Operation Sovereign Borders

Operation Sovereign Borders (OSB) is a border protection operation led by the Australian Defence Force and headed by MAJGEN Andrew Bottrell, aimed at stopping maritime arrivals of asylum seekers to Australia.[1] The operation is the outcome of a 2013 federal election policy of the Coalition, which commenced on 18 September 2013 after the election of the Abbott government.[2] The operation is an attempt to address issues surrounding people smuggling into Australia, by implementing a tough 'zero tolerance' posture towards illegal boat arrivals in Australia. The current Commander Operation Sovereign Borders, Andrew Bottrell, was appointed to the command on 16 May 2015, after the first commander, LTGEN Angus Campbell was appointed as Chief of Army.

Background

Persons arriving by unauthorised boat to Australia by calendar year
Persons arriving by unauthorised boat to Australia by calendar year

During the 2013 federal election, the Abbott-led Coalition campaigned on a policy that, if elected to government, they would "stop the boats" and would launch Operation Sovereign Borders, combining the resources of multiple government bodies under direct control of a three star general. Following the election Angus Campbell was promoted and appointed to oversee the operations.[3]

Following the 2013 election, the portfolio of the Minister for Immigration was renamed as the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection and the appointed ministers, initially Scott Morrison and subsequently Peter Dutton, refused to release information on asylum seeker boat arrivals as they occurred;[4] and a weekly media briefing was announced.[5][6] In January 2014, having not held a media briefing for almost a month, Minister Morrison announced that briefings would be held on what he described as "an as needs basis".[7] On 10 July 2014, Morrison stated that the secrecy policy was put in place by General Campbell, which had been rigorously implemented by ministers, their advisers and various government departments.[8]

Policy proposals

Regional Deterrence Framework

On 23 August 2013, during the election campaign, the Coalition announced a key component of Operation Sovereign Borders called the Regional Deterrence Framework.[9] Budgeted at A$420 million, the RDF aimed to engage with other countries in the region, particularly Indonesia, to prevent asylum seeker vessels leaving for Australia. The framework included a $20 million proposal (titled "The Indonesian community engagement programme") which was to include:[10]

The "buy-the-boats" plan was widely ridiculed,[11] with fact-checking group PolitiFact Australia[12] calling the proposal "ridiculous".[13] Lieutenant General Campbell told a Senate Estimates committee that two months into the OSB program, no boats had been purchased because Indonesia did not support the idea, although he stated that the measure remained available.[14]

Communication campaign

An example of an advertisement in the campaign.

The government runs a "communication campaign to counter people smuggling"[15] with advertisements in multiple languages,[16] targeting "press, radio, social and search media" across Australia. Between January and May 2015, $750,000 had been spent on the campaign.[17]

Structure

Operation Sovereign Borders operates as a Joint Agency Taskforce (JATF), with the support of a range of government agencies, organised as three operational task groups:[18]

Commanders

Rank Name Post-nominals Service Term began Term ended Time in appointment
Lieutenant general Campbell, AngusAngus Campbell DSC, AM Army 18 September 2013 16 May 2015 1 year, 240 days
Major general Bottrell, AndrewAndrew Bottrell CSC and Bar, DSM Army 16 May 2015 Incumbent 354 days

Outcomes

Immigration Detention Population to December 2014

Abbott's government claimed a ninety per cent reduction in illegal maritime arrivals.[19] There were 207 in November 2013 as opposed to 2,629 in November 2012.[20][21][22]

In response, Labor's immigration spokesman, Richard Marles, claimed there was a 40 per cent reduction in arrivals in the month following the introduction of the Regional Resettlement Arrangement with Papua New Guinea, shortly before the 2013 election.

On 30 March 2014, the Coalition announced that 100 days had passed since a "successful boat arrival".[23] On 19 June, the Government announced six months since the last successful illegal boat arrival.[24]

On 7 July 2014, a vessel containing 157 mostly Tamil asylum seekers from India was intercepted by Australian authorities 27 kilometres (15 nmi) from Christmas Island. The government refused to confirm the existence, location or status of the boat, until the High Court placed an injunction on any attempted refoulement of the vessel's passengers to Sri Lanka. Pre-empting the decision of the court, Minister Morrison announced that the people on the boat would be transferred to the Curtin Immigration Reception and Processing Centre in Western Australia, where they would be assessed by Indian consular officials under an arrangement made with that country to repatriate any Indian citizens or residents.[25] On 2 August, Morrison announced that the group had refused to meet with Indian officials and were then transferred to the Nauru detention centre.[26]

On 6 August 2015 the immigration minister Peter Dutton announced it had been 12 months since the last successful people smuggling operation, with the last SIEV arriving in Australia's care in July 2014. The ABC News' Fact Check subsequently listed the Coalition's "We Will Stop the Boats" promise as delivered.[27]

Unlawful arrivals by boat per month
Month Boats Persons Notes
From 18 September 2013 5 205
October 2013 5 339
November 2013 5 207
December 2013 7 355
January 2014 0 1 [28]
July 2014 1 157 [29]
Source: "Operation Sovereign Borders:
log of boat arrivals and other asylum seeker incidents".
ABC News (Australia). Retrieved 5 February 2015. 
Months with no arrivals are not listed.

Turnback operations

The number of arrivals given in OSB operational updates is defined as those "transferred to Australian immigration authorities",[30] and does not include arrivals in Australian territorial waters who have been subject to a turnback operation—that is, sent out of Australian waters on their own vessel, or an Australian vessel employed for this purpose.[31] As of 7 February 2014, The Australian newspaper estimated that at least "six boatloads" of asylum seekers had been subject to turnbacks by OSB authorities.[32]

On 15 January 2014, an orange fibreglass "survival capsule", containing about 60 asylum seekers, came ashore at Cikepuh in West Java. A second containing 34 people arrived at Pangandaran on 5 February.[33] The Daily Telegraph reported that the Australian government was believed to have purchased eleven of the capsules from Singapore at a cost of around $500,000.[34]

In May 2014, Australia was alleged to have placed two persons who had arrived earlier in the year onto a boat with other asylum seekers which was turned back to Indonesia.[35]

In January 2015, new immigration minister Peter Dutton announced that 15 vessels, containing 429 asylum seekers in total, had been subject to turnback operations of some kind towards Indonesia or Sri Lanka since the beginning of OSB.[36]

In July 2015, shadow minister on immigration and border protection Richard Marles acknowledged that "Offshore processing and regional resettlement, together with the Coalition's policy of turn-backs, is what actually stopped the boats."[37]

In August 2015, minister Dutton stated that since December 2013, 633 people on 20 vessels have been subject to turnback operations, including a boat from Vietnam in July.[38] In March 2016, Dutton stated that 698 people on 25 vessels had been turned back since the beginning of the OSB program.[39]

Resettlement

In 2014, the status of refugees sent to offshore processing centres in Nauru and Papua New Guinea was decided: 13 people (9 people from Iran and 4 people from Pakistan) were granted aslyum, 7 people (from Iran, Pakistan and Cameroon) received negative assessments. The asylum protection in Nauru was valid from 2014 for up to 5 years.[40] As of 2015 more than 400 people who had their refugee claims rejected had been returned home from the Australian-run detention centre in Papau New Guinea, some of which did so voluntarily.[41]

Response

International response

The Indonesian government has voiced concern over the operation due to its implications for Indonesia's national sovereignty.[42][43] A member of the Golkar party, Tantowi Yahya, described the plan as 'offensive' and officials from the Indonesian Navy said 'forcing the boats back would also unfairly shift the burden of dealing with the asylum-seeker problem back on Indonesia'.[44] The policy also came under fire from refugee advocates.[45]

On 26 September 2013, Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa took the 'unusual step' of releasing details of his talks about the policy with his Australian counterpart Julie Bishop,[46] which was later blamed on a clerical error.[47]

Australia has apologised for violating Indonesian waters during their "tow back" operations.[48] These incursions occurred after CDF David Hurley stripped naval personnel of workplace safety protections that would have required them to exercise "reasonable care" to protect their safety and that of the refugees.[49] On 21 January 2014, Customs and Defence announced that a joint review would be conducted to investigate the circumstances under which Australian naval vessels entered Indonesian territorial waters.[50] The inquiry, which covered the period between 1 December 2013 and 20 January 2014, found that two RAN frigates had crossed into Indonesian territory four times during the period, while Customs vessels did so on another two occasions.[51] In response, one Australian Navy officer lost his command, while several others were disciplined.[52] Indonesia has responded to the incursions by deploying military assets to intercept people-smuggling boats.[53][54]

Media response

Several journalists and media outlets have expressed concern and frustration over the tightly-controlled release of information about Operation Sovereign Borders, usually restricted to the 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 rationalised the control of information by stating that the government was not "operating a shipping news service for people smugglers".[55]

On 22 January 2014, the ABC broadcast allegations that Royal Australian Navy personnel had mistreated asylum seekers during an OSB operation, including video footage of passengers receiving medical treatment in Indonesia for burns on their hands, which they claimed were sustained when they were forced to touch a hot boat engine.[56] Minister Morrison downplayed refugee claims of being abused by the navy, saying that they had "strong motivations to fabricate stories", and was among several ministers to call for the ABC to apologise to the Navy.[57] Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said that "if there is any co-operation we can extend to ensure that these allegations are scotched then we'd be prepared to do it".[58] The ABC's Media Watch program opined that ABC News had "over-reached" when reporting the story, and should have been more thorough in verifying the claims.[59] On 4 February, ABC managing director Mark Scott issued a statement in which he said "The wording around the ABC's initial reporting needed to be more precise on that point", referring to the video footage verifying the injuries but not how they had occurred.[60] On 7 February, Fairfax Media's correspondent in Indonesia, Michael Bachelard, interviewed Yousif Ibrahim Fasher who repeated the initial allegations, as well as several further claims of mistreatment and possible breaches of maritime law.[61]

Legal response

53 Australian legal scholars signed a joint statement condemning the transfer of asylum seekers to Sri Lanka, claiming a breach of the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.[62][63]

On 7 July 2014, the High Court of Australia placed an injunction on the transfer of 153 asylum seekers to Sri Lankan authorities while the full bench of the court considered a challenge to the handover mounted by refugee advocates on the grounds that the government was breaching "non-refoulement" obligations under international law.[64]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Keane, Bernard (25 July 2013). "Military reshuffle: Abbott’s ‘Operation Sovereign Borders’". Crikey. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
  2. ↑ Liberal Party of Australia & The Nationals. "The Coalition's Operation Sovereign Borders Policy" (PDF).
  3. ↑ Brissenden, M.; Roberts, G. "Tony Abbott appoints Angus Campbell to lead Operation Sovereign Borders policy". ABC News. Australia. Retrieved 17 September 2013.
  4. ↑ "Veil of silence descends on asylum boat arrivals". The Age. 20 September 2013.
  5. ↑ Ireland, Judith (4 October 2013). "Coalition's resolve on asylum seekers 'stronger than ever before': Scott Morrison". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 6 October 2013.
  6. ↑ "Operation Sovereign Borders – Transcripts of Weekly Press Conferences".
  7. ↑ "Scott Morrison says he will stop holding weekly asylum seeker briefings". ABC News (Australia). 14 January 2014.
  8. ↑ "No comment on operations: how Morrison's media strategy took shape". The Guardian (Australia). 10 July 2014.
  9. ↑ Liberal Party of Australia & The Nationals. "The Coalition's Policy for a Regional Deterrence Framework to Combat People Smuggling" (PDF).
  10. ↑ Ryan, Rosanna (23 August 2013). "Tony Abbott, Scott Morrison announce new 'regional deterrence framework' to stop asylum seekers". ABC News. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  11. ↑ "Scott Morrison defiant on 'crazy' boat buyback policy". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2 September 2013. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  12. ↑ "PolitiFact Australia". Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  13. ↑ "Indonesia boat buy scheme 'ridiculous'". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2 September 2013. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  14. ↑ Griffiths, Emma (19 November 2013). "Angus Campbell reveals no boats have been purchased under Operation Sovereign Borders". ABC News (Australia). Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  15. ↑ "Operation Sovereign Borders". Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  16. ↑ "Counter People Smuggling Communication". Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  17. ↑ "Antisocial network: government targets Australians in asylum seeker ads". Crikey. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  18. ↑ Operation Sovereign Borders, Australian Customs and Border Protection Service
  19. ↑ Ireland, Judith (21 October 2013). "Both sides claim credit for slowing boat arrivals". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  20. ↑ Bolt, Andrew (29 November 2013). "Under Abbott, 207 boat people in November. Under Gillard, 2630 boat people last November". The Herald-Sun.
  21. ↑ "Deterrents and punishments do not work to stop boats". Politifact. 9 September 2013.
  22. ↑ "Operation Sovereign Borders: log of boat arrivals and other asylum seeker incidents". ABC News (Australia). 29 November 2013.
  23. ↑ "Operation Sovereign Borders: Prime Minister Tony Abbott marks 100 days without an asylum seeker boat arrival". ABC News (Australia). 30 March 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  24. ↑ "Satisfied Australia marks six months with no boatpeople". SBS News (Australia). 19 June 2014. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  25. ↑ "Asylum seekers head to Australia". SBS News (Australia). 25 July 2014. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  26. ↑ "Australia sends asylum-seekers to Nauru, as India offer refused". Times of India. India. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  27. ↑ "Promise check: We will stop the boats". ABC News (Australia). 14 May 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  28. ↑ Swan, Jonathon (31 January 2014). "Asylum seeker transferred to Christmas Island, ending six-week period without any arrivals". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 1 February 2014.
  29. ↑ Laughland, Oliver (31 July 2014). "Tamil asylum seekers: 80% reported showing signs of torture and trauma". The Guardian (Australia). Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  30. ↑ Barlow, Karen (12 October 2013). "Australian Immigration Minister talks tough to asylum seekers". ABC News (Australia). Retrieved 12 February 2014.
  31. ↑ Glenday, James (4 February 2014). "Asylum seekers: Releasing Operation Sovereign Borders details not in the national interest, Scott Morrison tells Senate committee". ABC News (Australia). Retrieved 12 February 2014.
  32. ↑ Maley, Paul; Taylor, Paige (7 February 2014). "At least six boatloads of asylum-seekers have been turned back to Indonesia". The Australian. Retrieved 12 February 2014.
  33. ↑ Toohey, Paul (7 February 2014). "Inside the Sovereign Borders Turn-back Lifeboat". news.com.au. Retrieved 12 February 2014.
  34. ↑ "Second asylum lifeboat sent back to Indonesia under Operation Sovereign Borders". Daily Telegraph (Australia). 7 February 2014. Retrieved 12 February 2014.
  35. ↑ Farrell, Paul (6 May 2014). "Report of extra asylum seekers put on turn-back boat a 'serious development'". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
  36. ↑ "Australia confirms 15 boats carrying 429 asylum seekers have been turned back". The Guardian (Australia). 28 January 2015. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
  37. ↑ Marles, Richard (22 July 2015). "Why Labor will turn back asylum seeker boats". Herald-Sun. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  38. ↑ Hasham, Nicole (6 August 2015). "In a rare disclosure, Abbott government admits turning back 633 asylum seekers". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  39. ↑ Anderson, Stephanie (17 March 2016). "Fewer than 30 refugees resettled since November as part of 12,000 agreed in Syria, Iraq deal". ABC News (Australia). Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  40. ↑ "Nauru and PNG begin granting refugee status for asylum seekers – Pacific Beat". Radio Australia.
  41. ↑ "Asylum seeker returns not our job: govt". Yahoo!7. 28 January 2015.
  42. ↑ Bachelard, Michael. "Tony Abbott's asylum seeker policies 'offensive', says senior Indonesian politician". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
  43. ↑ Wroe, David. "We will reject Abbott's policy on asylum seekers: Indonesia Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa". Brisbane Times. Retrieved 17 September 2013.
  44. ↑ Sihite, Ezra. "Golkar Latest Critic of Abbott's Asylum Line". Jakarta Globe. Retrieved 28 September 2013.
  45. ↑ Silby, Murray. "Advocates hope for asylum policy adjustment". SBS News (Australia). Retrieved 17 September 2013.
  46. ↑ Roberts, George (26 September 2013). "Indonesia's foreign minister Marty Natalegawa divulges contents of talks with Julie Bishop". ABC News (Australia). Retrieved 28 September 2013.
  47. ↑ Norman, Jane (27 September 2013). "Indonesia says email about talks between Marty Natalegawa and Julie Bishop sent to media by mistake". ABC News (Australia). Retrieved 9 October 2013.
  48. ↑ "Indonesia condemns Australian navy waters violations". BBC News. 17 January 2014. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
  49. ↑ Wroe, David (15 January 2014). "Navy sailors now on 'war footing' to turn back boats". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
  50. ↑ Murphy, Katharine (22 January 2014). "Naval incursions: customs and defence issue terms of reference for inquiry". The Guardian (Australia). Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  51. ↑ McPhedran, Ian (20 February 2014). "Review finds Australian Navy and Customs vessels breached Indonesian waters six times". The Herald-Sun. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
  52. ↑ Griffiths, Emma (18 April 2014). "Senior Navy officer loses command over incursions into Indonesian waters during Operation Sovereign Borders". ABC News (Australia). Retrieved 27 April 2014.
  53. ↑ "Indonesia warship deployment ensures 'border properly protected' – minister". The Guardian. Australia. Australian Associated Press. 23 January 2014. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  54. ↑ Alford, Peter (29 January 2014). "Jakarta's warships to target refugees". The Australian. Retrieved 30 January 2014.
  55. ↑ "Stopping the quotes" (transcript). Media Watch. ABC TV. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
  56. ↑ Knott, Matthew (5 February 2014). "ABC admits errors in navy burns report on asylum seeker claims". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
  57. ↑ Jabour, Bridie; Murphy, Katharine (21 January 2014). "Scott Morrison says burns allegations amount to 'sledging' of Australian navy". The Guardian. Australia. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
  58. ↑ "Australia offers co-operation on asylum abuse probe". BBC News. 22 January 2014. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  59. ↑ "Truth, trust and treachery" (transcript). Media Watch. 3 February 2014. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
  60. ↑ Knott, Matthew (4 February 2014). "ABC head Mark Scott admits mistakes over report claiming navy inflicted asylum seeker burns". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
  61. ↑ Bachelard, Michael (7 February 2014). "Investigation: 'burned hands' on the high seas". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
  62. ↑ "Statement by Legal Scholars Regarding the Situation Concerning Sri Lankan Asylum Seekers". scribd.com.
  63. ↑ Hurst, Daniel (7 July 2014). "Australia returns asylum seekers to Sri Lanka in sea transfer". The Guardian (Australia). Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  64. ↑ Gordon, Michael (8 July 2014). "High Court considers case of asylum seekers being returned to Sri Lanka". The Age. Retrieved 8 July 2014.

External links

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