A Less than 'Pacific' Solution for Asylum Seekers in Australia

In August 2001, a Norwegian ship rescued hundreds of asylum seekers from a sinking vessel in international waters between Indonesia and Australia. It attempted to disembark the rescued passengers in Australia, which refused entry. An assessment of refugee and international law indicates that Australia may have failed to provide protection to bona fide refugees by blocking disembarkation of individuals it knew to be asylum seekers. The Australian government sent the rescuees to Pacific island states for the purpose of reviewing their asylum claims. This paper reviews the legal ramifications of that action, arguing that rescuees may have been deprived of protections guaranteed by the Refugee Convention. In addition, the Australian government prevented any new vessels carrying asylum seekers from penetrating Australian territorial waters, resulting in some ships being pushed back onto the high seas. These actions implicate the principle of non-refoulement of refugees, and likely resulted in a violation of the Refugee Convention.