Australia and the 1951 Refugee Convention

Argues that the implementation of the 1951 Refugee Convention is failing the interests of both states and refugees. Summary Australia’s signature on 22 January 1954 brought into force the 1951 UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees. It is now time for Australia again to take the lead, by pressing for a review of the 1951 Convention and the international protection system of which it is a cornerstone. While the Convention itself has, by and large, stood the test of time, its implementation is failing: failing Australian national interests; the interests of the wider international community; and the interests of refugees themselves. Indeed, one of the primary beneficiaries of these failures is people smugglers. Australia has already demonstrated its impatience with the status quo and its appetite for a new paradigm. Offshore processing as currently enacted by the Australian Government may have served its national interests better than the current international protection system; but is still in violation of the Convention to which Australia is a signatory. The Migration and Maritime Powers Legislation Amendment Bill 2014 deliberately removes most references to the 1951 Convention from the Migration Act 1958. And yet, in other ways, Australia continues to adhere to the Convention, directly through its refugee resettlement program, and indirectly through its ongoing support for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The Australian Government’s current approach may be working in the short term, but it is unlikely to diminish Australia’s asylum crisis in the long term, and it is damaging Australia’s international reputation. The Government needs to look beyond its current policies and lead an international debate on reforming the protection system. This Analysis lays out the case for reform: why it is preferable and more effective than the current Australian approach; how Australia is uniquely placed to lead an international debate on reform; and what the focus of that debate should be. First, it clarifies that what is required is not a revision of the 1951 Convention itself, but an overhaul of the way it is implemented through the international protection system