Who Would Want to be a Refugee? A comparative analysis of Australian and Canadian Refugee Policy and Law

Abstract

If I were a refugee where could I turn for support? Whilst the 1951 United Nations Convention relating to the Status of Refugees provides that if I can prove a well-founded fear of persecution I must not be returned to my country of origin, it does not provide I must be granted refugee status in the country to which I have fled. Furthermore, I must prove to the satisfaction of the authorities in the country to which I have fled that my fear of being persecuted is for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular group or political opinion. The Convention gives no guidance as to its interpretation. Being returned to one's country is known as refoulement. A considerable body of international law has been built up on this subject. Refoulement provisions are also contained in other treaties and declarations. It is probably the most important feature of the 1951 Convention. International law does not guarantee my obtaining asylum. Can I, then, invoke Human Rights Law? At the international level people are guaranteed certain fundamental rights provided the country in which the people are is a signatory to the appropriate instrument. Human Rights Law in Australia is haphazard. It gives no real guarantees. In Canada, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms gives everyone, even asylum-seekers, equal rights under the law. However, in neither country is there a right to asylum. Nor is there a statement on the needs of a refugee. Australia and Canada both seem to follow Europe in the development of refugee policy and law. Europe has developed a series of conventions and agreements making it more difficult for a refugee to obtain asylum. In this regard, there is the Schengen Agreement, Dublin Convention (safe third country) and carrier sanctions. These instruments may be termed as control. This thesis proves control as the principal feature of refugee law and refugee policy in Australia and Canada. Policy is clearly defined in Canada. No such clear statement exists in Australian policy. Refugee policy in Australia seems to stand in isolation. Unlike Canada, it is not integrated with foreign policy and human rights policy.