|
Position
Paper on
'People
Smuggling'
"Every day thousands of people take even critical risks in their
attempts to escape from a life with no future.
Unfortunately, the reality they find in host nations is frequently a
source of further disappointment.
At the same time, States with a relative abundance tend to tighten their
borders under pressure from a public opinion disturbed by the inconveniences
that accompany the phenomena of immigration.
Society finds itself having to deal with the 'clandestine', men and
women in illegal situations, without any rights in a country that refuses to
welcome them, victims of organized crime or of unscrupulous entrepreneurs."
Pope John Paul II, Message for World Migration Day
2000, n 4.
This
paper outlines the concern of the Australian Catholic Social Justice Council (ACSJC)
and the Australian Catholic Migrant and Refugee Office (ACMRO) regarding
recent Federal Government changes to the regulations governing the treatment
of those who arrive in Australia without authority and the phenomena of
'people smuggling'.
It
builds on the ACSJC and ACMRO's two previous papers on asylum seekers in
Australia. These two papers,
ACSJC/ACMRO Position Paper on The Plight of Asylum Seekers in Australia, and
ACSJC/ACMRO Background Paper on Asylum Seekers in Australia are
available on request from the ACSJC.
Welcoming
Refugees
The
ACSJC & ACMRO support an expanded humanitarian program as a response to
the human rights abuses that are forcing people to flee their countries and
seek refuge elsewhere. Increasing
the humanitarian program within the immigration intake would help to combat
'people smugglers' by reducing the reliance of would-be asylum seekers on
illegal activities to find refuge and safety.
Respect
Human Dignity
Human
beings are an end in themselves. Their
inalienable God-given dignity demands that they never be used as a means to
influence the behavior of others. Asylum
seekers should not be treated punitively in order to 'send a message' to
'people smugglers'. Asylum
seekers are human beings and their human rights must be respected at all
stages of the processing of their claims to refugee status.
The
ACSJC & ACMRO believe that issuing temporary visas, renewable after three
years, to those whose claims to refugee status are upheld, creates an unstable
situation for these vulnerable people.
Penalise
the Smugglers, not their Victims
The
ACSJC and ACMRO affirm that 'people smuggling' is a serious international
issue involving immense suffering and exploitation and welcomes tough new
penalties for 'people smugglers' including large fines and the destruction
of boats.
The
ACSJC and ACMRO stress that asylum seekers and people with humanitarian cases
should not be penalised for entering the country without authority.
Those who are fleeing persecution or human rights abuses may have
little choice as to their means of flight.
Those who turn in desperation to 'people smugglers' to escape from
persecution and human rights abuses are exploited by 'people smugglers'.
The victims of human rights abuses should not be victimized again by
the Australian community.
Many find the 'illegal boat people' terminology offensive and unfair.
Instead, Australians should be aware of the desperate situation that causes
people to enter Australia this way. They should not be encouraged and
supported through the popular media to have intolerance and lack of compassion
for people seeking refuge.
The New
Regulations
During
late 1999 the number of people arriving in Australia without authority seeking
asylum rose significantly. In
response to this development the Federal Government has introduced tough new
measures to deter 'people smuggling'.
Until
recently, the granting of a protection visa automatically resulted in
permanent residence, provision of settlement services, health, medical and
social security benefits, and entitlement to family reunion.
Under
the three-year temporary visa system, all people arriving in Australia without
authority will continue to be placed in detention initially.
Those with successful refugee claims will be granted the temporary visa
and released from detention.
This
visa allows them access to Medicare and Special Benefits only, unlike
permanent visa holders who have access to the full range of social security
benefits. The three-year
temporary visa holders are unable to access English language training, and
have limited access to government settlement services.
The
punitive nature of these measures is clear, with tough restrictions preventing
family reunion, including spouse and children, and with no automatic right of
return if they should leave Australia.
Even
though they are in theory allowed to work, without having an entitlement to
study English, and having only temporary status, it will be difficult to find
suitable employment.
Those
who arrive in Australia without authority and are neither granted refugee
status nor allowed to stay on humanitarian grounds through the exercise of
ministerial discretion, will be repatriated.
According
to the Government the temporary visa system will remove the 'pull' factors
of permanent residence and family reunion that may attract asylum seekers.
Jubilee
Challenge
"In celebrating the Great Jubilee
of the Year 2000, the Church does not want
to forget the tragedies which have marked the century now drawing to a close:
the bloody wars which have devastated the world, the deportations,
extermination camps, "ethnic cleansing" and the hatred which has
spread and continues to darken human history.
The Church
hears the suffering cry of all who are uprooted from their own land, of
families forcefully separated, of those who, in the rapid changes of our day,
are unable to find a stable home anywhere. She senses the
anguish of
those without rights, without any security, at the mercy of every kind of
exploitation, and she supports them in their unhappiness.
In all the
societies of the world the figure of the exile, the refugee, the deportee, the
clandestine, the migrant and the "street people" gives the Jubilee
celebration a very concrete meaning, which for believers becomes a call to
change their mentality and their life, in accordance
with Christ's appeal: "Repent,
and believe in the Gospel" (Mk 1: 15).
In its highest and most demanding motivation, this call to conversion
certainly includes the effective recognition of the rights of migrants:
"It is urgent in their regard that one know how to overcome a
strictly nationalistic
attitude to create a State which recognizes their right to emigration and
encourages their integration.... It is the duty of all -
and especially Christians - to work energetically to establish the
universal brotherhood which is the indispensable basis of true justice and
a condition for lasting peace" (Paul VI, Encyclical Octogesima adveniens,
n. 17).
Working for
the unity of the human family means being committed to the rejection of all
discrimination based on race, culture or religion as contrary to God's plan.
It means bearing witness to a fraternal life based
on the Gospel, which respects cultural differences and is open to
sincere and trustful dialogue. It
includes the advancement of everyone's right to be able to live peacefully in
his own country, as well as attentive concern that in every State immigration
laws be based on the recognition
of fundamental human rights.
May the Virgin Mary, who set out with haste to visit her
cousin Elizabeth and, in receiving hospitality, rejoiced in God her Saviour
(cf. Lk 1: 39-47), sustain everyone who in this Jubilee year sets out with
their hearts open to others, and help them to meet them as brothers and
sisters,
children
of the same Father (cf. Mt 23: 9)."
Pope
John Paul II, Message for World Migration Day 2000, n 6.
Further
Reading:
ACSJC/ACMRO
Position Paper, The Plight of Asylum Seekers (1999)
ACSJC/ACMRO
Background Paper, Asylum Seekers in Australia (1999)
Pope
John Paul II, Message for World Migration Day (2000)
Pontifical
Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People & the
Pontifical Council 'Cor Unum', Refugees: A Challenge to Solidarity,
(1992)
Human
Rights & Equal Opportunity Commission, Those Who've Come Across the
Seas: Detention of Unauthorized Arrivals, (1998)
For
further Information:
Australian
Catholic Migrant and Refugee Office
GPO
Box 2720
Phone: 02 6201 9848
Canberra ACT 2601 Fax: 02
6247 7466
Email: director@acmro.catholic.org.au
projectofficer@acmro.catholic.org.au
Australian
Conference of Leaders
of
Religious Institutes
36
Collins Street
Phone: 02 9557 2695
Annandale
NSW 2038 Fax: 02 9519
4431
Email:
aclri@nlc.net.au
Website:
www.aclri.catholic.org.au
Refugee
Council of Australia
Phone:
02 9660 5300
Website:
www.refugeecouncil.org.au
(this
site contains policy analysis and relevant facts and figures in easy to read
graphs)
Department
of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs
Website:
www.immi.gov.au
(this
site carries the latest media releases and a range of fact sheets)
The Australian Catholic Social Justice Council
The
Australian Catholic Social Justice Council (ACSJC) is the national social
justice and human rights agency of the Catholic Church in Australia. It advises
the Bishops on social justice issues in Australia and overseas; undertakes
research and advocacy on such issues; educates the Catholic community about the
Church's social justice teachings and their application; and facilitates the
development of social justice networks within the Catholic Church in Australia.
The
work of the ACSJC falls into three areas: building social justice networks;
education and formation; and research, advocacy and public policy.
The
ACSJC is made up primarily of lay people and its membership is drawn from each
of the ecclesiastical provinces of Australia.
The ACSJC is responsible to the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference (ACBC)
through the ACSJC Chairman, who is also a member of the Bishops Committee for
Justice, Development and Peace (BCJDP). Two
other members of the BCJDP also sit on the ACSJC along with the BCJDP's
Executive Secretary who is an ex officio member of the ACSJC.
Australian
Catholic Social Justice Council
19
MacKenzie St, North Sydney NSW 2060; Tel 02 9956 5811 Fax 02 9923 3440
email
<admin@acsjc.org.au>
Website:
www.socialjustice.catholic.org.au
The Australian Catholic Migrant and Refugee Office
The
Australian Catholic Migrant and Refugee Office was established by the Australian
Catholic Bishops' Conference in July 1995. It emerged from the Federal Catholic Immigration Office and
the Australian Catholic Refugee Office.
The
ACMRO dedicates its efforts towards the acceptance and settlement of refugees
and migrants into Australia. It
does this especially by its efforts to influence government policies in this
area. It also seeks to form
Catholic Church policy in Australia for the pastoral care of migrants and
refugees.
Asylum
seekers merit the special consideration of the ACMRO which undertakes special
service in their regard, irrespective of their creed or origin.
Australian
Catholic Migrant and Refugee Office
1
Ballumbir St, Braddon ACT 2612; Tel (02) 6201 9848; fax (02) 6247 7466
email
<director@acmro.catholic.org.au>
©Australian
Catholic Bishops Conference.
This
ACSJC/ACMRO Position Paper may be reproduced in its entirety
with
appropriate permission and acknowledgement.
ACSJC/ACMRO
'People Smuggling' Position
Paper
February
2000
|
