Human Rights and Protection of Asylum Seekers in Australia and New Zealand

This document discusses the extent of human rights protection for asylum seekers in Australia and New Zealand. It explores the obligations of international and Australian law in guaranteeing human rights to asylum seekers. The document compares and contrasts the protection offered in both countries and analyzes the adequacy of Australian law in providing human rights protection for asylum seekers.

Human Rights

Table of content
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
To what extent does international law and Australian law guarantee human rights to asylum
seekers....................................................................................................................................3
Compare and contrast the protection offered to asylum seekers in Australia to protection
offered to asylum seekers in New Zealand.............................................................................4
Do you think that Australian law provides adequate human rights protection of asylum
seekers....................................................................................................................................5
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Asylum seekers are people who have moved from their country and wanted to apply for
protection as refugees. Basically they are individuals who have fled from their home in search of
protection and safety in other countries as they cannot have protection in their home country
(Muytjens and Ball, 2016).
To what extent does international law and Australian law guarantee human rights to asylum
seekers
According to Dastyari (2018), Australia have obligations of protecting human rights of
all refugees and asylum seekers who have reached Australia regardless of where and how they
reach and whether they reach with visa or without visa. Refugees’ convention Australia has
made decision for ensuring that individuals who fulfill the definition of united nation of refugees
or asylum seekers cannot send back to that particular country where their freedom or life is
threatened. This comes under the very important principle known as non-refoulement. Australia
has also made obligations in which it is mentioned that not to send back people who are facing
real risk of violation of particular human rights under The Convention Against Torture,
International Convention On Civil and Political Rights and The Convention On The Rights Of
The Child and not to send individuals to third or another countries where they could face
violation risk for their human rights. These are the obligations that are also applicable to the
individuals who are determined as refugees.
In addition to this refugees and asylum seekers are in the territory of Australia, the
government of Australia bears various obligations under different international treaties for
ensuring that human rights of asylum seekers and refugees are given protection and respect. The
commission aims at providing factual clear information for improving awareness of community
and knowledge of the situation of refugees and asylum seekers in Australia in specific terms. The
commission highlights the human rights issues that are involved in the treatment of refugees and
asylum seekers. From this it could be identified that Australian law is continuously making laws
and policies for protecting human rights of asylum seekers so that countering discrimination and
social inclusion could be increased.
In the opinion of McDonald and O'Sullivan (2018), the commission has already
developed human rights resources for young people registered in the community language

schools and new arrivals in Australia. There is no international instrument or law that defines
asylum. Article 14 of the 1948 says that everyone has right to see and enjoy in another country
asylum from persecution. There are laws known as the 1951 convention remains state centric, it
shows obligations and undertakings excepted between parties to protect respect and accord
particular benefits and rights. International laws and Australian laws only support human rights
of asylum seekers and refugees when they are not found threat to country. Till then these laws
provide all the human rights so that they can start their new life in another country with proper
security and all those basic needs and facilities that are given to other citizens of the country.
Compare and contrast the protection offered to asylum seekers in Australia to protection offered
to asylum seekers in New Zealand
Protection offered to asylum seekers in Australia
According to Silove and Mares (2018), Australia has declared that seeking asylum in
Australia do not consider as illegal as it has mentioned as basic human right. Australia has made
an international commitment for protecting human rights of all the refugees and asylum seekers
who have reached Australia whether they use plane, boat or any other source for arriving and
they do not consider arrival of asylum seekers with visa or not. Australia has strict immigration
detention regimes around the world it is mandatory and not even time-limited and asylum
seekers are unable for challenging their detention in front of court.
In the year 2013 government of Australia has announced that all those asylum seekers
who reach in Australia by using mode of boat are no longer able to settle in Australia weather
they are found as refugees or not. This has made many of asylum seekers to detain in Manus and
on Nauru island waiting for resettlement in other countries. There are some facts that are
recorded. Asylum seekers who are approaching Australia are not illegal even if they arrive by
using boats. People who are asking Australia to get protection as refugee is small. In 2012
number of applications received for the protection was not even 7% of total immigration intake
of Australia.
Share of Australia’s asylum applications remain quite small fraction of total globally. It
has been identified that there is no particular time duration to how long an individual can be kept
in immigration detention in Australia. The duration of time for an individual spends in detention
can vary from few days up to couple of years and sometimes even longer. In 2013, 52 refugees
had to face indefinite detention in Australia as ASIO has deemed them of security and they were

unable to appeal against of this particular decision. Australia has made sure that all asylum
seekers treated humanely without considering their mode of reaching or arrival and continued to
giving protection to the world’s vulnerable and persecuted people.
Protection offered to asylum seekers in New Zealand
According to Shrestha-Ranjit and et. al., (2020), New Zealand comes under world’s
leading asylum determination system and other programmes for refugee
resettlement. Organizations whether governmental or non-governmental give wide support to
asylum seekers and all those people who belong from refugee backgrounds. It has been recorded
that asylum seekers who come to New Zealand in different ways and have variety of experiences
depending on the way in which they find them in the country most of the seekers have a good
experience and settle well in New Zealand.
There is a unit of refugee and protection that promotes the interest of asylum seekers and
refugees who reach New Zealand every year. New Zealand comes under obligation in which it
has to protect asylum seekers that it accepts. The unit focuses on coordinating community and
official support for asylum seekers it ultimately contributes in continuing development of
policies and practices that help asylum seekers. The country coordinate its work for asylum
seekers under refugee resettlement strategy this aims at providing protection and settling asylum
seekers better it motivates asylum seekers for participating in the new community and assist
them so they can become self-sufficient. Asylum seekers are detained if they possess any risk to
national security or there are doubts regarding their identity or chances of absconding.
Do you think that Australian law provides adequate human rights protection of asylum seekers
According to Ziersch, Due and Walsh (2020), it has been recorded that there are very less
number of human rights that are for the protection of refugees and asylum seekers in Australia.
Tribunals of Australia do not have enough power for considering whether the detention of an
individual that is arbitrary, unnecessary or unreasonable and they could not order the government
for releasing a person from immigration detention. Human rights are for everyone it includes
people who are citizens of Australia and who are not. Human rights of asylum seekers and
refugees include to not being subjected to torture and cruel, inhuman treatment or arbitrary
detention or any punishment, not to send back to those countries where their freedom and life is
threatened, to get opportunity for education, work, mental and physical health care.

There are various problems that are faced by asylum seekers related to human rights in
Australia some of them include: There are many children who are kept in immigration detention
for longer period of time their detention are always in locations that are remote which affect the
mental health of children negatively. Hundreds of adult asylum seekers are subjected to
indefinite and prolonged detention in mandatory Australian detention laws. There are many
asylum seekers that are granted with temporary protection visas that only last for 2 to 3 years and
prevent them from travelling to bring their members of family to Australia. This makes them
separated from members of family for many years that traumatize people.
There are also some options that are available to asylum seekers if their human rights are not
provided to them. Some of them are:
 They can apply to court and tribunals to review particular decisions related to visa
 They can make complain to Commonwealth Ombudsman of immigration department
process of decision-making
 Complaining to Australian human rights commission for the bad treatment at
immigration detention
 Human rights of asylum seekers can be protected by making more laws and policies in
Australia for the protection of human rights because these rights can make difference in
promoting and protecting the rights of asylum seekers
Australian government must make improved protection for human rights in the Constitution of
Australia reform detention laws, form minimum protocols and bars for the treatment of
individuals at immigration detention, ensure regulations of visa and conditions for giving access
to right of education, housing, healthcare and opportunities of work.

CONCLUSION
From the above information it is being analysed that human rights are also essential for
asylum seekers because they are also humans and they also possess the right of education, health,
protection and safety. There are laws that are formed for the protection of asylum seekers.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Dastyari, A., 2018. Let the asylum seekers stay: Strengths and weaknesses of church sanctuary as
a strategy for law reform. Monash UL Rev.. 44. p.341.
King and et. al, 2017. Disadvantage and disability: Experiences of people from refugee
backgrounds with disability living in Australia.
McDonald, E. and O'Sullivan, M., 2018. Protecting vulnerable refugees: Procedural fairness in
the Australian fast track regime. UNSWLJ. 41. p.1003.
Muytjens, S. and Ball, M., 2016. Neutralising punitive asylum seeker policies: an analysis of
Australian news media during the 2013 federal election campaign. Journal of Australian
Studies. 40(4). pp.448-463.
Shrestha-Ranjit and et. al., 2020. Availability, accessibility, acceptability, and quality of
interpreting services to refugee women in New Zealand. Qualitative Health
Research. 30(11). pp.1697-1709.
Silove, D. and Mares, S., 2018. The mental health of asylum seekers in Australia and the role of
psychiatrists. BJPsych international. 15(3). pp.65-68.
Ziersch, A., Due, C. and Walsh, M., 2020. Discrimination: a health hazard for people from
refugee and asylum-seeking backgrounds resettled in Australia. BMC public
health. 20(1). p.108.