Abrogating human rights responsibilities: Australia’s asylum-seeker policy at home and abroad

Australia’s approach to asylum seekers is a contested area of public policy and has been subjected to ongoing critique by human rights bodies, nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) and refugee advocates both at home and abroad. In 2012, after two decades of mandatory immigration detention, Australia remained far from addressing criticism and presenting alternative policy formulations that adhere to its obligations as a signatory to the Refugee Convention of 1951 and other international instruments. Developing a regional approach is a concept that is gaining traction among academics, NGOs and other actors. Despite some incremental advancement, the Regional Cooperation Framework (RCF) is currently a work-in-progress, as will be outlined later in this chapter. Furthermore, the continuation of harsh domestic policies towards asylum seekers, the reconstruction of offshore processing through bilateral arrangements and the ideologies that allow such measures to be in place need resolution if the RCF is to be a credible policy initiative.