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Update: Minister Highlights Need for MInisterial Reform and Complementary Protection Australia's new Minister for Immigration, Chris Evans, told Parliamnent today (18 Feb 2008) that he was uncomfortable with his discretionary powers to grant visas, saying it lacked accoutnability and transparency and he did not wish to "play God" when deciding on whether people need protection. He indicated that Ministerial Reform was necessary and that part of this would be reviewing Complementary Protection decision-making processes. CWS/NCCA Campaign for Complementary Protection IN BREIF: Concerned that non-refugees needing Australia’s protection (such as those fearing torture or stateless people) are being unnecessarily detained or forced to live in the streets (by being denied work permits and income support) while waiting for decisions under an antiquated and lengthy method of processing their claims, CWS has championed a reform agenda. Currently, non-refugee CP claimants must apply as a refugee (get knocked back) and then appeal (and get knocked back) before they can apply to the Minister on the appropriate CP grounds. Meanwhile, some wait up to 10 years for a final decision, wasting millions of tax-payer dollars on unnecessary processing and detention costs. Under the CWS-developed alternate model, CP claimants would be processed immediately by the Department along with refugee claims (instead of years later by the Minister), significantly reducing detention times and costs, and for those living in the community, years of uncertainty, forced destitution and reliance on churches and charity for food and shelter. CWS has been actively encouraging community and church groups to take up the issue, while lobbying high-level Departmental staff, the Minister and opposition groups. Why Australia needs complementary protection?Currently, all protection visa applicants with grounds for complementary protection (as opposed to refugee protection) must first apply as a refugee to the Department of Immigration, and be refused, and then appeal to the Refugee Review Tribunal, and be refused, before they can appeal to the Minister for Immigration on the relevant complementary protection grounds.
The National Council of Churches in Australia (NCCA) together with the Refugee Council of Australia and Amnesty International have developed a new Complementary Protection Model that would ensure that those who do not meet the definition of refugee contained within the 1951 Refugee Convention but are still in need of protection under international law can apply in the first instance to the Department of Immigration for protection rather than first having to apply as a refugee and be rejected by the Department and the RRT before having their claims considered by the Minister. Introduction For over 50 years the Refugee Convention has provided the framework for protecting people forced to flee their homelands in fear of persecution because of their race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership of a particular social group, and who are unable to secure protection from their own government. The international community has recognised that it has a responsibility to such people and confers refugee status on those who meet the definition set out in the Convention. When the Refugee Convention was drafted, it was intended that it would assist particular groups affected by the events in Europe during World War II. The definition in the Convention has, however, proved durable and sufficiently flexible to be able to respond to many of the geo-political changes that have taken place in the last 50 years and the validity of the Convention as a protection tool was reaffirmed by a Ministerial Meeting of States Parties in December 2001. It is important to acknowledge, however, that the Refugee Convention is not and was never intended to be a mechanism to cover all people in need of protection. The specific nature of the definition in the Convention is such that it does not extend to many people who have protection needs that are widely recognised. It does not, for example, include all people who:
NCCA FACT SHEET: Complementary Protection - March 2007 Providing International Protection through Complementary Forms of Protection - In September 2005, UNHCR’s Executive Committee (ExCom), which is composed of over 50 member states and includes Australia, adopted a Conclusion on Complementary Protection. Conclusions are adopted by consensus after being put through multilateral drafting committees. While conclusions are often watered down during the drafting process and often result in the lowest common denominator of consensus, they are nonetheless highly regarded as ‘soft international law’. The NCCA and other NGOs were hard at work this year lobbying for a strong conclusion on complementary protection, as it will strengthen advocacy with the Australian government by setting a benchmark for international practice. Complementary Protection and Judicial Review (supplementary paper) - May 2005 - This paper is the result of a legal meeting in Melbourne organised by the Refugee Council to discuss the likely impact that the Complementary Protection Model will have on judicial review, following Government concerns that it may lead to an increase in appeals to the Federal Court. The paper argues that complementary protection is unlikely to result in a dramtic increase provided that the legal defintions are clear and properly codified in law.For UNHCR and other international papers relating to complementary protection, go to www.unhcr.ch and search under complementary protection. UNHCR's Department of International Protection has also published, as part of its Legal and Protection Policy Research Series, a paper entitled Protection Mechanisms Outside of the 1951 Convention ("Complementary Protection"), which looks at legal frameworks, state obligations and practices, procedural standards for determination, and standards for the treatment of those with grounds for complementary protection. Read the Global Consultations on International Protection paper on complementary protection Why Aust Needs a Complementary Protection Visa - ABC Radio National - An opinion piece on ABC's Perspective program. This was the second of James Thomson's three five-minute pieces that went to air at 5:55pm each Friday on ABC AM 576 (after PM and before the 6pm news). - Listen Online/Read Transcript What is the NCCA doing?
What has the NCCA already done?
What are the churches doing?
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