Immigration laws under the microscope

18 November 2009

Dr Susan Kneebone

Dr Susan Kneebone from the Faculty of Law has become a vocal part of an international network of academics and advocates working to improve government and community recognition of the rights of refugees.

Current estimates suggest that more than 24 million people are currently displaced from their homes because of armed conflict.

The unprecedented number of people on the move has placed new emphasis on the immigration and refugee systems of many western nations, including Australia.

Dr Kneebone, a deputy-director of Monash's Castan Centre for Human Rights Law and a member of the Refugee Council of Australia, says her work has been driven by concern at a system she believes marginalises and unfairly treats a group of disadvantaged people.

She is one of a handful of academics to venture deeply into Australia's labyrinthine immigration laws.

In her critical investigations of Australia's Refugee Review Tribunal and the controversial Pacific Strategy, Dr Kneebone has argued that asylum seekers were discriminated against, and that government policy focused on deterrence rather than protection and the right to seek asylum.

"There is an unrealistic onus on refugees to prove their fears of persecution, torture or retribution if they are forced to return home," she said.

"As a result some people can be left waiting in limbo for years for their cases to be heard.

"The human rights of asylum seekers must be respected as far as possible."

With initial funding and support from the Monash Institute for the Study of Global Movements, Dr Kneebone has produced a number of books, been awarded more than $300,000 worth of Australian Research Council Discovery Grants, been involved in UNHCR consultations, contributed to Australian senate committees, advised both sides of federal politics and spoken at major immigration law forums and in the UK, Europe, Canada, Australia.

Dr Kneebone is also engaging more with the Asia-Pacific and the refugee problems facing Australia's near-neighbours such as Thailand and Malaysia.

For more information see Dr Kneebone's profile page.