The map above shows signatories to the Refugee Convention/Protocol. Countries in gray are not signatories.
So if you were fleeing persecution from Sri Lanka, the tiny island off the coast of India where would you flee? You’ve basically got three nearby options if you want to go somewhere who’ll accept you – Cambodia, Yemen and Australia.
Mmmm, bit of a no-brainer…oh sorry, your choices are now Cambodia and Yemen. Seems the Australians will no longer accept you.
The truly oppressed in Sri Lanka are probably too busy being oppressed and persecuted by the authorities to be able to even think about how they can illegally reach our shores 🙂 Just food for thought. And by the way, I am a Coptic (Egyptian) practicing Christian Migrant who came to Australia in 1987 through legal means, because at least the majority of Australian rhetoric appears to reflect many Christian principals. Due to my work as Migration Agent/Solicitor, I am with the Government and indeed in favor of stopping the boats coming to our shores. In addition, I do not… Read more »
I often wonder what people actually mean by ” Genuine refugee” a person is either an asylum seeker, who may or may not be granted RSD or they are a refugee. Where does the genuine fit in ? How can a person be a ” non genuine refugee ” again I am just wondering!
Andy, just saw this post – sorry I do not check the box to subscribe to notifications for new posts, so I have to read over the page to see if there are replies and in this instance I didn’t see yours until now. “Genuine” are those refugees whose circumstances are real and you may only get to know about it, not through them direct, as they may not have any means of communicating their circumstances to others. Unless someone else communicates it for them – usually people who are local (who out of compassion or other reasons voice the… Read more »
As a migration agent and solicitor you would know that seeking asylum is not illegal. And my experience of refugees is that many spend great effort thinking about how to flee and create a new life.
Dear Scott, Although Australia signed and ratified the UN Refugee Treaty, it did so on the condition that the treaty would only be legally binding in the event that the Treaty terms and conditions are echoed in the Australian Legislation. The Australian legislation does not, to date, echo any of the terms and conditions of the UN Treaty. This renders the Treaty non-legally binding from both National and International perspectives. And, in turn, people who do make it to our shores are indeed illegally coming to our shores as our Legislation forbids them from being on our shores in the… Read more »
If as you claim Trojan.All asylum seekers who arrive in Australia are here illegally.this is according to your understanding of the legislation relating to the UN convention. Pleae tell me why in your expert opinion does DIAC grant RSD to nearly all who arrive here by plane and claim asylum and a very large % of those who arrive by boat without a valid visa. If they are all here illegally why doesn’t DIAC reject them all and deport them ? Just wondering.
Hi Andy, The fact they are illegal means: (1)they have no right to be on our shores – this in turn legally justifies keeping them off-shore until their papers and claims are investigated and/or processed accordingly; and (2) since they are illegal and are NOT Australian Citizens then we do not have a legal duty of care towards them (as opposed to Australian Citizens who may be prisoners but we have a binding legal duty of care towards them regardless of the fact that they have been found to be unlawful). So this means that Australia, by rendering them as… Read more »
What do the countries in yellow mean?
Isn’t it sad that a mega wealthy country like Saudi Arabia does not accept refugees
hi melissa,
the 1951 convention applied only to refugees from post ww2 europe. the 1967 protocol extended it to refugees everywhere. Dark green indicate countries that are signatory to both the Convention and the protocol. yellow indicates they are a signatory t the protocol only.
Scott the way things are going we had better change the colour of Australia from green to grey !!
From the Australian Parliament House Library Are asylum seekers ‘illegals’? Generally speaking ‘illegal immigrants’ are people who enter a country without meeting the legal requirements for entry (without a valid visa, for example). However, under Article 14 of the 1948 Universal declaration of human rights, everyone has the right to seek asylum and the 1951 Refugee Convention prohibits states from imposing penalties on those entering ‘illegally’ who come directly from a territory where their life or freedom is threatened.[7] The UNHCR emphasises that a person who has a well-founded fear of persecution should be viewed as a refugee and not… Read more »
Scott, so what does this say in your opinion? How did you interpret this and what do you think it means? Do you have a name for the complete source or a link for this extract? How does it negate my insider insight – on first and quick reading of it, I believe it appears to substantiate many of my statements 🙂 Cheers, Me 🙂