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Keywords: Refugee Convention

  • INTERNATIONAL

    Abbott's immigration paranoia

    • Kerry Murphy
    • 17 May 2010
    25 Comments

    Abbott's 'red arrows' asulym seeker ad is reminiscent of the 'reds under the beds' hysteria of the '50s and '60s. With an election on the way, the immigration policy reform agenda has been put aside as both Government and Opposition harden their policies.

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  • RELIGION

    Why Ali fled Afghanistan

    • Frank Brennan
    • 07 April 2010
    21 Comments

    On Monday night on ABC1's Q&A, Tony Abbott was asked about the recent wave of boat people including Hazaras fleeing the Taliban in Afghanistan. At the end of one recent meeting in Indonesia, a 15-year-old Hazara named Ali came and told me his heart wrenching story.

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  • RELIGION

    Schooling for a more cohesive society

    • Frank Brennan
    • 19 March 2010
    4 Comments

    The challenges and opportunities are to fund equitably all networks in education and to ensure that robust morale and community engagement are hallmarks of all parts of the network, including state schools and emerging schools such as Muslim schools.

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  • RELIGION

    Uighurs failed by Cambodia's sham refugee law

    • Frank Brennan
    • 03 March 2010
    6 Comments

    In June last year a solitary Uighur from Xinjiang province arrived in Phnom Penh seeking asylum. On 18 December he and 21 other Uighur asylum seekers were praying when Cambodian police entered their safe house and abducted them at gunpoint.

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  • INTERNATIONAL

    Precarious lives: Involuntary displacement of people in Asia Pacific today

    • Mark Raper
    • 18 January 2010

    Significant agreement was achieved in Copenhagen on the present and future forcible displacement of people because of climate change and environmental degradation. Can global cooperation for the protection of vulnerable displaced persons be renewed to meet new circumstances?

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Protecting children from bullies and bureaucrats

    • Michael Mullins
    • 23 November 2009
    5 Comments

    A Wesley Mission survey of 1200 adults found that being bullied as children caused 70 per cent of them to suffer from low self-esteem and a lack of assertiveness later in life. Federal Labor must explain what has become of its promise to appoint a children's commissioner.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Another 'certain maritime incident'

    • Tony Kevin
    • 05 November 2009
    11 Comments

    Peter Costello draws a long bow in presuming smugglers provided the boat that sank off the Cocos Islands this week. As with the sinking of the SIEV X, it is unfortunate that it takes a tragedy to remind us that at the heart of this issue are desperate human beings.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    'Indonesia solution' is immoral

    • Andrew Hamilton
    • 02 November 2009
    10 Comments

    The reception of asylum seekers is to be judged by the human reality of those who seek asylum, not by convenience of those on whom they make a claim. It is morally unjustifiable for Australia to transfer its responsibilities to Indonesia.

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  • INTERNATIONAL

    Getting the balance right on border protection

    • Kerry Murphy
    • 02 November 2009
    3 Comments

    When debating key issues such as the balance between sovereignty and the human rights of asylum seekers, we can sometimes forget that we're dealing with people. What's clear for advocates can pose difficulties for politicians.

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  • INTERNATIONAL

    Getting fair, not tough, on immigration

    • Kerry Murphy
    • 07 October 2009
    13 Comments

    Homosexuals in Iran and allegedly 'adulterous' women in some countries are at risk of execution. Such cases may not qualify for refugee status in Australia, but would benefit from a 'complementary protection' Bill currently before Parliament.

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  • INTERNATIONAL

    Asylum seekers are not criminals

    • Sacha Bermudez-Goldman
    • 21 April 2009
    9 Comments

    If we regard asylum seekers as illegals who burn boats to force themselves on us, we might choose to close our doors to them. Rather than criminals, we should regard them as human beings in great need, deserving our respect and compassion.

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  • INTERNATIONAL

    Forward with fairness for asylum seeker policy

    • Kerry Murphy
    • 17 April 2009
    3 Comments

    The tragic death of several asylum seekers on a boat while being towed to Christmas Island again shows the dangers for people coming to Australia by boat. But it does not justify a return to the harsh policies of the past.

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