Australia’s migration law allows entry to be refused on character grounds including genocide, war crimes and incitement. How that discretion is exercised speaks directly to Australia’s commitment to international law.
Section 501 the Migration Act gives the Minister for Home Affairs a discretion to refuse an application for a visa if the applicant does not satisfy the Minister that they pass the character test. A person does not pass the character test if, for instance, the Minister reasonably suspects that the person has been involved in conduct constituting the crime of genocide, a crime against humanity, a war crime, or a crime that is otherwise of serious international concern whether or not the person has been convicted of an offence constituted by the conduct.
Isaac Herzog, the President of Israel who has been officially invited to visit Australia next month, has made statements about Palestinians that the ICJ referred to and relied on in South Africa’s genocide case to find Israel’s intent to commit genocide. He has also been photographed
signing a bomb to be dropped on Gaza. These specific instances alone seem to be sufficient to support an allegation that he has committed the offence of incitement to genocide which is proscribed under the Commonwealth Criminal Code, as well as being a grave offence under international law. Crimes like that fall to be investigated by the AFP.
One member of his proposed entourage is Major General (retired) Doron Almog, who was the subject of an
arrest warrant issued on 10 September 2005 in the UK in relation to the wanton destruction of 59 houses in Rafah refugee camp on 10th January 2002. At the time that warrant was sought lawyers Hickman & Rose also presented the police and the court with evidence of Doron Almog’s alleged involvement in a number of other grave crimes, including the killing of Noha Shukri al Makadma (who was nine months into her pregnancy when killed on 3 March 2003), the killing of Mohammad Abed al Rahman al Madhoun on 30 December 2001 and mass murder committed on 22 July 2002, when a one tonne bomb was dropped on Gaza City killing fifteen people and injuring over 150 others.
The Court issued the warrant for Almog’s arrest in relation to the house demolitions and, after learning he was facing arrest by British police, Almog
evaded British justice by remaining on his plane at Heathrow airport before taking a return flight to Israel. Now he’s coming to Australia.
With this history, and with Almog presumably having been granted official permission to enter Australia, the Australian people are entitled to know the basis upon which the Minister, in exercising the statutory discretion to grant entry, has ignored or excused the past conduct of Herzog and Almog respectively satisfying more than one of the statutorily enshrined grounds for refusing permission to enter.
The following media questions were put to the Attorney General’s Department:
It is reported that Major General (res) Doran Almog will be travelling with President Isaac Herzog to Australian in February. Mr Almog is the subject of serious credible allegations of involvement in war crimes in Gaza between 2001 and 2003. It is also well known that he fled London in September 2005 after a warrant was issued for his arrest. Has diplomatic immunity been extended to Mr Almog for this visit? Irrespective of whether or not it has been, will the Attorney-General refer Mr Almog to the AFP for investigations of his alleged criminality?
President Herzog has been accused of direct and public incitement to commit genocide (an offence under the Australian Criminal Code). Has the Attorney-General requested the Australian Federal Police to investigate Mr Herzog while on Australian soil? If not, why not?
The response was:
‘The investigation of alleged Commonwealth criminal offences is a matter for the Australian Federal Police (AFP). As the AFP is an independent agency, it would not be appropriate to comment on its processes.”
Media questions were also put to the Australian Federal Police:
It is reported that Major General (res) Doran Almog will be travelling with President Isaac Herzog to Australian in February. Mr Almog is the subject of serious credible allegations of involvement in war crimes in Gaza between 2001 and 2003. It is also well known that he fled London in September 2005 after a warrant was issued for his arrest. Has Mr Almog been identified by or referred to the AFP for investigations of his alleged criminality? If so, is an investigation under way or has it been finalised? If the latter, what was the outcome?
President Herzog has been accused of well publicised, direct and public incitement to commit genocide (an offence under the Australian Criminal Code). Has the AFP determined or been instructed to investigate Mr Herzog while on Australian soil? If no such determination has been made by the AFP, why not, given the evidence? If an investigation has been conducted, what was the outcome?
An AFP spokesperson responded with:
“The AFP has no comment.”
The author replied:
May I take it that by saying “the AFP has no comment” the AFP actually means it is declining to answer my questions?
But as yet I have not received a reply.
What I want to know, and I’m sure many other people do too, is how our government can brush aside credible allegations of violent crimes, including racial hate crimes and crimes like incitement to genocide – a crime under international law that has been criminalised in the Australian Criminal Code – to grant entry permission to the alleged perpetrators at a time when our government claims deference to international law, grave concern about racial and religious unrest and continuously asserts its focus on social cohesion.
What our governments say can usually be ignored; it is what they actually do or don’t do that shows us where the truth lies. Absent a credible explanation from our government, what inference would you draw in the case of these entry permissions? Any uncomfortable undercurrent of hypocrisy?
