Manus Island Regional Processing Centre

Department of Immigration photograph of the Manus Island centre in 2012

Manus Island Regional Processing Centre is an immigration detention and offshore asylum processing centre located on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea, operated by Transfield Services on behalf of the Australian government. The centre is located on the PNG Navy Base Lombrum (previously a Royal Australian Navy base called HMAS Tarangau).

History

The Pacific Solution

The centre was originally established on 21 October 2001, as one of two Offshore Processing Centres (OPC). The other OPC was the Nauru detention centre. The OPC facilities were part of what became known as the "Pacific Solution", a policy of the Howard Government in Australia, which was implemented in the wake of the Tampa affair. The policy involved the excision of Australian external territories (Christmas Island, Ashmore and Cartier Islands and Cocos (Keeling) Island) and other islands in the Pacific Ocean—from the Australian migration zone. Unlawful maritime arrivals (boat people without documentation seeking asylum in Australia) who arrived at these excised territories were transferred to the OPC facilities where they would stay while their claims for asylum were processed. The centres were managed by the International Organization for Migration (IOM).[1]

Disuse

The centre on Manus Island fell into disuse in preference to the Nauru centre. In July 2003, the immigration department announced that the centre would be wound down and the remaining detainees would be granted asylum and resettled in Australia, however the centre would continue to be maintained in case the need for reactivation arose.

Aladdin Sisalem, a Kuwaiti-born Palestinian, fled Kuwait in 2000 and in December 2002 arrived at an island in the Torres Strait where he claimed asylum, and was sent to Manus Island. For ten months, Sisalem was the sole detainee on the island, with a small staff of guards and cleaners for company. In May 2004, he was resettled in Melbourne.[1]

2008 closure

With the election of the Rudd Labor Government in 2007, the Manus Island OPC was formally closed in early 2008, fulfilling an election promise by Rudd to end the offshore processing system.

Regional Resettlement Arrangement

Main article: PNG solution

In 2012, a significant rise in the number of irregular maritime arrivals saw the "asylum issue" become a political liability for the government. The Gillard Government commissioned Angus Houston, former Chief of the Defence Force, to lead an expert panel to conduct a review of asylum arrangements. Among the 22 recommendations made in the Houston report was one to re-open the OPC facilities on Nauru and Manus Island.

2012 re-opening

In November 2012, the centre on Manus Island was re-opened, operated by the British services company G4S.[2] In March 2014, the contract with G4S expired, and the Australian government entered into a 20-month contract worth AUD $1.22 billion with Transfield Services (which operates the facility in Nauru) for facilities management including building maintenance and catering,[3] with security provided by Wilson Security.[4]

2014 riots

On 17 February 2014, a series of protests by detainees at the centre escalated into a serious disturbance, and subsequent events resulted in the death of one detainee: Reza Berati, a 23-year-old Iranian asylum seeker. [5]

Cornall Review

Robert Cornall was appointed in February 2014 to conduct 'a review into the circumstances surrounding the Manus Island disturbances' leading up to Berati's death[6] with the primary focus on management of security at the centre.[7][8][9][10] Cornall presented his review to the Immigration Department on 23 May 2014.[9]

Cornall previously conducted an investigation into allegations of sexual abuse at Manus Island.[11] He presented this report to the Department in late September 2013.[9][12]

Numbers

Chart of the centre's population at the end of each month since the commencement of Operation Sovereign Borders.

As of 31 March 2015, there were 989 asylum seekers held in the processing centre.[13]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Jackson, Andra (1 June 2004). "Aladdin Sisalem released from Manus Island". The Age. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
  2. ↑ Cullen, Simon (21 November 2012). "First asylum seekers arrive on Manus Island". ABC News. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
  3. ↑ Smyth, Jamie (24 February 2014). "G4S to hand over Australia asylum centre contract to Transfield". Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  4. ↑ Farrell, Paul (24 February 2014). "Manus Island and Nauru centres to be run by Transfield in $1.2bn deal". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  5. ↑ "Manus Island riot: interactive timeline". The Guardian. 28 February 2014. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
  6. ↑ Farrell, Paul (21 February 2014). "Manus Island inquiry will be led by Robert Cornall, says Scott Morrison". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 28 February 2014.
  7. ↑ "Terms of Reference Review into the events of 16-18 February 2014 at the Manus Regional Processing Centre". Canberra: Department of Immigration and Border Protection. 27 February 2014. Archived from the original on 28 February 2014.
  8. ↑ Farrell, Paul (27 February 2014). "Consultant investigating Manus Island unrest insists he is independent". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 28 February 2014.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 "Independent Reviews into Incidents at Offshore Regional Processing Centres". Department of Immigration and Border Protection. 23 May 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  10. ↑ Cornall, Robert (23 May 2014). "Review into the events of 16-18 February 2014 at the Manus Regional Processing Centre" (PDF-6 MB). Department of Immigration and Border Protection. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  11. ↑ Farrell, Paul; Laughland, Oliver (1 November 2013). "Sex assaults at Manus Island centre appear likely to go unpunished". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 21 November 2013. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
  12. ↑ Cornall, Robert (30 September 2013). "Review into allegations of sexual and other serious assaults at the Manus Offshore Processing Centre [July 2013]" (PDF-130 KB). Department of Immigration and Border Protection. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
  13. ↑ "Operation Sovereign Borders—Monthly Operational Update: March 2015". Australian Customs and Border Protection Service. 8 April 2015. Retrieved 21 April 2015.

External links

Coordinates: 2°2′16″S 147°22′9″E / 2.03778°S 147.36917°E