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azadeh dastyari

Fulbright Postgraduate Alumni (WG Walker) Scholar

“The MOU signed between Australia and the U.S in April 2007 means that each country now has a vested interest in the other’s offshore refugee processing regime. Australia will determine who is granted refugee status and is considered for resettlement in the U.S. Those resettled may eventually be eligible for citizenship in the U.S.”

Azadeh Dastyari, who completed a LLB with First Class Honours at the University of Sydney and is currently completing a PhD at Monash University, has won the Fulbright Postgraduate Alumni (WG Walker) Scholarship to undertake research at Georgetown University. Azadeh, an Assistant Lecturer at Monash University, will conduct a comparative study of U.S. and Australian immigration and refugee law.

Azadeh’s research, Offshore Processing of Refugees: A Comparative Study of United States and Australian Law and Practice, will study interception, detention and offshore processing of asylum seekers by Australia in Christmas Island, Nauru and Papua New Guinea and the U.S in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

“This will be a comparative study of Australian and U.S. legal systems and refugee policies and their impact on the international protection regime. The research will also examine the implications of the recently signed MOU between Australia and the U.S. that means each country now has a vested interest in the other’s offshore processing regime,” explains Azadeh.

“I aim to contribute to informed policy decisions in both the U.S. and Australia with regards to the processing, exchange and resettlement of refugees. Furthermore, there are important differences between the offshore refugee processing models adopted by the U.S. and Australia and my research will evaluate the successful aspects of the U.S. model and will alert Australian policy makers to its less profitable features. An examination of the U.S. model will also enable Australian policy makers to see the long term effects of offshore refugee processing.”

Azadeh will commence with the Institute for the Study of International Migration (ISIM) at Georgetown University from September 2008 and believes undertaking research at ISIM will enable her to utilise the expertise of ISIM scholars, assess its extensive library and take advantage of ISIM’s for researching partnerships.

Azadeh has an extensive list of honours to her name, including an Arts/Law grant (2007); Monash University Travel Grant (2007); Monash University Research Grant (2005, 2006); the Walter Reid Memorial Book Grant (2002); and the William Charles Wentworth Scholarship (2001, 2002). She has also written a book with Mary Crock and Ben Saul called Future Seekers II : Refugees and Irregular Migration in Australia .