SL, Australia continue battle against people smuggling
Maritime people smuggling (or human smuggling) is a global issue that calls for close cooperation and collaboration between international partners.
Preventing people from putting their money and their lives in the hands of criminal people smugglers people smuggling networks is a longstanding shared commitment between Sri Lanka and Australia.
The strength of the cooperation between our two countries has meant that Sri Lankan authorities have disrupted many ventures before they hit the water.
It has also meant that no ventures have been successful in the past six years, with every Sri Lankan smuggling boat that has entered Australian waters stopped and all those on board returned to
Sri Lanka. Australia has returned 204 Sri Lankans from 12 people smuggling boats since the establishment of Operation Sovereign Borders in September 2013.
Despite this, the insidious people smuggling trade has not gone away. People smugglers continue to use false promises of settlement in Australia or other countries to exploit vulnerable people.
To counter this, Australia launched in June 2019 an international public awareness campaign to save lives at sea – Zero Chance of Illegal Migration. In Sri Lanka, the campaign warns not to believe the lies of people smugglers, and raises awareness of the dangers and pointlessness of attempting an illegal boat journey to Australia.
In February 2020, the first-ever Zero Chance Short Film Competition will see a number of
Sri Lanka’s best aspiring film makers detail the danger and pointlessness of an illegal maritime journey to Australia. They will compete for a grand prize sponsored by the Australian Government, which will be announced in a ceremony jointly hosted by renowned Sri Lankan film director
Mr Vimukthi Jayasundara, Australia’s Operation Sovereign Borders and the Australian High Commission in Sri Lanka.
Our collaborative efforts have saved the lives of many Sri Lankans trying to make the dangerous journey to Australia by boat. Together, Sri Lanka and Australia continue to work to shut down people smuggling syndicates operating out of Sri Lanka, while informing the vulnerable people the smugglers are targeting and also stopping people from dying at sea.