. [2001] FCA 1329
84. (2001) 110 FCR 491 (Full Court - Black CJ).
85. N. 69 above, para. 18.
86. Senate Committee, n. 59 above, para. 5.47-5.55.
87. M. Crock, 'In the wake of the Tampa: Conflicting visions of International Refugee Law in the management of refugee flows', 12 Pacific Rim Law and Policy Journal 49, Jan. 2003, 62.
88. Bostock, n. 11 above;
89. T. Magner, 'A Less Than "Pacific" Solution for Asylum Seekers in Australia' 16 IJRL 53 (2004).
90. Bostock, n. 11 above, 290.
91. They were granted visas and released in June 2005 after almost 2 years of detention.
92. Magner, n. 79 above, 67.
93. Research Note No. 22, n. 64 above.
94. N. 63 above.
95. J. Button, 'Shadowlands', The Age, 3 Jan. 2004, 11.
96. M. Shaw, 'Nauru, Manus detention centres cost $170m', The Age, 18 Feb. 2004, 4. Mr Sisalem was finally granted a visa in May 2004.
97. The Age, 26 Aug. 2005, 4.
98. 'PNG: No one to process angry asylum-seekers', Asia Pacific program, ABC Radio, 25 Oct. 2001 cited in Oxfam Community Aid Abroad, n. 64 above, n. 40.
99. Human Rights Watch (HRW), 'By Invitation Only: Australian Asylum Policy', Australia Vol. 14 No. 10(C) Dec. 2002, 71. The procedures were set out in DIMIA guidelines - Senate report above n. 59 above para. 5.34 to 5.41.
100. HRW, n. 89 above.
101. HRW, n. 89 above, 65.
102. M. Shaw, 'Protesters unstitch their lips', The Age, 9 Jan. 2004, 3.
103. Migration Act, s. 256.
104. Edmund Rice Centre for Justice and Community Education, Deported to Danger: A Study of Australia's Treatment of 40 Rejected Asylum Seekers, Sept. 2004.
105. Oxfam Community Aid Abroad, Still Drilling: Australia's Pacific Solution Becomes "A Pacific Nightmare" Aug. 2002, 22,
106. citing Sunday Age, 23 June 2002.
107. The Refugee Action Committee, Canberra 'Deportation and coerced "voluntary" returns' at .
108. Migration Act s.5 - this term includes 'offshore entry person'.
109. N. 96 above.
110. R. Skelton, 'Iranian refugees set to be sent home', The Age, 19 Aug. 2003 cited in The Refugee Action Committee, 'Deportation and coerced "voluntary" returns', n. 96 above.
111. The Refugee Action Committee, Canberra 'Asylum Seekers Failed by a Faulty and Unjust Judgement Process' at .
112. P. Mares, The Financial Review, 29 Sept. 2004, 8.