Interesting day, PNG PM wants to restrict communication in Manus, Journalists who write on asylum seeker issues are reported to the Australian Police and in this Crikey article Melissa Philips is saying, let’s hear from refugees as well as the minister Australia has long shown disregard for international conventions surrounding refugees. It labels asylum seekers in detention on Manus Island as “transferees”, also frequently referring to those who arrive by boat as “Irregular Maritime Arrivals” and “queue-jumpers”. In calling asylum seekers protesting on Manus Island this week “aggressive” and “irresponsible”, Immigration Minister Peter Dutton has demonstrated just how brazenly Australia both distances asylum seekers geographically, through offshore policies, and in the minds of the Australian public by controlling the narratives about their behaviour. Harsh labels and harsh policies Labels are crucial in matters of forced displacement and refugee protection. The UN Refugee Convention details at length who is a refugee, their rights and a state’s responsibilities towards them. Australia has a complex legislative framework setting out its obligations towards asylum seekers. Around the world, refugee lawyers and advocates spend a lot of their time ensuring that the rights of asylum seekers and refugees – as distinct from migrants – are upheld and their protection needs are met. This is not for want of anything better to do. The first component in ensuring that Australia’s international obligations towards displaced persons are met is the integrity of the systems we have to determine who is, or is not, a refugee or asylum seeker. The second is showing concern for their plight through the careful use of language that we employ in our representations of them. As has been argued by others, asylum seekers protesting on Manus Island are trying to voice their distress and despair. They hope by doing so to invoke our concern and attention. Closer to home, refugees and settlement workers often fear the consequences of speaking out publicly. It may be a breach of their code of behaviour or the organisation’s contractual obligations with the Department of Immigration and Border Protection, as the Jesuit Refugee Service has pointed out. These concerns are not unfounded. In mid-2014, the Refugee Council of Australia had its federal government funding cut by the then-immigration minister, Scott Morrison. This was because it was an advocacy group that was perceived to be critical of the government. Ignoring international advice In other parts of the world, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and NGOs go to great lengths to showcase the voices of refugees and to empower them to speak. The UNHCR recently introduced a crowdsourcing platform, UNHCR Ideas, to generate ideas from refugee communities that could be tested in the field. This reflects a widely accepted paradigm that projects that are participatory and inclusive have the best chance of success. Read more: theconversation/manus-island-protests-lets-hear-from-refugees-as-well-as-the-minister-36518
Posted on: Thu, 22 Jan 2015 09:28:58 +0000
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