Harm and accountability in transnational detention environments : the case of Australia's extraterritorial processing of asylum seekers

This chapter examines Australia's extraterritorial processing regime. After considering the foundations on which the policy and practice are built, we provide a brief history of offshore processing by Australia. The ramifications of offshore processing are then considered, including the fiscal cost, the harm done to international and domestic relations within the Asia- Pacific region, and the human cost, including the mental harm suffered by those detained offshore. The question of who is accountable for harms suffered in these offshore detention facilities is complicated by their transnational and privatized operation. The concluding section of this chapter examines the problem of accountability in such an environment.