mhrd asia pacific - global classroom 2016 presentation
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The case of the plight of refugees and refugee-like situations in Asia and the Pacific
MHRD – Asia Pacific
Hosana ChayHamza Khan
Natalie LowreyCatherine Bolinga
•SoutheastAsiannation
•53million
•80%Buddhists
•SoutheastAsiannation
•53million
•80%Buddhists
•Over135ethnicgroups/indigenousgroups
•70%areBurmese
•Militarydictatorshipfrom1962to2010
•Thefirstcivilianpresidentwaselectedon15thofMarchin50years.
•Over20mainethnicArmedForces
•CivilWarssince1948
•MuslimMinorityinNorthernRakhineState
•Nearly2million(estimate)
•Mostlyinthecampsoroverseas
•SpeakChittagoniandialectofBengali
ForcedLabour
SexualViolence
ReligiousPersecution(Christiansaswellexperiencing)
ExtrajudicialKillingswithImpunity
DenialofCitizenshipsince1982
•134deathsandover7,000ofhousesdestroyed
•100,000relocatedtoghetto-likemakeshiftcamps
•134deathsandover7,000ofhousesdestroyed
•100,000relocatedtoghetto-likemakeshiftcamps
•ShortageofBasicneeds(food,shelter,health)
•ExodustoMalaysiaandThailand
•Genocideishappening
•RecognisedasRohingya
•NoresponsefromASEAN(AssociationofSouthEastAsianNations)
•MSFwaskickedoutonce
No Civil Society in Myanmar working on Rohingya
No Civil Society in Myanmar working on Rohingya
•Notincludedin135indigenousracesinMyanmar
•WhileRohingyaPeopleclaimasindigenoustoMyanmar(SeafarerfromArabNations),MyanmarpeopleconsiderthemasillegalBengaliimmigrantbroughtbytheBritish
•ThenameRohingyaneverappearedinanyofficialdocumentsduringhundred-yearofBritishRule
•ByacknowledgingthenameRohingyaimpliestheirindigenousstatus
Amending1982CitizenshipLawbyremovingdiscriminatoryclauseforNeuralandAssociateCitizens
ConferringcitizenshiptoallRohingyaPeople
Time
ContinuedPressureontheMyanmargovernment
FIRST FLEET
1788
FIRST BOAT PEOPLE
Aboriginalpeople,oldestlivingcultureonearth,livingonthecontinentofAustraliafor60,000+years
Enduredgenocide,includingmassacres,incarcerationandstealingofchildren.
‘FEAR OF THE ASIAN HORDES’
THE YELLOW PERIL
AUSTRALIA OPENS ITS DOORS POST WORLD WAR II
•AustraliabecomeastatepartytotheRefugeeConvention,on22January1954,andbecameapartytothe1967Protocolon13December1973
•SincetheSecondWorldWarAustraliahastakenupto700,000refugees,including171,000predominantlyEuropeanrefugees,whowereresettledinthepost-warperiodbetween1947and1954
•Australia,onapercapitabasis,takesthelargestproportionofrefugeesundertheUNHCR’sresettlementprogram
1970’s: DIVERSIFICATION OF REFUGEE INTAKEImmigration without racial discrimination
•AsiansexpelledbyUganda’sPresidentIdiAmin
•ChileansfleeingthemilitarycoupthatdeposedtheAllendeGovernment
•CypriotandEastTimoreserefugeesfleeinginvasionandwarintheircountries
•Resettlementofover100,000VietnameserefugeesfromvariousAsiancountriesovera20-yearperiod
REFUGEES TO AUSTRALIA MAKE A MEANINGFUL CONTRIBUTION TO SOCIETY
REFUGEES TO AUSTRALIA MAKE A MEANINGFUL CONTRIBUTION TO SOCIETY
REFUGEES TO AUSTRALIA MAKE A MEANINGFUL CONTRIBUTION TO SOCIETY
FROM PROTECTION TO SECURITY‘good refugee’ vs ‘bad refugee’
•Asecondwaveof‘boatpeople’,mainlyfromCambodia,sawaturninAustralianimmigrationpoliciesin1992withtheinstitutionindefinite mandatory detention aspolicy
•Politicalrhetoriconrefugeesandasylumseekersdramaticallyshiftedfromprotectiontoasecurityparadigm
•Legislationdividedthe‘goodrefugee’–thosewhowaitinacampforresettlement–fromthe‘badrefugee’–thosewho‘jumpthequeue’andare‘illegal’comingbyboat
We will decide who comes to this country
and the circumstances in which they come
John Howard, 2001
A PIONEER OF DETENTIONIndefinite mandatory detention
•Australia,theUKandCanadaimposingmandatoryandindefinitedetentiononasylumseekersasthefirstcourseofaction
•DespiterepeatedcondemnationthispolicyhashadpoliticalsupportfrombothmajorAustralianpoliticalpartiesforover20years
•AllasylumseekerswhoarriveinAustraliabyboatwithoutavalidvisaaredetained,withnolimitimposedonhowlongtheycanbeheld
•1373inoffshoredetention,67arechildren
•29deathsinonshoreandoffshoredetentionfacilitiessince2010
•AUD$1billionayearondetainingasylumseekersinoffshoredetention,fivetimestheUNHCRbudgetforallofSouthEastAsia
•ThemajorityofthoseseekingasylumarefleeingwarandpersecutionfromAfghanistan,SriLanka,Iraq,IranandMyanmar
•TherearenocountriesenroutethathaveratifiedtheRefugeeConventionsotheycanclaimprotectionunless,anduntil,theyreachAustralia
INTERNATIONAL RESPONSEPolicies in breach of International law
•SpecialRapporteuronTorture,JuanE.Méndez,foundthatpartsofAustralia’simmigrationdetentionregimeviolatedtheConventionagainstTorture
•UNHCRhascriticisedAustralia’soffshoredetentionpolicyasinhumane
•UNHighCommissionerforHumanRights,ZeidRa’adAl-Hussein,statedthatAustralia’spoliciessetapoorbenchmarkforotherstatesintheAsiaPacificregion
REFUGEE & ASYLUM SEEKER RESPONSE“Stop torture, release us”
CIVIL SOCIETY RESPONSE#LetThemStay #BringThemHere
•2,362kilometresNorthofAustralia
•7.5millionpeople
•IndependencefromAustraliain1975
•SharesborderwiththeIndonesianProvinceofWestPapua
•Partytoboththe1951conventionandthe1967protocol
AccordingtoUNHCRPapuaNewGuinea(PNG),thereareMixedflowsofurbanasylum-seekersandmigrantsfromSouth-WestAsia,
theMiddleEastandAfrica
WestPapuanRefugees/asylumseekers
Refugees/asylumseekersforAustralianoffshoreprocessing(Manus)
Others(eg;regional,IDPsetc)
REFUGEE AND REFUGEE LIKE SITUATION IN PNG
AUSTRALIAN OFF SHORE DETENTION CENTRES IN PNG
WEST PAPUAN REFUGEES FROM INDONESIA
•ClosestNeighbourofPNG(bothontheIslandofNewGuinea)
•WestPapuaRefugeesituationhasbeenongoingformorethanforty(47)years
•WestPapuaaformerDutchcolonyandwhenDutchadministrationtransferredtoIndonesiain1963,therewasresistance/separatistmovementforselfdetermination/independenceandcontinuestoday.
•WestPapuansareethnicallyMelanesiananddonotwanttobepartofIndonesiawhichisgeographicallyandethnicallyAsian(inracialdiscourseMelanesiameansBlackIslandfrizzyhairpeople)
•Theyhaveformedseparatist/proindependencemovementsagainstIndonesianGovernment
BACKGROUND
•IndonesiangovernmentHumanRightsviolationsagainstWestPapuans:includingdescriptionsofbombing,strafing,executions,imprisonmentswithouttrial,beatings,masskillings,tortureandrape
•20,000peopleinternallydisplaced,morethan13,000crossingtheboarderstoPNGanditisincreasing
CAUSE FOR ASYLUM
POSITIVE
•PNGisapartytoboththe1951conventionandthe1967protocol,socontinuestoworkwithUNHCRandotherorganizationslikeNGOs,donorsonWestPapuacases
•Grantingcitizenshipwithfeewaiver
PNG RESPONSE
NEGATIVE
•CriticismofPNGgovernmentontheconditionsoftherefugeecamps
•CriticismonPNG/AustraliaPacificSolutionPolicy(offshoredetentioncentres,ManusIsland)
PACIFIC REGIONAL RESPONSE
CalltojoinMelanesianSpearHeadGroup:Politicalbodymadeupof5MelanesianCountriesPNG,Fiji,SolomonIslands,Vanuatu,NewCaledoniaaFrenchterritory
PACIFIC REGIONAL RESPONSE
•Questionofstatesovereignty?CountriesinPacifictightlipped
•CallforUNtoinvestigatehumanrightsabuses(unsuccessful)
•CallforinternationalsupervisedvotebywestPapua(May3rd2016)
INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE
Contentious and intractable question
ShouldtherebesupportforthecourseofWestPapuaforself-determinationsothepoliticalrefugeesituationcanberesolved?
possibleornot?
CONCLUSION
RECOMMENDATIONS
•Recognitionofthemultidimensionalinterconnectednessbetween refugeeandrefugee-likeparadigmsacrossorigin,host,transitanddestinationcountries
•RegionalCooperationtolookatdurablesolutionsandmovebeyondasecurityparadigmtooneofprotectionandhumanrights
•Dialogueandcooperation,notonlybetweenstatesandregionalbodies,alsoinclusiveoflocal,nationalandregionalNGOs,civilsocietyandthosefleeingrefugeeandrefugee-likesituations
•Strategicallyaddressingtherootcausesofforceddisplacement
•Regionalandinternationalsolutionsneedtocallintoquestion,andtakeactionon,statesovereigntyrhetoricthatresultsinhumanrightsabusesandoverridesinternationallaw
THANK YOU!
MHRD – Asia Pacific
Hosana ChayHamza Khan
Natalie LowreyCatherine Bolinga
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