Australia’s Refugee Policy Is A Crime Against Humanity

Last month, a call between Donald Trump and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull made world headlines due to the US President's alleged unfriendliness. What was less discussed was the actual topic of conversation: an Australian attempt confirm a deal with the US to relocate 1000+ refugees and solve a long-standing political problem.

That problem was Australian's offshore detention program.

For more than a decade, Australia has sought to deter asylum seekers from arriving in the country by boat from Indonesia. Under a policy known as the 'Pacific Solution', these so-called Boat People would not be granted entry to the Australian mainland. Rather they would instead be forced to languish in immigration detention centres on Pacific Islands.

Currently, Australia operates two extraterritorial detention centers for asylum seekers. The first is located in the tiny island state of Nauru, while the other is on Manus Island, in a remote corner of Papua New Guinea. While the Australian government attempts to suppress reporting on the state of these camps, whistleblowers have claimed appalling conditions. It is widely believed that the Australian government intentionally makes these camps as bad as possible in order to deter future refugee arrivals.

Within this environment, Australian Professor of Law Rebecca Hamilton makes the case that Australia's treatment of refugees through the Pacific Solution amounts to a crime against humanity. She argues in her article that Australia should be referred to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for these crimes. This would not just send a message to Australia that its program is wrong, but also would show African governments that the ICC was prepared to go after a first world (and mainly white) country.