Newcastle Law School academic Dr Amy Maguire discusses Australia's current asylum seeker policy

Australia is the only party to the Refugee Convention to adopt a policy of mandatory and indefinite detention of asylum seekers.

When a child (or any person) attempts to reach Australia and claim protection as a refugee, he or she is not violating any laws. Instead, asylum seekers are asserting a fundamental human right to flee persecution and seek protection outside their home state. In joining the Refugee Convention in 1954, Australia signaled to the international community its willingness to share responsibility for the protection of refugees and asylum seekers. That commitment applies, regardless of how or from where asylum seekers travel to Australia, or whether they arrive with a valid visa.

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Learn more about Dr Amy Maguire at her researcher profile.

Contact: Dr Amy Maguire

Phone: (02) 4921 5374

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