The Role Of Refugees In International Law

International law is important to uphold the standards of the world as a whole and peacefully settle disputes among the nations this world, but has failed to enforce any real changes in major areas, such as refugees and asylum seekers. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, has stated, “The Australian government’s decision to deny [asylum seekers ability to enter Australia] is contrary to the fundamental principles of family unity and refugee protection, and to common decency.”

In the law, both national and international, there are structures, agreements, treaties and declarations to ensure the safety and effectiveness of human rights to all international citizens. However, as not all international laws and treaties

Australia has signed and agreed to several treaties which include the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Australia has ensured that refugees who meet the criteria definition, set by the UN’s Refugee Convention, will not be sent back to a country where their freedom would be denied. According to the previously mention convention, it states that ‘a refugee is a person who is outside their own country and is unable or unwillingly to return due to a well-founded fear of being persecuted because of their race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion’. However, a person that is not a refugee but faces similar threats of significant human rights abuses if returned to his or her country, the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) decide whether the ‘complementary protection’ criteria applies to him or her. The Australian Government in 2012, initiated a system of ‘third country processing’ for asylum seekers without a valid visa. This system transfers people in this category to a third country where their claims for protection are then processed

He said, “The Torture Convention prohibits subjecting people to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. The report confirms that by leaving people locked up indefinitely in appalling conditions on a remote island, Australia is failing to meet this basic standard.” Mr Webb has also commented that the reports highlights that Australia has repeatedly failed to cooperate with the UN during this report and made it clear that the government been providing inadequate responses to complaints (Human Rights Law Centre, 2015) To effectively address this issue, Australia must provide more adequate protection and aid to these people as well as acknowledging them and their human rights. If Australia is to meet the UN’s standard of treatment of refugees, the government must resort to alternative methods of processing claims. By processing claims more effectively, could be granted visas and transferred to communities in Australia or other allied countries. Australia also needs to acknowledge and cooperate with the UN during reports and work towards raising the level of human rights that are applied to the