The Pacific Solution is the name given to the government of Australia's policy of transporting asylum seekers to detention centres on island nations in the Pacific Ocean, rather than allowing them to land on the Australian mainland. Initially implemented from 2001 to 2007, it had bipartisan support from the Coalition and Labor opposition at the time. The Pacific Solution consisted of three central strategies:
In August 2012, the succeeding Gillard government (Labor) introduced a similar policy, reopening the Nauru and Manus detention centres for offshore processing.[3]
On 19 July 2013, newly returned Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, during his short-lived second term of office, announced that "asylum seekers who come here by boat without a visa will never be settled in Australia",[4] striking a Regional Resettlement Arrangement between Australia and Papua New Guinea,[5] colloquially known as the PNG Solution, to divert all "unauthorised maritime arrivals" to mandatory detention on Manus Island with no possibility of attaining Australian residency.[6]
The Operation Sovereign Borders policy took over from the Pacific Solution after the 2013 federal election, won by the Coalition. It commenced on 18 September 2013 under the new Abbott government.[7] On 31 March 2019, Operation Sovereign Borders reported that there were no people held in the detention centre on Nauru, which had been closed, and that the Manus centre had been officially closed on 31 October 2017.[8] However, on 30 September 2019 the total number of asylum seekers still in PNG and Nauru was 562 (separate numbers were not published), being housed in alternative accommodation.[9]
Implementation (2001–2007)
Afghan refugees returning to Afghanistan worldwide 1994–2011 versus boat people arriving in Australia 1994–2012
The Australian Government passed legislation on 27 September 2001, with amendments to the Commonwealth Migration Act 1958,[12] enacted by the Migration Legislation Amendment (Excision from the Migration Zone) (Consequential Provisions) Act 2001. Specifically, the new amendment to the 1958 Act allowed "offshore entry persons" to be taken to "declared countries", with Nauru and Papua New Guinea made "declared countries" under the Act.[13] The implementation of this legislation became known as the Pacific Solution[14] at the same time as or soon after the passing of the legislation (at least within a year).[13]
By redefining the area of Australian territory that could be landed upon and then legitimately used for claims of asylum (the migration zone), and by removing any intercepted people to third countries for processing, the aim was to deter future asylum seekers from making the dangerous journey by boat, once they knew that their trip would probably not end with a legitimate claim for asylum in Australia.[15]
On 28 October 2001, at his 2001 election campaign policy launch, Prime Minister John Howard said "we will decide who comes to this country and the circumstances in which they come",[16] in an effort to build support for the policy.
Asylum seekers were intercepted at sea while sailing from Indonesia and moved using Australian naval vessels. Detention centres were set up on Christmas Island, Manus Island in Papua New Guinea, and on the island nation of Nauru. Some were also accepted for processing by New Zealand. Most of the asylum seekers came from Afghanistan (largely of the Hazara ethnic group), Iraq, Iran, China, and Vietnam. The last asylum seekers to be detained on Nauru before the end of the policy had come from Sri Lanka and Myanmar.[17]
Arrivals dropped from a total of 5516 people in 2001 to one arrival in 2002 after implementation of the policy, and remained below 150 annually until 2008.[18] The removal of the Taliban from power in Afghanistan may have had some effect in this decrease,[10] as nearly six million Afghans had returned to Afghanistan since 2002, almost a quarter of the country's population at the time.[19]
Four boats were successfully returned to Indonesian waters out of the twelve Suspected Illegal Entry Vessels (SIEVs) intercepted by the Navy during Operation Relex during 2001–2002, having made 10 attempts to enforce the policy, based on judgements of whether it was safe to do so or not. Three men allegedly drowned trying to swim back to shore after returning to Indonesia.[20]
In November 2003, a boat carrying 53 passengers was successfully deterred, and in March 2004, Customs returned a boat with 15 people after interception at the Ashmore Islands.[20]
During the Pacific Solution period, mainland detention centres were closed at Baxter, Woomera and Curtin.[23] A lower level of boat arrivals continued throughout the Pacific Solution period, although it was reported to have peaked in 2012, since the abolition of the policy, despite worldwide asylum claim numbers remaining low by historical standards.[24] These arrivals also corresponded with increasing numbers of new refugee arrivals in Indonesia after the abandonment of the policy: 385 in 2008, 3,230 in 2009, 3,905 in 2010, 4,052 in 2011, 7,218 in 2012 and 8,332 in 2013.[25] A probable link between restrictive refugee policies and lower attempts at seeking asylum in Australia by boat have been confirmed by the UNHCR: in April 2014, UNHCR Indonesia representative Manual Jordao stated: "Word that the prospects of reaching Australia by boat from Indonesia are now virtually zero appears to have reached smugglers and would-be asylum seekers in countries of origin such as Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan and Myanmar. The numbers registering with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Indonesia have dropped from about 100 a day during 2013 to about 100 a week now."[26]
The number of asylum seekers assessed as genuine refugees via the Pacific Solution process was lower than for onshore processing.[citation needed] 68 per cent of the asylum seekers were deemed genuine refugees and less than 40 per cent of asylum seekers sent to Nauru received resettlement in Australia.[citation needed] A 2006 report by the Australian Human Rights Commission showed that of the 1509 asylum seekers sent to Nauru by that time, 586 were granted Australian resettlement (39%), 360 resettled in New Zealand (24%), 19 resettled in Sweden (1.2%), 10 in Canada (<1%) and 4 in Norway (<1%). A total of 482 asylum seekers (32%) were deemed not genuine refugees and sent home.[27]
The cost of the Pacific Solution between 2001 and 2007 was at least A$1 billion.[28][29]
Amnesty International, refugee rights groups and other non-governmental organisations said that Australia was failing to meet its international obligations. The ad hoc nature in which the policy evolved was also criticised, as it resulted in people being moved to Manus Island and Nauru before facilities were ready. Poor facilities and services including intermittent electricity and fresh water, poor medical facilities and the serious mental impact of detention on people in these conditions without the certainty of being granted refugee status were also strongly criticised.[30]
Suspension
During the campaign for the 2007 parliamentary election, Australian Labor Party leader Kevin Rudd promised[citation needed] to continue the Howard government's policies of turning boats back to Indonesia and the issue of temporary protection visas.[31] Upon Kevin Rudd's 2007 election win, the Pacific Solution was abandoned, with the Nauru processing centre closed down in February 2008,[32] a move welcomed by the UN Refugee Agency.[33] The last detainees left Manus Island in 2004 and Nauru in February 2008.[34]
The Republic of Nauru was concerned about losing much-needed aid from Australia.[35] Opposition immigration spokesman Chris Ellison said the closure could suggest to people-smugglers that Australia was weakening on border protection.[36]
Re-implementation (post-2007)
Immigration Detention Population to December 2014
The Australian Government opened the Christmas Island Immigration Reception and Processing Centre in late 2008, and has since expanded facilities and accommodation there.[37] In the 2012–2013 financial year the Government of Australia budgeted $1.1billion to cover the processing costs for 450 arrivals per month.[38]
From 2007 to 2010, the number of asylum seeker arrivals by boat increased substantially—from 148 in 2007 to 6555 in 2010.[39] This contributed to Rudd's ailing popularity through to 2010, when he resigned prior to a leadership spill of the Australian Labor Party to Julia Gillard; at this time Rudd said "This party and government will not be lurching to the right on the question of asylum seekers".[40]
In July 2010, Gillard showed support for the utilisation of "regional processing centres".[41] In December 2010, in the aftermath of an asylum seeker boat sinking at Christmas Island in which 48 occupants perished, QueenslandPremier and ALP national president Anna Bligh called for a complete review of the government's policy on asylum seekers.[42] In May 2011, the Gillard government announced plans to address the issue of asylum seekers arriving by boat with an asylum seeker 'swap' deal for long-standing genuine refugees in Malaysia. Refugee lawyers asked the High Court to strike down the deal, arguing that the Immigration Minister did not have the power to send asylum seekers to a country that has no legal obligations to protect them.[43]
There were calls on the Australian Government to reinstate the Pacific Solution by reopening the detention centres on Nauru. Several of these came from former outspoken critics of the policy. Refugee lawyer Marion Le, who had demanded the facility be shut down in 2005, said that it was "time for Labor to bite the bullet and reopen Nauru", while human rights lawyer Julian Burnside disagreed, but conceded that "Nauru [was] certainly the less worse, but both are unacceptable."[44] This echoed the sentiment of Independent MP Andrew Wilkie who several days previously, while stopping short of calling for a return to the previous arrangement, noted that "John Howard's Pacific Solution was better."[45] The Malaysian people swap deal was deemed unlawful by the High Court.[46]
During the 2010 Australian federal election campaign Liberal Leader Tony Abbott said he would meet with the President of Nauru, Marcus Stephen, to demonstrate the Coalition's resolve to reinstate the Pacific Solution policy, should he become prime minister.[47] Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced 6 July 2010 that talks were under way to set up a regional processing centre for asylum seekers in East Timor.[48][49]
In August 2012, a government-appointed expert panel (Houston Report) recommended a number of changes to the current policy including the reintroduction of the Pacific Solution after an increase in boat people and deaths at sea. It handed down 22 recommendations, including the immediate reopening of immigration detention facilities on Manus Island and Nauru,[50] which the government implemented with bipartisan support.[51] This was expected to cost $2billion over four years for Nauru and $900million for Papua New Guinea.[52]
The bill to do so was passed on 16 August 2012. Asylum seekers who arrive by boat to Australia are now to be transferred to remote Pacific islands indefinitely while their claims to refugee status are being processed.[53]Amnesty International described the conditions of the Nauru detention facility as "appalling" at this time.[54]
The Government announced on 21 November 2012 that it was recommencing onshore processing with bridging visas.[55]
Protesters outside ALP caucus meeting in July 2013
On 21 November 2012 Immigration Minister Chris Bowen announced the reopening the Pontville Detention Centre in Tasmania.[56] On 19 July 2013 in a joint press conference with PNG Prime Minister Peter O'Neill and Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd detailed the Regional Resettlement Arrangement between Australia and Papua New Guinea:[57]
From now on, any asylum seeker who arrives in Australia by boat will have no chance of being settled in Australia as refugees. Asylum seekers taken to Christmas Island will be sent to Manus and elsewhere in Papua New Guinea for assessment of their refugee status. If they are found to be genuine refugees they will be resettled in Papua New Guinea... If they are found not to be genuine refugees they may be repatriated to their country of origin or be sent to a safe third country other than Australia. These arrangements are contained within the Regional Resettlement Arrangement signed by myself and the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea just now.[58]
The subsequent Department of Immigration and Citizenship press release stated: "Australia will work with PNG to expand the Manus Island Regional Processing Centre, as well as explore the construction of other regional processing centres in Papua New Guinea...The arrangements [sic] also allows for other countries (including Pacific Island states) to participate in similar arrangements in the future."[6]
The number of arrivals continued to climb, to 25,173 in the 2012–13 financial year,[39] and approximately 862 asylum seekers died trying to reach Australia between 2008 and July 2013.[59] In June 2013, Kevin Rudd toppled Gillard in another leadership spill, following weeks of polls indicating the ALP would be defeated at the next election.[60]
A new policy on boat arrival deterrence, Operation Sovereign Borders, was launched by the new Liberal–National Coalition on 18 September 2013.[61]
Papua New Guinea
The Regional Resettlement Arrangement between Australia and Papua New Guinea, colloquially known as the PNG solution, is an Australian Government policy in which any asylum seeker who comes to Australia by boat without a visa will be refused settlement in Australia, instead being settled in Papua New Guinea if they are found to be legitimate refugees. The policy includes a significant expansion of the Australian immigration detention facility on Manus Island, where refugees will be sent to be processed prior to resettlement in Papua New Guinea, and if their refugee status is found to be non-genuine, they will be either repatriated, sent to a third country other than Australia or remain in detention indefinitely. The policy was announced on 19 July 2013 by Australian Prime MinisterKevin Rudd and Papua New Guinean Prime Minister Peter O'Neill, effective immediately, in response to a growing number of asylum seeker boat arrivals. The then Opposition LeaderTony Abbott initially welcomed the policy, while Greens leader Christine Milne and several human rights advocate groups opposed it, with demonstrations protesting the policy held in every major Australian city after the announcement.
Announcement
In the fortnight prior to the announcement of the PNG solution, Rudd visited Indonesia for regular annual talks with Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono where they discussed asylum seeker issues, but played down expectations of a policy announcement.[62] On 15 July, he and Immigration Minister Tony Burke visited Papua New Guinea to discuss asylum seeker policy, in light of a UN Refugee Agency report saying the Manus Island detention centre did not meet international standards.[63]
On 19 July 2013, Rudd, Burke and Papua New Guinean Prime Minister Peter O'Neill announced the policy in Brisbane.[64] Rudd declared "From now on, any asylum seeker who arrives in Australia by boat will have no chance of being settled in Australia as refugees." In his speech, he said that asylum seekers taken to Christmas Island will be sent to Manus Island or elsewhere, where their refugee status will be assessed. The announcement also outlined plans to expand the Manus Island detention facility, from 600 occupants to 3,000. All refugees found to be legitimate will be resettled in Papua New Guinea. Any asylum seekers found to be non-genuine refugees will either be repatriated, moved to a third country other than Australia if it is unsafe to be repatriated, or remain in detention indefinitely. Australia will bear the full cost of the setup of the policy, as well as provide funding for reforms of Papua New Guinea's university sector, and assistance with health, education and law and order. Rudd described the policy as "a very hard-line decision" to "combat the scourge of people smuggling".[64][65][66] The two-page Regional Resettlement Arrangement outlining the policy was signed by Rudd and O'Neill prior to the announcement.
Reception
The Australian Opposition Leader Tony Abbott initially showed support for the policy, but said it "wouldn't work under Mr Rudd".[64] The Australian Greens leader Christine Milne slammed the announcement, describing the announcement as "a day of shame".[64] It was condemned by human rights groups such as Amnesty International Australia, who wrote "Mark this day in history as the day Australia decided to turn its back on the world's most vulnerable people, closed the door and threw away the key";[67] and the UN Refugee Agency, describing the policy as potentially "harmful to the physical and psycho-social wellbeing of transferees, particularly families and children".[68] Protests of hundreds of refugee supporters were held in Melbourne,[69] Sydney,[70] Perth,[71] Brisbane and Adelaide[72] following the announcement.
On Manus Island, public opinion regarding the policy and the expansion of the detention centre was mixed.[73] Gary Juffa, governor of the Oro Province, suggested asylum seekers resettled there are likely to be met with hostility.[74]
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is a United Nations related organization working in the field of migration. The organization implements operational assistance programmes for migrants, including internally displaced persons, refugees, and migrant workers.
Manus Island is part of Manus Province in northern Papua New Guinea and is the largest of the Admiralty Islands. It is the fifth-largest island in Papua New Guinea, with an area of 2,100 km2 (810 sq mi), measuring around 100 km × 30 km. Manus Island is covered in rugged jungles which can be broadly described as lowland tropical rain forest. The highest point on Manus Island is Mt. Dremsel, 718 metres (2,356 ft) above sea level at the centre of the south coast. Manus Island is volcanic in origin and probably broke through the ocean's surface in the late Miocene, 8 to 10 million years ago. The substrate of the island is either directly volcanic or from uplifted coral limestone.
In late August 2001, the Howard government of Australia refused permission for the Norwegian freighter MV Tampa, carrying 433 rescued refugees and 5 crew, to enter Australian waters. This triggered an Australian political controversy in the lead-up to the 2001 federal election, and a diplomatic dispute between Australia and Norway.
Australian immigration detention facilities comprise a number of different facilities throughout Australia, including the Australian territory of Christmas Island. Such facilities also exist in Papua New Guinea and Nauru, namely the Nauru Regional Processing Centre and the Manus Regional Processing Centre.
The Nauru Regional Processing Centre is an offshore Australian immigration detention facility in use from 2001 to 2008, from 2012 to 2019, and from September 2021. It is located on the South Pacific island nation of Nauru and run by the Government of Nauru. The use of immigration detention facilities is part of a policy of mandatory detention in Australia.
The Australian migration zone is a legal device created by the Australian Government for the purpose of Australia's visa policy and immigration policy, as the territory in which Australia's visa policy applies. The Australian migration zone covers such Australian controlled territories as the government may determine. Prior to 2001, the Australian migration zone consisted of the mainland, as well as some external territories. Norfolk Island, for example, was not part of the Australian migration zone until 2016. Under Australia’s universal visa policy, a non-citizen must hold an Australian visa within the Australian migration zone. Without such a visa, or a bridging visa, the non-citizen is an unlawful non-citizen and treated as an "unauthorised arrival". However, the main effect of the migration zone is that unauthorised arrivals outside the zone have very limited access for review by Australian courts.
Mohammed Sagar is an Iraqi, who was detained on Manus Island and Nauru between 2001 and 2006. Sagar became the last of approximately 1,300 refugees from the Middle East to be detained on Nauru under the Australian Government's "Pacific Solution" after an adverse security assessment was issued by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO). He resettled in Sweden in 2007 after the UN High Commissioner for Refugees' efforts to secure asylum in a third country finally met with success.
Foreign relations exist between Australia and Papua New Guinea. Papua New Guinea is Australia's closest neighbour and a former colony of Australia. Both nations share the same continent in the Oceania region. Papua New Guinea has developed much closer relations with Australia than with Indonesia, the only country with whichuaqh it shares a land border. The two countries are Commonwealth realms. In contemporary times, Papua New Guinea is one of the largest recipients of Australian aid. Some critics have pointed to instances where this has led to an outsized Australian influence on Papua New Guinea politics.
Muhammad Faisal is an Iraqi refugee who was detained on the island of Nauru between 2001 and 2006 under the Australian Government's "pacific solution". Faisal became the second last Iraqi refugee to leave Nauru after he was initially refused a protection visa on the basis of an adverse security assessment issued by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO).
The Australian government has a policy and practice of detaining in immigration detention facilities non-citizens not holding a valid visa, suspected of visa violations, illegal entry or unauthorised arrival, and those subject to deportation and removal in immigration detention until a decision is made by the immigration authorities to grant a visa and release them into the community, or to repatriate them to their country of origin/passport. Persons in immigration detention may at any time opt to voluntarily leave Australia for their country of origin, or they may be deported or given a bridging or temporary visa. In 1992, Australia adopted a mandatory detention policy obliging the government to detain all persons entering or being in the country without a valid visa, while their claim to remain in Australia is processed and security and health checks undertaken. Also, at the same time, the law was changed to permit indefinite detention, from the previous limit of 273 days. The policy was instituted by the Keating government in 1992, and was varied by the subsequent Howard, Rudd, Gillard, Abbott, Turnbull, Morrison and Albanese Governments. The policy is regarded as controversial and has been criticised by a number of organisations. In 2004, the High Court of Australia confirmed the constitutionality of indefinite mandatory detention of non-citizens. However, this interpretation was overturned in a landmark decision, NZYQ v Minister for Immigration, in 2023, with the High Court concluding the practice was unlawful and unconstitutional.
The first Rudd government was the executive Government of Australia formed by the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and led by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. The Rudd government commenced on 3 December 2007, when Rudd was sworn in along with his ministry. This took place just nine days after the defeat of the Howard government, which was a Coalition of members of the Liberal and National parties, at the 2007 federal election. The Rudd government concluded on 24 June 2010 when Rudd, under pressure from an impending leadership caucus ballot, stepped down from the leadership of the ALP and was succeeded by his deputy, Julia Gillard. Rudd was re-elected leader of the Labor Party in 2013 and served a second term as prime minister.
Plaintiff M70 is a decision by the High Court of Australia. The lawsuit concerned an injunction sought by multiple Afghan asylum seekers against immigration minister Chris Bowen. The injunction was to prevent Bowen from deporting the plaintiffs to Malaysia, pursuant to s198A of the Migration Act. The purpose of the deportation was to avoid their asylum application from being assessed by Australia.
The second Rudd government was the federal executive Government of Australia led by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd of the Australian Labor Party. It commenced on 27 June 2013 and ceased on 18 September 2013. Rudd had previously served a term as Prime Minister from 2007 to 2010 and been replaced by his deputy Julia Gillard, following an internal party spill. Rudd regained the Labor Party leadership by successfully re-challenging Gillard in a June 2013 party spill. On 5 August, Rudd called an election for 7 September 2013, which resulted in the defeat of his government by the Liberal/National Coalition led by Opposition Leader Tony Abbott.
Charlie Benjamin is a Papua New Guinean politician. He has been Governor of Manus Province since 2012, and was formerly the member for Manus Open in the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea from 1997 to 2007. He was Vice-Minister for Public Enterprises under Bill Skate (1998–1999) and Minister for Labour and Employment (2000–2001) and Minister for Lands and Physical Planning (2001–2002) under Mekere Morauta. As governor from 2012, he has featured prominently in issues relating to the Australian-run Manus Regional Processing Centre. Benjamin has variously been an independent (1997–1999) and a member of the Advance Papua New Guinea Party, People's Democratic Movement (2001) and People's National Congress (2003–present).
Asylum in Australia has been granted to many refugees since 1945, when half a million Europeans displaced by World War II were given asylum. Since then, there have been periodic waves of asylum seekers from South East Asia and the Middle East, with government policy and public opinion changing over the years.
Operation Sovereign Borders (OSB) is a border protection operation led by the Australian Border Force, aimed at stopping maritime arrivals of asylum seekers to Australia. 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. The operation has implemented a "zero tolerance" posture towards what it has termed "Illegal Maritime Arrivals" − a change in terminology from the previous government's "Irregular Maritime Arrivals" − in Australia, in conjunction with mandatory detention in offshore detention facilities.
The Manus Regional Processing Centre, or Manus Island Regional Processing Centre (MIRCP), was one of a number of offshore Australian immigration detention facilities. The centre was located on the PNG Navy Base Lombrum on Los Negros Island in Manus Province, Papua New Guinea.
The Migration Act 1958(Cth) is an Act of the Parliament of Australia that governs immigration to Australia. It set up Australia’s universal visa system (or entry permits). Its long title is "An Act relating to the entry into, and presence in, Australia of aliens, and the departure or deportation from Australia of aliens and certain other persons."
Escape From Manus is an autobiographical memoir by Rohingya refugee Jaivet Ealom documenting his escape from the genocide in Myanmar, his journey to Indonesia, his arrest upon arrival in Australia, and detention in the Australian offshore detention centres on Manus Island, Papua New Guinea. While in detention Ealom suffers prison-like conditions, is the victim of a violent attack, attempts suicide, and goes on hunger strike. After three and a half years of detention is becomes the only person to escape Manus Island. After his escape he travels to the Solomon Islands and finally Canada.
Ads Up Canada is a Toronto-based not for profit organization that helps refugees move from Australian offshore detention facilities to Canada.
↑ Australian Government. Senate. Legal And Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee (21 October 2019). "Estimates". p.76. Archived from the original on 27 April 2020. Retrieved 27 April 2020. Proof Committee Hansard
↑ Janet Phillips & Harriet Spinks (23 July 2013). "Boat arrivals in Australia since 1976"(PDF). Research Paper. Parliament of Australia. Archived(PDF) from the original on 14 August 2020. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
↑ "Human Rights Law Bulletin Volume 2". On 26 and 27 September 2001 the Commonwealth parliament passed migration legislation. Australian Human Rights Commission. Archived from the original on 3 February 2014. Retrieved 11 June 2013.
↑ "What was the 'Pacific Solution'?". the Howard Government introduced what came to be known as the 'Pacific Solution'. Parliament of Australia. Archived from the original on 14 August 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2013.
↑ United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (16 February 2016). "UNHCR – Indonesia Fact Sheet". UNHCR. Archived from the original on 14 August 2020. Retrieved 11 May 2014.
↑ "Last refugees leave Nauru". Minister for Immigration, Multicultural Affairs and Citizenship. 8 February 2008. Archived from the original on 14 August 2020. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
↑ Bill Frelick, refugee program director (17 August 2012). "Australia: 'Pacific Solution' Redux". Human Rights Watch(Hrw.org). Archived from the original on 22 November 2012. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
Pagonis, Jennifer (8 February 2008). "UNHCR welcomes close of Australia's Pacific Solution". Unhcr. This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Jennifer Pagonis – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at today's press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
Phillips, Janet; Spinks, Harriet (23 July 2013). "Boat arrivals in Australia since 1976". Parliament of Australia. [The] background note provides a brief overview of the historical and political context surrounding boat arrivals in Australia since 1976.
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