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Report: Australia's Arrangement with Malaysia in Relation to Asylum Seekers

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Report: Australia's Arrangement with Malaysia in Relation to Asylum Seekers The Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee Australia's arrangement with Malaysia in relation to asylum seekers October 2011 © Commonwealth of Australia ISBN: 978-1-74229-532-9 This document was printed by the Senate Printing Unit, Department of the Senate, Parliament House, Canberra. MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE Members Senator Gary Humphries, Chair, LP, ACT Senator Patricia Crossin, Deputy Chair, ALP, NT Senator Sue Boyce, LP, QLD Senator Michaelia Cash, LP, WA Senator Mark Furner, ALP, QLD Senator Penny Wright, AG, SA Substitute Member Senator Sarah Hanson-Young, AG, SA replaced Senator Penny Wright, AG, SA for the inquiry into Australia's arrangement with Malaysia in relation to asylum seekers Participating Member Senator Alex Gallacher, ALP, SA Secretariat Ms Julie Dennett Committee Secretary Ms Ann Palmer Principal Research Officer Ms Christina Raymond Senior Research Officer Ms Aleshia Bailey Research Officer Ms Margaret Cahill Research Officer Ms Hana Jones Administrative Officer Ms Hannah Dibley Administrative Officer Suite S1.61 Telephone: (02) 6277 3560 Parliament House Fax: (02) 6277 5794 CANBERRA ACT 2600 Email: [email protected] iii TABLE OF CONTENTS MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE ............................................................. iii ABBREVIATIONS .......................................................................................... vii RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................................................... ix CHAPTER 1 ........................................................................................................ 1 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 1 Referral of the inquiry ............................................................................................ 1 Conduct of the inquiry ............................................................................................ 2 Structure of the report ............................................................................................. 2 Acknowledgement .................................................................................................. 2 Note on references .................................................................................................. 2 CHAPTER 2 ........................................................................................................ 5 Background ............................................................................................................... 5 Joint Prime Ministerial statement on the Malaysian Arrangement ........................ 5 Signing of the Malaysian Arrangement .................................................................. 6 High Court's decision ........................................................................................... 10 Implications of the High Court's decision on other offshore processing options 13 Proposed amendments to the Migration Act ........................................................ 14 CHAPTER 3 ...................................................................................................... 19 Key concerns ........................................................................................................... 19 Introduction .......................................................................................................... 19 Non-legally binding nature of the Malaysian Arrangement ................................. 19 Practical implementation of the Malaysian Arrangement .................................... 21 Compliance with international law obligations and human rights standards ....... 25 Conditions in Malaysia ......................................................................................... 32 Unaccompanied minors ........................................................................................ 37 Resettlement of 4,000 refugees in Australia ........................................................ 39 CHAPTER 4 ...................................................................................................... 41 Committee view and recommendations................................................................ 41 Non-legally binding nature of the Malaysian Arrangement ................................. 41 Malaysia is not a party to the Refugee Convention .............................................. 42 Pre-transfer arrangements ..................................................................................... 42 Conditions in Malaysia ......................................................................................... 43 Identification of the 800 Transferees .................................................................... 46 Unaccompanied minors ........................................................................................ 47 DISSENTING REPORT BY GOVERNMENT SENATORS ...................... 49 Importance of regional cooperation ...................................................................... 49 Deterrent effect of the Malaysian Arrangement ................................................... 50 Protection for asylum seekers ............................................................................... 51 Proposed amendments to the Migration Act ........................................................ 56 ADDITIONAL COMMENTS BY SENATOR HANSON-YOUNG ............ 57 Background ........................................................................................................... 57 Key concerns with the agreement ......................................................................... 57 APPENDIX 1 ..................................................................................................... 61 SUBMISSIONS RECEIVED ................................................................................. 61 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION RECEIVED ................................................... 63 APPENDIX 2 ..................................................................................................... 65 WITNESSES WHO APPEARED BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ................... 65 vi ABBREVIATIONS AHRC Australian Human Rights Commission Amnesty Amnesty International Australia Malaysian Arrangement between the Government of Australia and the Arrangement or Government of Malaysia on Transfer and Resettlement arrangement Bill Migration Legislation Amendment (Offshore Processing and Other Measures) Bill 2011 CARAD Coalition of Asylum Seekers, Refugees and Detainees CAT Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment committee Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee CRC Convention on the Rights of the Child DASSAN Darwin Asylum Seekers Support and Advocacy Network DIAC or Department Department of Immigration and Citizenship EM Explanatory Memorandum Guardianship of Immigration (Guardianship of Children) Act 1946 Children Act ICCPR International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights ICESCR International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights ICJA International Commission of Jurists (Australia) IOM International Organisation for Migration Migration Act Migration Act 1958 Minister Minister for Immigration and Citizenship NGO Non-Government Organisation Ombudsman Commonwealth and Immigration Ombudsman Operational Guidelines Operational guidelines to support transfers and resettlement PNG Papua New Guinea Refugee Convention Convention relating to the Status of Refugees Refugee Protocol Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees RELA Ikatan Relawan Rakyat (People's Volunteer Corps) Transferees the 800 asylum seekers to be sent to Malaysia UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees viii RECOMMENDATIONS Recommendation 1 4.27 The committee recommends that the Australian Government not proceed with the implementation of the Arrangement between the Government of Australia and the Government of Malaysia on transfer and resettlement, due to the obvious flaws and defects in that arrangement. CHAPTER 1 Introduction Referral of the inquiry 1.1 On 17 August 2011, the Senate referred Australia's agreement with Malaysia in relation to asylum seekers (Malaysian Arrangement or arrangement) to the Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee (committee) for inquiry and report by 22 September 2011, with particular reference to: (a) the consistency of the agreement to transfer asylum seekers to Malaysia with Australia's international obligations; (b) the extent to which the above agreement complies with Australian human rights standards, as defined by law; (c) the practical implementation of the agreement, including: (i) oversight and monitoring, (ii) pre-transfer arrangements, in particular, processes for assessing the vulnerability of asylum seekers, (iii) mechanisms for appeal of removal decisions, (iv) access to independent legal advice and advocacy, (v) implications for unaccompanied minors, in particular, whether there are any guarantees with respect to their treatment, and (vi) the obligations of the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship (Mr Bowen) as the legal guardian of any unaccompanied minors arriving in Australia, and his duty of care to protect their best interests; (d) the costs associated with the agreement; (e) the potential liability of parties with respect to breaches of terms of the agreement or future litigation; (f) the adequacy of services and support provided to asylum seekers transferred to Malaysia, particularly with respect to access to health
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