Publication

This paper looks at the 1951 UN Convention on the Status of Refugees, the key international legal document relating to refugee protection, and contends that the state of its implementation is failing the interests of Australia, the international community and the refugees themselves. The author then looks at 1) how Australia is well-placed to lead an international effort to reform the way the 1951 convention is implemented through the international refugee protection system; and 2) why such an approach would be preferable to Canberra’s existing approach to dealing with the problems of the refugee system.