IDENTIFYING PRESSURE POINTS AND SOLUTIONS TO INTERNATIONAL REFUGEE LAW: AUSTRALIAN AND JORDANIAN REFUGEE LAWS AND POLICIES
Author: Sohum Sakhuja & Aliza Khatoon, Students, Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Punjab
Best Citation – Sohum Sakhuja & Aliza Khatoon, IDENTIFYING PRESSURE POINTS AND SOLUTIONS TO INTERNATIONAL REFUGEE LAW: AUSTRALIAN AND JORDANIAN REFUGEE LAWS AND POLICIES, Indian Journal of Legal Review (IJLR), 3 (1) of 2023, Pg. 23-33, ISSN – 2583-2344.
Abstract
International Refugee Law (IRL), despite of its pre-eminence, has not ensured effective protection of the most intrinsic human rights for refugees around the world. An exposition of the refugee laws and policies of Australia and Jordan followed by a comparative analysis, provides potential solutions for the challenges faced by the international framework for protection of refugees. The research expounds the striking differences between these two nations’ laws and policies. Australia being a signatory to most major conventions protecting rights of refugees including the Refugee Convention 1951, has not developed a national framework that comprehensively protects the rights of refugees. Refugees are held in detention centres in and around Australia for prolonged periods constituting violation of various international conventions and treaties by which Australia is bound. Jordan’s diametrically different case is such that it is not a signatory to even the Refugee Convention and has abstained from signing various significant refugee conventions, yet it has the second largest population percentage of refugees. Minors in these groups are provided with education and adults with the right to work. Both these models are representations of significant elements of IRL. The Australian model is a representation of challenges of enforcement and prioritization of national interests that exist with regards to IRL. The Jordanian model on the other hand puts forth solutions to many such challenges. This paper identifies the existing pressure points in IRL in co-relation to the Australian model and rethinks solutions for the same based on the Jordanian model.