Kaldor Centre Annual Conference 2015
PROTECTION ELSEWHERE, BUT WHERE?
National, Regional and Global Perspectives on Refugee Law
On 20 November 2015, the Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law hosted its second annual conference. The conference brought together refugee law experts from across Australia and around the world to discuss the pressing issue of international and regional cooperation for refugee protection.
Audio from the event is available below or as a podcast on iTunes.
Welcome and introductory remarks: The year in review
Professor Jane McAdam, Director of the Kaldor Centre, reflected on key developments in Australian refugee law and policy in a global perspective.
Keynote address
Erika Feller, Former Assistant High Commissioner for Protection, UNHCR & Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow, University of Melbourne presented the keynote address titled Regional cooperation: Can it be made to work?
Turnbacks and offshore processing
Chaired by Julian Burnside AO QC, this expert panel discussed the operation and implications of Australia's policies of turning back boats and offshore processing in Nauru and Papua New Guinea.
Turning back the boats: Australia’s interdiction of irregular migrants at sea
Professor Andreas Schloenhardt, TC Beirne School of Law, University of Queensland
Refugee processing on Nauru
Rea Hearn Mackinnon, Principal Member of the Nauru Refugee Status Review Tribunal
Australia’s offshore processing regime: responsibility and rights
Madeline Gleeson, Kaldor Centre, UNSW
International comparisons
Chaired by Andrew Kaldor AM, Kaldor Centre Founder, speakers in this session provided an examination of Australian law and practice compared to approaches elsewhere, focusing on regional cooperation frameworks, comparison of Israeli and Australian refugee policy, and consideration of the ethics and politics of refugee protection.
Comparative regional frameworks
Professor Kate Jastram, Executive Director, Miller Institute for Global Challenges and the Law, Berkeley Law,University of California
Detention of asylum seekers and the Israeli High Court of Justice: The absent–present 1951 Refugee Convention
Dr Ruvi Ziegler, School of Law, University of Reading
Order out of chaos? Seeking refuge and solidarity in Europe
Emeritus Professor Guy S Goodwin-Gill, University of Oxford
Perspectives from the Asia-Pacific region
This Q&A panel was chaired by Frances Voon, Kaldor Centre Executive Manager. Panellists from Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, provided local perspectives on refugee protection in the region.
Rafendi Djamin, Representative of Indonesia to the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights
Deepa Nambiar, Asylum Access Malaysia
Professor Supang Chantanavich, Faculty of Political Science,Chulalongkorn University, Thailand