Operation Sovereign Borders Visiting Professor Clive Williams MG Centre for Military and Security Law ANU 1
Background Operation Sovereign Borders (OSB) is the Defence-managed operation aimed at stopping the maritime arrival of asylum seekers - also referred to as Illegal Maritime Arrivals, or IMAs. It began on 18 September 2013. 2
Background Opposition Leader Tony Abbott had campaigned in 2013 on a policy that a Coalition government would stop the boats and would do so by combining the resources of multiple government bodies under direct control of a three-star general. Deputy Chief of Army Angus Campbell, was subsequently promoted to two-star general to oversee the operation, and the OSB Joint Agency Task Force (JATF) was established to ensure a whole-ofgovernment effort to combat people smuggling and protect Australia s borders. 3
JATF structure The JATF is supported by three operational task groups: Disruption and Deterrence Task Group led by the Australian Federal Police (AFP). Detection, Interception and Transfer Task Group led by the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service (ACBPS), which includes Border Protection Command (BPC). Offshore Detention and Returns Task Group led by the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP). 4
The Hon Scott Morrison MP Minister for Immigration and Border Protection responsible for OSB and implementing the stop the boats 5 policy.
Lieutenant General Angus J. Campbell, DSC, AM Commander of the JATF Principal bureaucrats Allan McKinnon Deputy National Security Adviser Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet Assistant Commissioner Steve Lancaster APM National Manager Crime Operations, AFP 6
Ken Douglas First Assistant Secretary Regional Processing Support DIBP Rear Admiral Michael Noonan, AM, RAN Commander BPC David Irvine, AO Director General ASIO 7
Boat arrivals since OSB started 8
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Search & Rescue (SAR) region Offshore Processing Centres (OPCs) 11
Number of detainees at OPCs 12
Christmas Island Immigration Detention Centre 13
Manus OPC Nauru OPC 14
Source countries of maritime arrivals 15
Returnees There have been 141 voluntary returns to countries of origin since OSB commenced (as of 31 January 2014). Those who have gone voluntarily have returned to Vietnam, Iran, Iraq, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. (It is not known how many, if any, have been involuntary returnees.) 16
Why do asylum seekers get on boats?. Desperation due to delays in refugee placements: The number of resettlement places offered by nation states has not significantly increased over the years, and remains at around 80,000 a year. According to the UNHCR, less than 1% of the world s refugees may be resettled in any given year. The prospect of getting a refugee placement to Australia is lower than 0.1% a year. Inability to obtain a valid visa to travel by air to (or via) Australia. 17
Why do asylum seekers get on boats? Cannot afford to be people smuggled by air (said to be around US$40,000 per person from Kabul or US$16,000 from Malaysia/Indonesia, including passport and visa.) Can afford to fund air/boat travel (US$12-17,500 per person from Iran, or US$1,500-5,000 from Indonesia to Christmas Island. Does not require passport or visa). Active recruitment by people smugglers with established boat smuggling routes. Boat arrival asylum seekers have in the past been more likely to get protection visas than air arrivals. 18
Unauthorised air arrivals Between 2002-2009, the majority of asylum seekers applying for protection in Australia arrived by air with a valid visitor visa and then applied for asylum while in the community. Air travel for potential asylum seekers has become more difficult due to tightening up of visa issuance. There are also more rigorous DIBP checks for forged visas at final points of departure to Australia. Since 2009, unauthorised air arrivals have continued to rise, but not as fast as boat arrivals. (What we don t know is how many have entered fraudulently by air, and not been detected or sought asylum.) 19
Air and boat arrivals compared 2012 saw the arrival of 278 boats and 17,204 asylum seekers 2013 saw the arrival of 300 boats and 20,587 asylum seekers http://www.ntnews.com.au/news/northern-territory/asylum-boatintercepted-near-nt-coast/story-fnk0b1zt-1226793267528 20
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Protection visa applications Application grant rates 90%+ 22
People smuggling to Australia Most people smuggled to Australia by boat begin their journey in the Middle East or South Asia, in particular Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan (mainly Hazaras), or Sri Lanka (mainly Tamils). Those travelling from the Middle East typically make their way here via South East Asia; from Sri Lanka boat people have sometimes come direct, but are otherwise routed through South East Asia. Indonesia is the main transit country en-route and Australia is the primary destination in the Asia-Pacific region. For most people smuggled to Australia by boat, the last leg of their journey is from Indonesia to Christmas Island. 23
While travellers from Afghanistan require a visa to enter Malaysia, those from many other Middle Eastern nations, including Iraq and Iran, do not require a visa for short visits, making Malaysia an attractive transit country for smugglers bringing people from that region to Australia. Iranians do not require a visa to enter Indonesia which is why many make their own way to Indonesia. The Australian 2 Dec 2011 24 International Organization for Migration Nov 2012
Reactions to OSB.. The Indonesian government has voiced concern over OSB tow-backs due to its implications for Indonesia's national sovereignty. A member of the Golkar party, Tantowi Yahya, described the plan as offensive while officials from the Indonesian Navy said forcing the boats back would unfairly shift the burden of dealing with the asylumseeker problem back on Indonesia. The policy has also come under fire from refugee and human rights advocates. 25
Reactions to OSB Minister Morrison has downplayed refugee claims of being abused by the RAN, saying that they had strong motivations to fabricate stories. Australia has apologised for violating Indonesian waters during tow back operations. On 21 January 2014, Customs and Defence announced that a joint review would be conducted to investigate the circumstances under which Australian vessels entered Indonesian territorial waters. Indonesia says it has responded to the incursions by deploying military assets to intercept people-smuggling boats. 26
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Use of lifeboats One of the innovative features of OSB is the use of lifeboats to return asylum seekers to Indonesia when their boats are unseaworthy or when asylum seekers have deliberately tried to sink them. 28
Other aspects of OSB Two Australian Bay-class patrol boats have been gifted to Sri Lanka, and two to Malaysia, to interdict people smuggling boats originating 29 from those countries
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Media reaction Journalists and media outlets have expressed concern and frustration over the tightly-controlled release of information about OSB, usually restricted to weekly briefings held on Friday afternoons. In the weekly briefings, both Minister Morrison and Lieutenant General Campbell have refused to discuss operational or on-water matters in response to questions from journalists. The Minister has justified the control of information by stating that the government was not operating a shipping news service for people smugglers. 31
Will OSB be effective? Convicted people smuggler Dawood Amiri says the Abbott government s policy of turning back the boats will work as a deterrent for both people smugglers and those seeking passage by boat to Australia. 32 SMH 3 February 2014
Humanitarian entry to Australia In recent years, the Australian Government has allocated around 13,000 places annually to refugees and others with humanitarian needs under its planned Humanitarian Program. (Only about 20 nations worldwide currently participate in UNHCR resettlement programs and accept quotas of refugees on an annual basis.) Historically, most of the Australian places have been given to offshore refugees referred to Australia by the UNHCR, but some are given to refugees who apply for asylum onshore. 33
Humanitarian entry to Australia Prior to OSB, just over 50% of Australia s humanitarian program visas were granted to onshore asylum seekers (both air and boat arrivals). 34
Controlling the population inflow All governments want to be in a position to control their sovereign borders and control population inflows. In Australia s case this is made easier by our geography. Australia s planned migration program for 2013-2014 is to be maintained at 190,000 places to address ongoing skill shortages and to reunite Australian families, as follows: 128,550 places for skilled migrants 60,885 places for family migration 565 places for migration under special eligibility 35
Concluding comments.. Past official attempts to resolve the people smuggling issue with Indonesia failed due largely to corruption among Indonesian officials, which allowed people smugglers to operate openly in Indonesia. Prosecutions only seem to have occurred in Indonesia in the worst cases where there has been heavy loss of life at sea. The Abbott government s view is that many of the boat arrivals are economic migrants with no genuine fear of persecution. It clearly believes it has a mandate and public support for its hard-line policies to stop the boats. 36
Concluding comments.. This seems to be borne out by a Fairfax poll in January 2014. The poll, based on a nationally representative sample of 1,000 online interviews, suggests only 30% of Australians believe that most asylum seekers are genuine refugees, while a majority of Australians, 60%, want the Abbott government to increase the severity of the treatment of asylum seekers. On 4 February 2014 Minister Morrison claimed that the number of asylum seekers arriving by boat in Australia had fallen 80% since OSB began four months ago. 37
Concluding comments.. OSB so far seems to be effective, with no boat arrivals reported in January 2014 but noting that this is the northwest monsoon period and that any incoming boats could have been turned back. 38
Visiting Professor Clive Williams MG Centre for Military and Security Law 6125 6969 +61 421 374 277 clive.williams@anu.edu.au The Terrorism Intelligence Centre Clive Williams 2014