Remarks for the Parliamentary Friends of Refugees Event

Co-Chairs of the Parliamentary Friends of Refugees,

Adama Kamara, Craig Foster, Members of Parliament and friends.

Thank you for the invitation to speak today. The Parliamentary Friends of Refugees matters because refugee protection cannot be sustained by humanitarian organisations alone. It depends on political leadership, across party lines, which keeps protection and humanity at the centre of national decision-making.

Today, I want to leave you with one central message: Australia’s humanitarian assistance, diplomacy and refugee resettlement are not separate acts of generosity. Together, they are strategic investments in protection, regional stability and an international system in which countries share responsibility rather than turn people away.

I look forward to hearing from colleagues from SSI, Amnesty International and APRRN about their recent visit to Cox’s Bazar. Having served twice in Bangladesh, I witnessed first-hand both the extraordinary resilience of the Rohingya, and the immense pressure carried by Bangladesh and humanitarian partners.

Cox’s Bazar hosts more than 1.1 million Rohingya refugees who fled violence and persecution in Myanmar. Across 33 densely populated camps, families live with limited opportunities, uncertain futures and growing security and protection risks. Children are growing up knowing little beyond displacement.

Australia has made a significant contribution. Here I want to commend Australia for its ongoing support to the Rohingya situation through its foreign aid program helping provide food, shelter, healthcare, education and protection at a time when severe funding shortfalls are forcing humanitarian operations to make impossible choices. Continued Australian support is not simply desirable; it is essential. Australia’s voice can also encourage other donors to do more.

But assistance alone cannot resolve prolonged displacement. As our High Commissioner, Barham Salih, himself a former refugee, reminds us: being a refugee is not the whole story; it is only one chapter. People need a credible path beyond dependency and uncertainty.

For the Rohingya, the preferred solution remains voluntary return to Myanmar in safety, dignity and security. Current conditions are not conducive for return. That reality demands stronger regional and international engagement to pursue a political solution and create the condition for safe, voluntary, dignified and sustainable return.

Until those conditions exist, we must be equally clear: refugees must not be forced back into danger. UNHCR has expressed concern about the recent return of nearly 1,500 Myanmar nationals from Malaysia while conflict, insecurity and serious human rights concerns persist in Myanmar. When protection space contracts in one country, pressure and instability do not disappear. They move across borders.

This is where Australia’s leadership can make a decisive difference. By supporting host countries, defending access to asylum and offering durable solutions, Australia helps preserve a regional protection system that serves both humanitarian purpose and regional stability.

Resettlement is central to that effort. UNHCR welcomes the decision to maintain Humanitarian Program at 20,000 places. That commitment matters. But we should also look closely at the composition of those 20,000 places, because the integrity of the Program depends not only on its size, but on whether it continues to reach refugees facing the greatest protection risks.

Humanitarian Program includes UNHCR-referred resettlement, family-linked pathways, community sponsorship, Afghan LEEs, other complementary arrangements and onshore protection grants. Each has value. But they are not interchangeable.

UNHCR-referred resettlement is a protection intervention for people who cannot safely return home, cannot remain safely where they have sought asylum and have no other viable solution. They include women and girls at risk, survivors of torture and trauma, children facing serious threats, people at risk of detention or refoulement, and those with acute protection needs. For them, a resettlement place is not simply an opportunity. It can be the difference between safety and danger, and sometimes between life and death.

Resettlement also delivers impact far beyond the individual. It tells host countries that they will not be left to carry responsibility alone. That signal helps governments keep borders open, maintain asylum arrangements and resist measures that would push refugees back into danger.

In other words, resettlement preserves asylum space. It gives UNHCR greater leverage to advocate against forced return, for access to territory, for alternatives to detention and for humanitarian access. Without credible resettlement opportunities, those discussions become much harder.

That is why a strong, protection-focused UNHCR-referred component must remain at the heart of Humanitarian Program. Family reunion, community sponsorship and other complementary pathways should expand the overall range of solutions. They should complement, not displace, places for the refugees facing the most acute risks.

The Rohingya are among those refugees. Many have spent years in displacement with no immediate prospect of going home. For some, resettlement may be the only durable solution available. At the same time, each resettlement place helps Bangladesh continue providing sanctuary to the far larger number who remain.

This has direct relevance to regional stability. This year alone, more than 820 refugees from Myanmar are reported to have died or gone missing while attempting dangerous sea journeys. When lawful pathways disappear and protection space shrinks, people do not stop moving. They move in greater desperation, at greater risk and into the hands of smugglers and traffickers.

Australia is well placed to advance a comprehensive regional strategy that combines humanitarian assistance, diplomatic engagement, and resettlement. Together, these mutually reinforcing efforts can deliver protection where it is needed most, support host countries, reduce dangerous journeys, and uphold the international protection framework that Australia has helped shape.

My ask today is straightforward. Please continue to champion adequate humanitarian funding for the Rohingya response. Please defend access to asylum and the principle of non-refoulement across our region. And please help ensure that a strong UNHCR-referred, protection-focused resettlement component remains at the core of Australia’s 20,000-place Humanitarian Program.

On behalf of UNHCR, thank you for your compassion, engagement and partnership. I ask you to continue making the case, within Parliament and beyond it, that protecting refugees is not only the humane choice. It is a responsible, strategic and effective investment in a safer and more stable region.

Thank you