Annemarie Jones's List: Social Work

• UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres told an audience at the Lowy Institute in Sydney yesterday that people smuggling had become ''a nasty business'' linked to organised crime and human rights abuses, and it was important for governments to crack down on it.

    

  But he sa
• d protection also had to be offered to the victims of the trade, who often had no legal way to escape their situations.
• He called for moral leadership, and said the risk of a populist approach

  • Moral leadership rather than Politisised debate which leads to increased xenophobia
• by politicians was that vastly overblown fears ''all too easily manifest into statements and acts of xenophobia against foreigners - be they refugees, migrants or others''.
• The UNHCR wanted countries to process asylum seekers arriving at their borders themselves. But Mr Guterres said the agency would always hold discussions with governments - ''even if they are solutions that are not our preferred solution'' - because talking increased safeguards in such deals.

  • The UN preferred solution

• Of about 6000 asylum seekers in immigration

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  detention, a third have been detained for more than a year, including 173 people detained for more than two years.

  • Current duration of manadory detention in Australia
• Mr Guterres said he hoped to see ''substantial progress'' in the government's recent steps to release asylum seekers into the community on bridging visas.

  • Prefers community release on bridging visas
• ''I would prefer the debate to be much calmer and much less polarised,'' he said.

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