Possibilities for an Asia Pacific Regional Protection Framework Dr Savitri Taylor APCRR3 presentation 26 November 2010 .
Introduction The Australian Proposal • East Timor processing centre • The wider framework Protection-Centred Cooperation Equitable Burden Sharing Getting from Here to There • Bilateral, regional & international levels • Working from the inside out 2
The Australian Proposal 29 September 2008 – 6 July 2010 Arrival in Australia of 142 “suspected irregular entry vessels” carrying approx. 6,400 asylum seekers Nationality Number (excl. deceased) Afghans 3349 Sri Lankans 1091 Iraqis 389 Other (Iranians, Burmese 1563 etc.) Total 6397 3
The Australian Proposal “The purpose would be to ensure that people smugglers have no product to sell. A boat ride to Australia would just be a ticket back to the regional processing centre. It would be to ensure that everyone is subject to a consistent, fair, assessment process. It would be to ensure that arriving by boat does not give anybody an advantage in the likelihood that they would end up settling in Australia or other countries of the region.” (Prime Minister Julia Gillard, “Moving Australia Forward”, speech delivered at the Lowy Institute, Sydney, 6 July 2010) 4
The Australian Proposal According to Australian government, Regional Protection Framework is about regional countries taking “ collective responsibility for displaced persons in the region” by ensuring access to: • Effective protection and • Sound RSD followed by: • Resettlement for refugees • Safe return home for others 5
East Timor Processing Centre East Timorese conditions (accepted by Australia): • Centre must be part of a regionally endorsed protection framework • UNHCR and IOM must be involved • Individuals already found to be refugees (e.g. by UNHCR in Indonesia) will not be taken to the Centre • Asylum seekers taken to the Centre will not be held in closed detention Additional Australian commitment: • Centre will be of benefit to East Timor 6
East Timor Processing Centre What remains to be resolved: Size of the centre (Australian ask: between 500 and 2000 asylum seekers) Site of the centre (possible disputes over land ownership) and living conditions of asylum seekers (disparity with local living conditions may cause conflict) Length of time an individual is held at the centre (East Timor ask: maximum 3 years) Life span of the centre (Australian ask: 10 years to indefinite) 7
The Wider Framework • From Australian perspective, key element of a regional protection framework is a processing centre or centres outside Australia (not necessarily in East Timor). • Apart from Australia and East Timor, parties to the Refugee Convention or Protocol in “Asia & the Pacific” as defined for UNHCR operational purposes are: – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan (in Central Asia NB Not Bali Process countries) – China, Fiji, Japan, New Zealand, PNG, Samoa, Solomon Islands South Korea, Tuvalu (in East Asia and the Pacific) – Cambodia, Philippines (in South East Asia) – Afghanistan, Iran (in South West Asia) – NB South Asia is also included in “Asia & the Pacific” as defined by UNHCR but has no parties to the treaties specified. 8
The Wider Framework 9
The Wider Framework UNHCR submissions by criteria 2009 medical needs Othe r 3% other Family reunification 1% Older refugees woman at risk Children & adolescents 8% survivor of legal & violence & physical torture protection 17% needs 39% lack of local integration prospects 32% 10
The Wider Framework 24 countries provide annual refugee resettlement places*: • Australia (6,000), Japan (pilot of 90 over 2010-2012), New Zealand (750) in Asia & the Pacific • Argentina (8 in 2009), Brazil (30 in 2009), Canada (11,200 - 14,000), Chile (66 in 2009), Paraguay (0 in 2009), Uruguay (14 in 2009), USA (80,000) in Americas • Bulgaria (from 2011), Czech Republic (17 in 2009), Denmark (500), Finland (750), France (100), Iceland (30), Ireland (200), Netherlands (500), Norway (1,200), Portugal (26 in 2009), Romania (40), Spain (75), Sweden (1,900), UK (750) in Europe. A few other countries provide resettlement places on an ad hoc basis. (*2011 quota unless otherwise stated. NB quotas aren’t necessarily filled) 11
The Wider Framework Resettlement need vs departures in 2009 350000 A 300000 x 250000 i s 200000 T 150000 Resettlement need i UNHCR processing capacity 100000 t Resettlement departures l 50000 e 0 12
Protection-Centred Cooperation Asia Pacific Central Asia Rest of Africa 20% East Asia & Pacific Asia Pacific Americas South Asia 37% 8% SE Asia Middle East & SW Asia North Africa 19% Europe 16% Refugee population by region end 2009 13
Protection-Centred Cooperation Sound RSD, effective protection pending a durable solution, and a durable solution within a reasonable time for every refugee within the jurisdiction of a cooperating state, with costs of providing all of the above equitably distributed between cooperating states. 14
Equitable Burden Sharing Asia Pacific refugee population by country end 2009 All Others Afghanistan, Australia, Bhutan, Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, Cook Islands, East Timor, Fiji, Federated States of Micronesia, French Polynesia, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kiribati, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Mongolia, Nauru, Nepal, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, North Korea, Palau, PNG, Philippines, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Thailand, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Vietnam 15
Equitable Burden Sharing Indicators of asylum burden 2009 Country Refugees to Refugees to Refugees to 1000 km 2 GDP (PPP) 1000 per capita inhabitants Australia 0.6 1.1 2.9 Pakistan 745.1 9.6 1985.1 Bangladesh 163.9 1.4 1670.9 Nepal 100.6 3.7 736.5 Iran 98.6 14.4 659.5 India 67.3 0.2 58.6 China 51.1 0.2 32.1 Thailand 13.0 1.6 203.7 PNG 5.0 1.4 20.9 Malaysia 4.7 2.4 199.7 16
Equitable Burden Sharing Australian Government Protection Support Expense 2009-10 2010-11 budget Initiatives to address the 6,483,000 6,816,000 situation of displaced persons Regional cooperation & 28,879,000 27,170,000 capacity building Management & care of 5,000,000 3,031,000 irregular migrants in Indonesia UNHCR core funding 14,300,000 16,000,000 17
Equitable Burden Sharing Three ways of equitably reallocating asylum burden: 1) People transfers 2) Financial transfers 3) Some combination of 1) & 2) 18
Getting from Here to There: Bilateral Australia envisages the Regional Protection Framework as “an interlocking series of arrangements” building on existing arrangements such as those Australia already has with Indonesia, PNG and East Timor. Key countries are those through which asylum seekers travel to reach Australia, e.g. Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and other countries in Indochina. 19
Getting from Here to There: Regional “Bali Process Countries”: – Australia, China, Fiji, France [New Caledonia], Hong Kong SAR, Japan, Kiribati, Macau SAR, Mongolia, Nauru, New Zealand, North Korea, Palau, PNG, Samoa, Solomon Islands, South Korea, Tonga, Vanuatu (East Asia and the Pacific) – Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka (South Asia) – Bangladesh, Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam (South East Asia) – Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan (South West Asia) – Iraq, Jordan, Syria, Turkey (Western Asia NB excluded from UNHCR’s operational definition of “Asia & the Pacific”) “Bali Process Steering Group”: Australia and Indonesia (co -chairs), New Zealand (coordinator of Regional and International Cooperation on Policy Issues and Legal Frameworks activities), Thailand (coordinator of Regional and International Cooperation on Policy Issues and Law 20 Enforcement activities), IOM and UNHCR.
Getting from Here to There: Regional “Other Participating Countries” (observer status): Austria, Belgium, Canada , Denmark , European Commission, Finland , Germany, Italy, Netherlands , Norway , Poland, Romania , Russian Federation, South Africa, Spain , Sweden , Switzerland, UK , USA “ Other Bali Process Organisations ” (observer status): Asian Development Bank (ADB), Asia Pacific Consultations on Refugees Displaced Persons and Migrants (APC), International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD), International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), Intergovernmental Consultations on Migration Asylum and Refugees (IGC), International Labour Organization (ILO), International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), World Bank. 21
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