Whose Job is it Anyway?

Abstract

This paper discusses Australia's treatment of asylum-seekers in the Nauru Regional Processing Centre. I explore how Australia has managed to avoid large-scale criticism and discuss a few of the factors contributing to this evasion. Primarily, this paper attributes Australia's ability to escape responsibility to the complicity of other actors involved in the abuse of asylum-seekers and discuss how this shared responsibility lessens the burden placed on Australia. Finally, it looks specifically at the role of the principle- agent relationship and the absence of institutions that enforce the respect of human rights and argue that this enables a lessened critique of Australia.

About Mollie Merino

Mollie Merino is a double major in International Area Studies and Public and Nonprofit Administration from Denver, Colorado. She plans to begin an internship in fall 2017 with the College of Arts and Sciences as well as the Center for Children and Families in Norman with each of their Mission Advancement Teams. In the past, Merino has been a consultant for the Oklahoma Group; an intern for the Office of Technology Development; a Step In, Speak Out Peer Educator; and is also a Resident Advisor in the OU freshmen residence halls.