Angus J. Francis

The responsibility to protect and the protection of civilians: A view from the United Nations

This chapter is part of the study of the relationship between the responsibility to protect (R2P) and the protection of civilians (POC). The authors undertook extensive theme-focused interviews at the relevant UN offices in New York and Geneva and the Australian mission in New York as part of the process of mapping the relationship between R2P and POC and their relevance to UN protection operations. The aim of this chapter is to present the opinions of UN officials as a way of understanding the practicalities and application of POC and R2P to the UN system, drawing links between the issues raised by respondents and the wider debate on POC and R2P. In this way, this chapter complements the project’s overview of the literature on R2P and POC presented in the preceding chapter of this collection.

China's refugee policy: pathways to reform

Chinas domestic refugee policy is at a critical juncture. On the one hand, Chinas policy towards North Korean refugees has attracted significant international criticism. On the other hand, Chinas more generous approach towards non-Korean refugees, together with broader administrative law reform and growing interest in international refugee law among Chinese scholars, suggests that substantial reform of Chinas refugee policy may not be far off. This article explores future pathways to reform of Chinas refugee policy at the national, regional and international levels. Whether China embraces a comprehensive refugee law in line with international standards may very well have ramifications for the progression of international refugee law in a region traditionally ambivalent towards its relevance and application.

Accountability for Detaining and Removing Unlawful Non-citizens: The cases of Vivian Solon and Cornelia Rau

On 6 July 2005 Mick Palmer delivered his fi ndings as to how Cornelia Rau, an Australian permanent resident of German origin, came to be detained for six months at the Brisbane Women’s Correctional Centre and for four months at the Baxter Immigration Detention Facility. The report of the Palmer Inquiry was followed on 26 September 2005 by the Commonwealth Ombudsman’s report of Neil Comrie’s investigation into the detention and removal from Australia of Vivian Solon, an Australian citizen born in the Philippines. The Commonwealth Ombudsman summed up the management of her case by the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (DIMIA) in one word: ‘catastrophic’.1 On 18 November 2005 Vivian Solon arrived back in Australia. Her dispute with the Commonwealth government over the compensation for her wrongful removal from Australia will be the subject of a binding arbitration award to be made by the former Chief Justice of the High Court, Sir Anthony Mason.