Manus violence report highlights the futility of offshore processing

Melissa Phillips The Conversation May 28, 2014

The report into the Manus Island riots in which Iranian asylum seeker Reza Barati was killed raises critical questions about the long-term sustainability of offshore processing. AAP/Dan Peled
The report on the issues leading up to and including the riots that took place in the Manus Island detention centre in February partially lifts the veil on the complex inner workings of offshore processing of asylum seekers and the human toll of Operation Sovereign Borders.
Conducted by Robert Cornall, the former secretary of the Attorney-General’s Department, and released by immigration minister Scott Morrison earlier this week, the report sets out the timeline of events that led to the riots which resulted in the death of Iranian man Reza Barati and injury to 62 others.
In setting out the wider security issues, the relationships between different parties involved in running the Manus Island centre and the apparent lack of information communicated to people held at the centre about their future prospects, the report raises critical questions about the long-term sustainability of offshore processing.
Security and management issues
As the report shows, multiple entities are involved in managing the centre under the co-ordination of the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP). In February, these included the security contractor G4S (staffed by PNG locals and expatriates), the Salvation Army, International Health and Medical Services as well as Papua New Guinea police.
PNG police are investigating criminal aspects of the riot, but overall accountability for management of the centres surely rests with the DIBP. It had contracted G4S to manage the centre’s security………

The Cornall report identifies gaps in the information given to asylum seekers detained on Manus as a cause of the deadly violence. AAP/Eoin Blackwell
However, people in detention for the most part expected to reach Australia and seek asylum onshore. They never expected to find themselves in PNG in the first place. Battling with a reality quite different to their intentions, they were then informed that if found to be refugees they would be resettled in PNG, not Australia………
Read more http://theconversation.com/manus-violence-report-highlights-the-futility-of-offshore-processing-27231?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=The+Weekend+Conversation&utm_content=The+Weekend+Conversation+CID_2c8e4fe5fa3d11225990b9d0dc350ed1&utm_source=campaign_monitor&utm_term=Manus%20violence%20report%20highlights%20the%20futility%20of%20offshore%20processing