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Human Rights Defender |
Jackie Keegan
The Executive Committee (ExCom) of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) meets in Geneva each September to fulfil its role as advisor to the UNHCR. States Parties to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol (The Convention) set policy for the UNHCR and, in the absence of a mandated Refugee Law court, tribunal, or semi judicial body, provides guidance on protection and other refugee law issues.
Non Government Organisations (NGOs) join Government representatives in an attempt to secure small or large changes to international positions; to influence the precise wording of ExCom outcomes documents, and to meet and work with other NGOs from around the world working on the same issues.
A team of 12 people from Australia are attending this year’s ExCom and to lobby both the Australian and other Government delegations. Two UNSW Research Centres have prepared background documents on eight issues relevant to the current Australian situation, and to the wider international community and the Australian Refugee Rights Alliance (ARRA) team used these to develop positions to be taken in Geneva.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations (UN) agency, mandated under the Charter of the High Commissioner for Refugees 1951 which states at Article 1(1) that:
“The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees...shall assume the function of providing international protection...to refugees”
The UNHCR has a variety of tasks, including some responsibility for Stateless people and internally displaced people, at the request of the General Assembly.
Since 1958, the Executive Committee of the UNHCR, which now consists of 61 nations, has met to:
“Determine the general policies under which the High Commissioner shall plan, develop and administer the programmes and projects...”
In addition to budget and program oversight, the Executive Committee adopts “Conclusions on International Protection”. These have addressed such issues as detention, gender persecution, the treatment of children and families, asylum and the responsibilities of State Parties to the 1951 Geneva Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees.
The Conclusions are not legally binding, but they express international consensus on legal matters regarding refugees. They have been accepted as persuasive at various national courts and tribunals and it is arguable that they are a source of opinio juris, an element of customary international law. As Conclusions are adopted or endorsed by the General Assembly, they gain weight as sources of both law and practice.
Other decisions of the Executive Committee, while less important for the development of international law, are crucial for the treatment and protection of refugees internationally, both by the UNHCR and by States contributing to and benefiting from UNHCR programs.
While the Executive Committee is comprised of nations, observers play an active role in its work. Non-member nations, other UN agencies, and various churches and Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) participate in the yearly government meeting. Even without voting or speaking rights (one NGO representative makes an “intervention” or speech each year), representatives of NGOs can influence meeting outcomes through direct communication with member state representatives. NGO experience and preparation can assist less prepared or knowledgeable representatives in their decision-making.
Australia’s current policies on asylum seekers and refugees illustrate some of the issues facing refugee advocates world-wide. While Australia is at the forefront of many problematic approaches to refugee reception and treatment, we are being joined by a collection of developed and developing nations. The positions taken by all states at ExCom, and later, at the General Assembly deliberations of the ExCom report, will be crucial in combating the swing against refugees and humanitarian entrants world wide.
Australian Refugee Rights Alliance (ARRA) is a team of advocates from various Australian non government organisations who will be attending the refugee meetings in Geneva between 23 September and 5 October 2002.
Dr Eileen Pittaway will be leading the team. She has been advocating for change at the international level for many years and works closely with other NGOs, including with the Asia Pacific Women’s Forum, which has worked to good effect on a number of issues over the last decade.
Under a joint program called “Searching for Solutions”, the Australian Human Rights Centre and the Centre for Refugee Research, two research Centres at the University of New South Wales, prepared background papers on eight issues:
| • | The root causes of refugee movements |
| • | Interdiction of asylum seekers at territorial borders |
| • | People Smuggling |
| • | Detention of asylum seekers |
| • | The refugee definition under the 1951 Convention |
| • | Issues relevant to refugee women |
| • | Temporary protection |
| • | The need for more robust monitoring mechanisms for the 1951 Convention |
These papers lay out in simple terms the international legal position on these areas, as well as some relevant issues of concern. The topics were chosen after the ARRA team canvassed colleagues and contacts working with refugees and on issues relating to refugees and asylum seekers. While the papers focus entirely on international law and practice, they are topics relevant to Australia’s current refugee system and to criticism of it. They are not intended to be critical but are designed as a useful tool for anyone interested in finding basic material on the lawfulness of various refugee and humanitarian policies.
The background papers were the basis for positions taken by the ARRA team in their preparation for the meetings in Geneva. In addition to the legal background papers, the ARRA team will be taking concise position papers to Geneva, and also a small booklet about Australia’s current on-shore protection provisions – including information about the so-called “Pacific Solution”, the mandatory detention regime, and the temporary protection system. The Australian material will be useful to prepare NGOs from other nations for what may come where they are, and in order to answer direct requests for information from the representatives of other States.
Over one hundred organisations and individuals have endorsed the positions taken by ARRA. Both the research and the positions are available on the internet, at www.crr.unsw.edu.au
The team has already worked through the Agenda for Protection, a document that will be adopted by States at the Government meeting, and has prepared both suggested changes and law-based reasons for those suggestions. As further documents are made available, the team will analyse them and prepare material to back up any proposed changes.
ARRA is new to this process and will be working closely with representatives from NGOs all over the world who have been lobbying at ExCom and related meetings for some time. We will be contributing person-power, since we will be up to 15 people at different times during the two weeks, and we will be bringing along the work we have put in to preparing our positions and our understanding of the issues relevant to Australia, and of other issues that affect refugees world-wide.
The ARRA team will work with other NGOs in Geneva to plan and prioritise, and to set specific goals. Many of these will be limited to changing the wording of a Conclusion or decision, but others will be more ambitious. Where an issue is not on the agenda for the 2002 meeting, the goal may be to have it considered for future rounds. In some cases, goals will go beyond ExCom conclusions or decisions. The team is planning to continue this work for the next three years, at least, so as to give time to participate in long-term advocacy projects.
The two weeks of meetings include a three day NGO “PrepCom” from September 25-27, a two day European meeting where European practices and concerns are discussed (the Australians are going to this meeting as observers, to bring back information for NGOs and the public in Australia), and the 5 day government “ExCom” meeting, from September 30 until October 4. NGOs cannot participate in the Government meeting directly (only one NGO representative gets to speak at ExCom), but the knowledge and preparation that NGOs put into these events means that governments are often willing to consider NGO suggestions and positions in an informal way.
ARRA will participate as an alliance of NGOs at PrepCom, as an observer at the weekend European meeting, and as a part of the NGO community at the Government meeting. All three will give the team a chance to learn about the positions and practices of other countries, about the reality on the ground in places experiencing large refugee movements, and about how Australia’s system is viewed internationally – and the chance to play a small part in influencing international refugee law and policy for the better.
It is important that members of the Australian community are aware of what our government is doing in our name when overseas. Australians have a right to know what is being said by our representatives and have a responsibility to speak up in support of or opposition to our Government’s positions. In order to achieve this, Australians at home can:
| • | Contact the media (local, regional and national) to ask what they have done to ensure reporting of international meetings |
| • | Monitor the official meeting sites on the internet to see how the meeting is progressing on the main stage (Australia’s speeches should be available on the internet soon after they are given) |
| • | Monitor NGO websites for other information about milestones and activities |
| • | Contact politicians to let them know what their constituents think – some parts of civil society are better at this than others, and their energy is reflected in Government policy. |
| • | Come to the ARRA public meetings that will be held in late October, when the team has returned and has put together a preliminary report of its work and of the meeting in general. |