Abstract:
Operation Sovereign Borders, was first implemented under the Tony Abbot
government, the policy is one of Australia's efforts to deal with a surge in asylum
seekers trying to enter Australia by sea. This policy includes Australia's borders
protection and the implementation of turn back the boats against asylum-seeking
vessels from entering Australian territory. Its implementation is focused on the
sea and targets ships starting from Indonesia.
In dealing with the problem of asylum seekers arriving by sea or boat
people, countries must create policies that sometimes overlap and even contradict
each other. Australia should consider protecting their national borders and
suppressing migrant smuggling, but on the other hand also has an obligation to
rescue migrants, provide protection for asylum seekers and protect human rights.
Thus, handling boat people requires a clear understanding of the national legal
framework and relevant international legal considerations, as well as the
interactions between overlapping legal regimes.
The results of this paper argue that the turn back the boats policy under
the Operation Sovereign Borders policy can be implemented under current
Australian law, but a policy as it currently stands would place Australia in
violation of the non-refoulement norm.
