Companion House - Assisting Survivors of Torture and Trauma

Companion House is looking for a receptionist

We are looking for a receptionist for the month of February 2012.

This could be part time or full time depending on your needs.

Email your interest and resume by February 1st to


 kathy.ragless@companionhouse.org.au

Training session coming up at Companion House

Understanding Refugee Experience

Sixty Years of the Refugee Convention

The Sixtieth Anniversary of the Refugee Convention

The sixtieth anniversary of the Refugee Convention is coming up. What is the background to the anniversary of this very important agreement?

The United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (commonly known as the Refugee Convention) is the primary international legal document relating to refugee protection. It defines who is a refugee and outlines the rights of refugees and the legal obligations of states towards refugees and asylum seekers.

The Refugee Convention was adopted at a United Nations conference on 28 July 1951 and entered into force on 22 April 1954. The Refugee Convention was originally designed to respond to the needs of European refugees in the years following World War II. As such, it applied only to persons who had become refugees as a result of “events occurring before 1 January 1951”. The Convention also allowed signatories to limit their obligations to refugees originating from Europe alone.

In 1967, the Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees removed the geographic and time limitations of the original Convention, broadening its scope to create capacity to respond to new refugee situations. The protocol entered into force on 4 October 1967.

Definition

The Refugee Convention defines a refugee as:

Any person who owing to a well founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his/her nationality and is unable, or owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself/herself of the protection of that country.

In order for someone to be recognised as a refugee under the Convention, therefore, they must satisfy the following criteria:

· The person must be outside their country of origin

· The reason for their flight must be a fear of persecution

· This fear of persecution must be well founded (ie. they must have experienced it or be likely to experience it if they return)

· The persecution must be due to one or more of the five grounds listed in the definition

They must be unwilling or unable to seek the protection of their country.

The definition also includes a qualifier which excludes any person who has committed a crime against peace, a war crime, a crime against humanity, a serious non-political crime outside their country of refuge or any other act contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Rights of refugees

The Refugee Convention also recognises that refugees hold certain rights. Some of these are universal human rights recognised in other human rights treaties such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, for example the rights to freedom of religion, work and education. The Refugee Convention outlines the degree level of rights recognition which should be accorded to refugees.

For instance, the Convention requires states parties to accord to refugees:

· The same rights as citizens in relation to freedom of religion, intellectual property, access to courts and legal assistance, accessing elementary education, labour rights and social security.

· Treatment which is as favourable as possible and at least as favourable as that accorded to foreign nationals, in relation to the acquisition of property, self-employment, practising as a professional, housing, accessing secondary and tertiary education.

· Treatment which is at least as favourable as that accorded to foreign nationals with respect to freedom of association, wage-earning employment, freedom of movement

The Refugee Convention also recognises a number of rights which are specific to refugees.

Article 31: Refugees unlawfully in the country of refuge

Article 31 of the Refugee Convention prohibits states parties from imposing penalties on refugees who, when coming directly from a territory where their life or freedom was threatened, enter or are present in their territory without authorisation, provided they present themselves without delay to the authorities and can show good cause for their illegal entry or presence.

This Article recognises that refugees have a lawful right to enter a country for the purposes of seeking asylum, regardless of how they arrive or whether they hold valid travel or identity documents. As such, what otherwise would be considered illegal actions (eg. entering a country without a visa) should not be treated as such if a person is seeking asylum. This means that it is incorrect to refer to asylum seekers who arrive without authorisation as “illegal”, as they in fact have a lawful right to do so if they are seeking asylum. Article 31 also prohibits states parties from restricting the freedom of movement of refugees who arrive without authorisation, with the exception of restrictions necessary for regularising their status. Furthermore, such restrictions should be applied only until their status in the country is regularised or they obtain admission into another country.

Articles 32 & 33: Expulsion and Non-refoulement

Article 32 of the Refugee Convention prohibits states parties from expelling a refugee who is lawfully in their territory, except on grounds of national security or public order. Article 33 of the Refugee Convention outlines the principle of non-refoulement. According to this principle, states parties must not forcibly expel or return (refouler) a refugee to a situation where their life or freedom may be threatened on account of their race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion. The principle of non-refoulement has become part of customary international law and is considered to be binding on all states, even those which have not signed the Refugee Convention.

States parties to the Refugee Convention

The Refugee Convention currently has 147 states parties. This includes three states which are party only to the 1951 Convention and three states which are party only to the 1967 Protocol. All other states are parties to both instruments. Australia was among the earliest states parties to the Refugee Convention, acceding to the treaty on 22 January 1954. Australia ratified the 1967 Protocol on 13 December 1973.

www.refugeecouncil.org.au

From Darkness to Light

FASSTT report on Torture and Trauma services is out

Developing Community Through Community Exchange

Community Exchange Forum

Cultural transition is a journey commonly experienced by all newly arrived migrants in Australia. New places, a new culture and new systems are not easy to adopt overnight, but the transition can be made easier by sharing ideas, knowledge and experiences within the communities and across cultures.

Companion House hosted a second Community Exchange Forum on 15th May in Cook Hall with participation from new and emerging communities in Canberra and Goulburn including the Chin, Karen, Mon, South Sudan, and Hazara. The forum was dominated by a sense of hope, aspiration and achievement in a new country despite barriers and challenges within the community. Community leaders, men, women, young people and children shared stories, experiences and knowledge with their fellow community members and learnt from each other.

The forum was led by the Community Development Team – Vesna, Hongsar and Sandra with the assistance of Glenn from Training and Advocacy Team and Ina from Counselling Team. The forum gave an opportunity for all community members to share their concept of a ‘vision for the future’ and ‘where to from here’ for their communities.

‘Even if you speak well, you cannot do much without people who cooperate with you and guide you in this country’, a Chin community leader told the forum. Cooperation between community and Companion House was acknowledged as fruitful and beneficial.

Most community leaders have said that barriers to training and employment, as well as secure housing for new families, have been challenges, despite the government working to address these issues.

Cultural identity was discussed as a common important theme across communities. All the communities see their contribution to Australian multicultural society as a key goal. They all want to work hard to be good Australian citizens and they are also keen to keep their own culture and pass it to their young generation. In that process they want to work with the government and services hand-in-hand, as was expressed by the Sudanese community leader. Participants in the discussion also agreed that the communities need the government and services to understand their community’s culture and the way they socialise within their own community. At the same time they acknowledged that their community associations have an important role in assisting community members to understand Australian culture and system of services as well as the legal and political systems. A Mon community leader said: ‘It is our responsibility to express what are our needs, and our weakness as well as our strength, when we advocate to the government’. He stressed the service system has to address and understand both needs and strengths that communities have.

The Karen community leaders shared her thoughts about the importance of education for people in the community. While the first step is to learn English language, people in the community also work hard to find employment and to be able to independently navigate through the system of services. The hopes are for the young generation to get Australian degrees and find good jobs. There are admirable achievements in education of young people across communities. The new generation of university students has been growing, and some are already coming out with university degrees. In the Sudanese community for example there are nine young people who have completed their university education in 2011. The next challenge however, is to find good jobs that would match the expectations of people who have worked hard towards their degrees.

The beautiful language of the Karen community leader was praised among the group. She said that meeting people from other communities is a great pleasure and said ‘get to know us, and even if we do not speak the same language when you see us in the street be friendly and give us a smile, as we will always be happy to see you.” This sentiment was widely shared amongst the participants. Food was served at the end of formal session with two cultural dances from Karen and Mon Community by young people and adults.

‘Culture can be seen, tasted and experienced’, said Vesna Golic, Community Development Team Leader, and encouraged people towards greater networking, sharing and exchanging of cultural values.

The most interesting session could not be complete without hearing the views of young people and children. One little girl said, ‘I was very shy to go to school at the beginning. I was afraid of people I didn’t know, and I didn’t have friends’. Now she is happy meeting people from other cultures. It was also great to hear about the dreams these young people have for their future. They want to visit their home country, and here in Australia they want to become teachers or singers and find good employment. Most of all, they want to see their families happy.

Hongsar Channaibanya is a Community Development worker at Companion House