Solution to boat problem lies in region WITH more than 45 million people displaced globally and wars in Syria and Africa forcing more to flee, it's time for Australia to re-think its policy approach to asylum seekers. According to the United Nations refugee agency, an average of 3000 people became refugees per day in 2012 - five times more than in 2010. An extra 7.6 million people were displaced globally in 2012, including 1.1 million new refugees, mainly due to conflicts in Syria, Congo, Mali and Sudan. But out of the 9.9 million registered refugees worldwide, only 30,000 - or 0.3 per cent - were in Australia, while Pakistan hosted 1.6 million people, or 17 per cent of the global total. Australia UNHCR representative Richard Towle says the industrialised world has largely been shielded from global refugee movements, with more than 80 per cent of refugees being hosted in developing countries like Pakistan and Iran. While there are hundreds of thousands of registered refugees in camps in South-East Asia, most of those people are not intending to reach Australia, Towle says. "The idea that all refugees or asylum seekers in southeast Asia are planning on coming to Australia is plainly wrong," he told AAP. Thailand, Towle explains, has hosted more than 100,000 Burmese refugees for decades and none of those people have any intention or ability to come to Australia. Malaysia has a registered population of over 100,000 refugees and most there are also not planning to be resettled in Australia. "They are reasonably integrated within the fabric of Malaysian society and have no need or intention of moving onto Australia," Towle said. He says Australia's heavy emphasis on deterrence won't be enough to stem the flow of asylum seeker boats. Instead, Australia should provide diplomatic and financial funding to transit countries, like Malaysia and Thailand, to avoid refugee populations from become destabilised. Amnesty International's Refugee Spokesperson Graeme McGregor agrees there would be less boats arriving if living conditions for asylum seekers were improved in transit countries. "We have a role to play in the Asia pacific region in encouraging countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia to improve the treatment of asylum seekers so that they're not forced onto dangerous boats," he says. Many transit countries don't recognise the legal status of asylum seekers and refugees, who are forced to live "under the radar." "They're denied work, they're denied education and healthcare," McGregor says. They're also at a higher risk of exploitation on the black market. Australian Human Rights Commission president Gillian Triggs says Australia must think carefully about its international obligations when it comes to its treatment of asylum seekers. Australia's "enhanced screening" of Sri Lankan asylum seekers risked breaching international law, she warned. Under the policy, would-be refugees can be rejected based on their answers to an interview shortly after arriving in Australia. Prof Triggs says under international law, people can't be returned to states where they may be persecuted. It also denies asylum seekers the opportunity to get legal advice and to have their claim to asylum properly assessed. The government has defended its screening process and policy of sending home those whose claims are rejected, claiming it deters others from making the dangerous voyage by sea. Australia Defence Association executive director Neil James says Australia should put more pressure on Indonesia to clamp down on people smugglers. "Indonesia is the perpetrator of our problems and could quickly and easily solve it if they wanted to," he said. To close the people smuggling trade Indonesia must stamp out corruption among local officials and confront "anti-Australian racism" that allows the trade to thrive in the country. James says Australia's good treatment of refugees and its honouring of its Refugee Convention obligations was attracting refugees from nations in the region that weren't signatories to the convention. A future Australian government may be forced to withdraw its membership of the convention until its regional neighbours sign up, he warns.