The Pacific Solution – A Catastrophe for the Pacific!?

Eberhard Weber

doi:10.13189/eer.2015.030404

Abstract

Climate change and related sea-level rise has caused fears that many people in the Pacific Islands might become homeless. However it is difficult to say who is more afraid: politicians of countries that are potential destinations of environmental refugees or affected people, who realize that it is not at all a pleasure to lose the home, and that it might be even a bigger nightmare to become a refugee. While in low-lying Pacific Island countries (PICs) debates and discourses about people's future flare up the fear of becoming homeless and refugees is worrying many. It seems that governments whose countries could become preferred destinations of climate change refugees are concerned how to keep them away from reaching safe harbors. In 2001 the Australian Government started its Pacific Solution, a policy that should prevent aliens arriving by boat in Australia to seek the status of refugees. The Australian Government has established detention centers on the Pacific Islands of Manus (PNG) and Nauru to process asylum seekers outside Australian territory. In 2013 a new element was added to the Pacific Solution: refugees arriving on boats will be processed and settled in PNG or Nauru (or countries other than Australia), if found to be genuine refugees. Others can be detained for unspecified time. Migrants' well-being is not only based on material conditions, but also reflects on emotional ones. The inhumane treatment of refugees increases angst amongst those who are threatened to lose their homes as a result of climate change and depend on support from other countries.

Highlights

When the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) was established in 1951 there were some 1.5 million refugees internationally
Walmsley et al [101] argue that Australia and New Zealand would gain considerably from increasing quotas, on unskilled labour and the Pacific Island economies gained a lot from sending unskilled labour to Australia and New Zealand [101]
This was the beginning of an Australian policy directed against Asylum seekers trying to reach Australia by boat that became known as the Pacific Solution (Coddington [18]; Metcalfe [72])

Summary

Introduction

When the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) was established in 1951 there were some 1.5 million refugees internationally. Christian Aid [16] forecasts even one billion refugees by 2050, of which 250 million people are „permanently displaced by climate-change-related phenomena such as floods, droughts, famines and hurricanes“. President Tong of Kiribati, one of the Pacific Island countries severely threatened by the impacts of climate change, strongly declines the notion of creating a new category of climate change or environmental refugees under the Refugee Convention (Radio New Zealand International, Sept 3, 2014). To include people who have to leave their homes because of climate change into the Refugee Convention would put them on par with all those who await in Australian detention centers on Manus Island (PNG) and Nauru the outcome of their asylum applications. A situation would weaken the stand of both groups of migrants

Migration in the Pacific Islands

Of “Good” and “Bad” Migrants

The Pacific Solution

Findings

Conclusions