Weekly media wrap - 5 May 2018

A Federal Court judge delayed a decision regarding an asylum seeker family facing deportation to Sri Lanka. The judge adjourned to review the arguments before making her decision, requesting the Department of Home Affairs not to deport the family. Residents of the family’s small Queensland town have protested at the Federal Court, asking for the family to be allowed to return home. The family of four had overstayed their bridging visa by one day.

Penny Wong, Labor leader in the Senate, indicated that her party should be advocating for a limit on the time asylum seekers spend in detention, in response to a poll that found 50 per cent of voters support a 90-day limit on holding asylum seekers on Manus Island and Nauru. Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull accused Labor of ‘rolling out the welcome mat to the people smugglers’.

A United Nations Security Council delegation commenced a visit to Bangladesh and Myanmar this week. In Bangladesh the delegation was witnessing the circumstances of Rohingya Muslims in camps housing the refugees who fled Myanmar and the military-led violence. Bangladesh and Myanmar agreed in December to begin repatriating the refugees in January. The UNHCR and Bangladesh recently finalised a memorandum of understanding to ensure the repatriation process must be ‘safe, voluntary and dignified ... in line with international standards’.

US immigration officials ­announced that a busy border crossing was at capacity to process asylum seekers, in advance of hundreds of Central Americans arriving to the US border to ask for asylum. The migrant caravan received attention after the US Government called it a threat to America. 

Weekly media wrap - 28 April 2018

Former commissioner of the Australian Border Force, Roman Quaedvlieg, admitted that the ABF has often obstructed genuine medical transfers required for asylum seekers on Nauru. Ongoing tension remains between the ABF and medical practitioners regarding medical transfers out of offshore processing, with the transfer of many critically ill patients being refused or delayed. These admissions come at a time when the Australian Government’s health contractor has deemed medical facilities on Nauru as unsafe for surgery.

In related news, 12-year old asylum seeker boy, Ali, released a series of videos from his tent in Nauru, describing his state of despair and the severe depression of his mother and brother. Doctors have recommended for over a year that Ali’s mother be transferred to Australia to seek urgent medical treatment, and concerns have also been raised about the mental health of Ali himself after several attempts at self-harm.

Indonesian fishermen rescued a boatload of 76 Rohingya refugees off the coast of Aceh, Indonesia. The refugees, fleeing Myanmar, claimed to be seeking to reach Australia.

Meanwhile, Indonesian Police, with assistance from Australian Federal Police, busted a complex people-smuggling network planning to transport fake Rohingya refugees to Australia. The three alleged people smugglers are said to be Rohingya, Bangladeshi and Indonesian, and had allegedly organised fake papers for six Bangladeshi men previously residing in Malaysia, with the papers stating they were Muslim Rohingya fleeing persecution in Myanmar.

A political debate was sparked following proposals that the Australian War Memorial commemorate navy personnel involved in Operation Sovereign Borders, including those who were involved in the policy of boat turnbacks. Various Labor and Greens MPs have described the idea, proposed by the memorial’s director Brendan Nelson, as igniting culture wars on the sensitive topic of asylum seeker policy and politicising Australia’s armed forces.

Weekly media wrap - 22 April 2018

The United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, said that it had not received any asylum applications from South African white farmers, after Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton expressed interest in the farmers in March. UNHCR further suggested that the group would not qualify for refugee status, noting that ‘[u]nder the 1951 Refugee Convention, a person must be outside their country of origin in order to claim asylum.’

The Australian High Court unanimously upheld a fast-track refugee assessment process introduced in 2014 to handle the claims of 30,000 asylum seekers who arrived in Australia by boat before 2013.

Fifty refugees will soon depart Papua New Guinea and Nauru for resettlement in the United States, under a bilateral agreement between the Australian and American governments. According to The Guardian, 145 refugees have already left Nauru and 85 have left Papua New Guinea.

Refugee advocacy groups are lobbying the Australian Government to create a private refugee sponsorship avenue in Australia. The proposed Community Refugee Sponsorship Initiative (CRSI) would begin with 5000 additional places per year, in addition to Australia’s existing humanitarian intake. 

Weekly media wrap - 14 April 2018

An Afghan refugee on Manus Island was stabbed with a screwdriver in his shoulders, back and neck after refusing to hand over his phone to three men in the town of Lorengau. The man was given basic treatment at Lorengau hospital but began to have breathing difficulties after he returned to the accommodation compound. Fellow refugees called a doctor in Australia for medical advice, claiming later that cutbacks to Australian-funded medical services on the island forced them to do so.

Meanwhile, the Australian Medical Students Association protested against Australia's offshore detention system. The group argued that the policy is unacceptable and inhumane.

Sky News reported that the Australian Government asked New Zealand to keep its offer of resettling 150 refugees on the table, despite refusing the offer in public. Government papers obtained by Sky News showed the Australian Government wanted a backup plan in case the US resettlement deal was unsuccessful.

Shadow Minister for Immigration Shayne Neumann said the Labor Party supports all eligible refugees having the option to apply for resettlement in the US, including those who are in Australia for medical treatment. Neumann argued that such a policy would allow refugee families separated between offshore detention and Australia to be reunited.

In international news, US National Guard members started arriving at the US-Mexico border, following a direction by President Donald Trump. On Trump's orders, Defense Secretary James Mattis authorised the funding for up to 4000 National Guard troops for the operation to stop migrant crossings. 

Weekly media wrap - 8 April 2018

The South African government claimed that Australia retracted its plans to fast-track visas to white South African farmers. Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton denied that his offer of humanitarian support had been withdrawn and is reportedly considering ‘several’ applications.

Nauru ended a long standing agreement that allowed appeals to the High Court of Australia. The move will have a significant impact on asylum seekers held on Nauru, who will have ‘virtually no rights if rights of appeal to the high court are taken away’, according to human rights lawyer George Newhouse.

Humanitarian migrants from specified countries, including South Sudan, Somalia and Iran, were excluded from resettlement under Australia’s Community Support Program. Eight priority countries were determined for inclusion in the Program: the Democratic Republic of Congo, Afghanistan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Myanmar, Bhutan, Syria and Iraq. Members of Australia’s South Sudanese community criticised the exclusion, citing discrimination.

Peter Dutton argued that the 1951 United Nations refugee convention is outdated and should be reviewed by ‘like-minded’ countries. He suggested that rather than countries accepting a ‘token’ number of displaced people, support should be given to international refugee camps. Madeline Gleeson, from the Kaldor Centre for International Law, argued that international support and resettlement were both critically important and that ‘one cannot replace the other’.

International advisors warned that the coming monsoon season could result in ‘enormous deaths’ among the 700,000 Rohingya currently living in refugee camps at Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh. A repatriation deal between Myanmar and Bangladesh has been delayed, forcing a race against time to prepare new homes on a Bangladeshi island before the monsoons arrive.

Weekly media wrap - 31 March 2018

The Federal Government’s plan to cut the Status Resolution Support Services (SRSS) payment for people on bridging visas is expected to take effect from 1 April 2018, impacting asylum seekers currently living in communities. Advocacy organisations came together this week to raise concerns over the changes to eligibility, warning that it could lead to homelessness and destitution. This income support provides for living allowance, assistance in finding housing, casework support and counselling.

Following a recent visit to the Nauru immigration detention centre, the Asia Pacific director for UNHCR strongly urged the Federal Government reconsider its offshore processing policy, highlighting concern about detainees' mental health and risk of self-harm as well as family separations.

Opposition leader Bill Shorten said the Labor Party has concern for the treatment of asylum seekers in offshore detention and for people being held in indefinite detention, but confirmed he has ‘no interest’ in changing Labor’s position on asylum boat turnbacks.

A Senate Inquiry report was released this week, which considers legislation that would implement a redress scheme to compensate survivors of child sexual abuse. Immigration authorities submitted that allowing people on temporary visas to apply for compensation under the scheme would increase the government’s financial exposure. The current design of the scheme has raised concern that people in offshore detention or on temporary visas may be excluded from compensation.

Germany’s interior minister is progressing with plans to hold asylum seekers in centres for up to 18 months while their applications are being processed. The first centre is expected to be established in 2018 in Bavaria.

Weekly media wrap - 24 March 2018

A 10 year old refugee boy with severe mental health issues and at risk of suicide was flown, along with his mother, from Nauru to Australia for treatment following a Federal Court order. The court cited significant risk of suicide if he was not provided immediate acute psychological care in Australia. The Department of Home Affairs argued that sufficient care is available on Nauru and that the boy should be treated there, and had rejected previous attempts to transfer the boy in 2017.

Papua New Guinea requested Australia set a deadline for resettling all refugees currently on Manus Island to third countries. The PNG Government identified that recent attempts to resettle refugees in PNG have generally not been successful and that many refugees may not be settled in the US under its deal with Australia. Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop noted that Australia is not considering new resettlement countries.

Despite criticism and diplomatic tension, Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton remained steadfast with his proposal to provide special attention and fast-track visas to white South African farmers allegedly targeted in land seizures and violence. South Africa’s foreign ministry responded, describing Dutton’s comments as ‘offensive’ and demanding that they be retracted. Tony Abbott supported Dutton’s proposal, whilst many in the Greens party described it as a throwback to the White Australia policy.

The Labor Party may consider a plan to increase Australia's annual intake of refugees to 50,000. The policy submission, currently in the early stages of consideration by Labor’s policy committee, also includes proposals to bring all refugees on Nauru and Manus Island to Australia, and a Royal Commission into immigration detention. 

Weekly media wrap - 17 March 2018

Refugee advocacy groups claimed that government cuts to the status resolution support service (SRSS) provided to around 12,000 asylum seekers leave them at risk of poverty and homelessness.

A Sri Lankan family remains in Australia, after an attempted deportation by the Australian Border Force. The family of four has lived in Australia for four years. The mother, Priya, has not received a final rejection of her asylum claim.

An Iranian refugee in Nauru, Fatemeh, was flown to Taiwan for critical heart surgery. Previously, the surgery was planned for Australia, but the Australian Border Force would not allow her son to travel with her. Fatemeh and her son, 17, flew to Taipei at Australian government expense.

Chinese artist Ai Wei Wei criticised Australian asylum policy while visiting the country for the Sydney Biennale. He said, ‘There is no excuse for any kind of policy which does not consider or protect very basic human rights.’

Weekly media wrap - 3 March 2018

Dangerous mould levels at the Nauru detention centre continued to make news. A former worker at the centre revealed the then Department of Immigration paid $50,000 for a dangerous and ineffective industrial steam cleaner to tackle the problem, while leaked emails revealed then centre operator Transfield worried asylum seekers would riot over mould levels. The microbiologist contracted by Transfield in 2014 to assess the mould said the contamination was ‘of epic proportions’.

ASIO Director-General Duncan Lewis denied the agency slowed down visa processing for asylum seekers who came to Australia by boat before 2013 – as requested by the Department of Immigration in 2013 – but said the cohort was a lower priority. Mr Lewis said it was not unusual for ASIO to receive letters from the Secretary of the Department of Immigration.

Australia’s first session as a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council was undermined by a report from the UN’s special rapporteur on torture, Nils Melzer, stating that deterrence-based refugee policies are fundamentally wrong. The report said deterrence policies – like Australia's offshore program – were the major reason migrants were exploited and abused.

A group of Coptic Christian asylum seekers in Melbourne appealed directly to Immigration Minister Peter Dutton to avoid deportation to Egypt when their visas expire within weeks. Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan asylum seeker deported from Australia last week due to the Australian Government’s scepticism of his claimed links to the Tamil Tigers has allegedly been harassed by Sri Lankan security forces since his return.

The National Gallery of Victoria ended its contract with Wilson Security, but did not state that it was due to the company's involvement in offshore detention. The gallery was consistently petitioned by national and international artists and activists to sever ties with the security company implicated in the Nauru Files.

In Israel, more than 20,000 people protested against a government policy of detaining and deporting African asylum seekers who refuse to leave the country. Seven Eritrean asylum seekers have already been transferred to an Israeli prison indefinitely after refusing to be deported to Rwanda.

Weekly media wrap - 24 February 2018

A further 35 refugees departed Nauru to the US, the third cohort of refugees to leave Nauru as part of the Australia-US resettlement deal. Over 200 refugees have now flown to the US from either Nauru or Manus Island under this deal. The majority of this third cohort to depart Nauru are from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Myanmar; Iranians are reportedly being excluded from the deal due to the  US ‘Travel Ban’ which affects people from six Muslim-majority countries attempting to enter the US.

Asylum seekers on Manus Island were allegedly attacked and injured by PNG Defence Force soldiers while walking through town in Lorengau, the closest town to the Australian-run accommodation facilities. The injured men were subsequently transferred to hospital for treatment. PNG Police warned asylum seekers in the Australian-run facilities to stay indoors and not venture into town, provoking further fears for safety.

A Sri Lankan asylum seeker is expected to be deported from Australia due to the Australian Government’s scepticism of his claimed links to the Tamil Tigers. The asylum seeker claims that he once built warships for the Tamil Tigers and states that he will face torture, disappearance or death if returned to Sri Lanka. This follows a recent decision by the United Nations Committee Against Torture to lift a temporary deportation ban on the man. International concerns remain over the dangers that Tamil asylum seekers risk facing upon being returned to Sri Lanka.

Amnesty International’s annual global human rights assessment condemned Australia’s treatment of asylum seekers and refugees in offshore detention centres, claiming that asylum seekers and refugees on Nauru and Manus Island are subjected to cruel, degrading, and brutal treatment as well as neglect and abuse. The assessment also found that the increase in hate-filled rhetoric and policies in Australia has fuelled bigotry and discrimination against minority groups.

In other news, former Prime Minister Tony Abbott linked Australia’s migration intake with cost and quality of living issues in Australia, and proposed slashing the intake by 80,000 migrants per year. Abbott’s comments caused a flurry of responses and rebuttals from his coalition colleagues; Treasurer Scott Morrison claimed that such a reduction in migration would negatively impact on the budget billions per year, and Finance Minister Mathias Cormann stated the importance of skilled migration to enable economic growth.

Weekly media wrap - 17 February 2018

A further 18 refugees left Manus Island for resettlement in the United States of America, in addition to the 22 who left the island earlier in the week. The Australian reported that it is expected that more refugees who are currently on Manus Island and Nauru will transfer to the United States by the end of this month, bringing the total number of people accepted to about 200. Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton confirmed that 135 refugees had transferred to the United States from Manus Island and Nauru. UNHCR raised concern about Australia’s offshore regime and urged for alternative solutions to be found.

Two groups of asylum seekers from El Salvador were in Costa Rica, reportedly for clearance to resettle in Australia, however immigration officials denied a link to the refugee deal with the United States.

A Sri Lankan asylum seeker was ordered for deportation from Australia on 22 February by the Australian Border Force. The Tamil asylum seeker has reportedly refused to sign the order. The United Nations Committee Against Torture requested in October 2017 that Australia not move the asylum seeker while it investigates whether he will be tortured if he is returned against his will.

While Japan received 19,628 applications for refugee status, only 20 asylum seekers were accepted last year. Figures released this week showed that the number of applicants in 2017 rose by 80% from a year earlier, when 28 out of almost 11,000 requests were recognised.

Weekly media wrap - 13 February 2018

Twenty-two refugees left Nauru for resettlement in the United States, under a bilateral agreement between the US and Australia. The group, who were almost all single men from Afghanistan, Iran and Myanmar, are the fourth transfer from Australian-led offshore centres under the deal. Around 110 refugees have been transferred under the agreement, with around 2000 asylum seekers and refugees still in Nauru and Papua New Guinea.

In 2016-17, 24,162 refugees and humanitarian entrants arrived in Australia, the biggest year on record. This number includes Australia’s annual humanitarian program, and a special intake of refugees from Iraq and Syria.

UNHCR released the ‘zero draft’ of the global compact on refugees, a non-binding agreement to better deal with refugee crises. Formal talks on the compact begin this month in Geneva.

Weekly media wrap - 3 February 2018

Secret government documents obtained by the ABC – the ‘Cabinet Files’ – revealed that in 2013 then immigration minister Scott Morrison tried to prevent asylum seekers from being granted permanent protection visas by directing ASIO to delay their security checks. It is not known if ASIO complied with the request. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull defended Morrison’s actions, arguing Morrison had ‘stopped the boats’ during his tenure. Refugee advocates accused Morrison of having no regard for the law, and said his actions had torn families apart.

Reports from Bangladesh suggested the annual cyclone and monsoon season could threaten the lives of more than 800,000 Rohingya asylum seekers in camps along the Bangladesh-Myanmar border. Meanwhile, protesters in towns near the refugee camps, while sympathetic to the plight of the Rohingya, demanded that the Bangladesh Government arrange for them to be safely sent back to Myanmar.

Weekly media wrap - 28 January 2018

Fifty-eight refugees on Manus Island flew to the USA after being accepted for resettlement. Another group of 130 refugees on Nauru are expected to follow in coming days or weeks. This group of nearly 200 refugees form the second cohort to gain resettlement under the US deal. 

An Iranian asylum seeker on Manus Island was force fed in a PNG hospital after nearly two weeks on a hunger strike. According to hospital staff, the 42-year-old was tied to a hospital bed while receiving intravenous treatment. A nurse at the hospital said he could die if not taken to Australia for treatment.

Fifty-five Indonesian minors joined a complaint to the Australian Human Rights Commission after being jailed as adults in Australia for people-smuggling offenses. The minors who crewed asylum seeker boats want compensation and have signalled potential legal action against the Australian government.

Research conducted by the Norwegian Refugee Council and the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre found that 72% of Afghan refugees who return home after living abroad are forced to flee violence internally. The study, which came after a deadly attack on Save the Children’s office in Jalalabad, found that the large majority of internally displaced Afghan families do not receive aid. 

Weekly media wrap - 20 January 2018

The federal government refused a senate request to release documents regarding the construction of the new Australian-built asylum seeker facilities on Manus Island. The senate requested the documents and contracts in December 2017, seeking detail about the health, construction and security services to be provided at the facilities. Immigration minister Peter Dutton claimed that releasing such documents may cause damage to Australia’s international relations with Papua New Guinea.

The security of the Manus Island detention facilities is under threat due to a contract dispute between two security companies. Employees from Paladin Solutions, the Australian-contracted security firm, were blocked from entering the facilities by locally-owned firm Kingfisher Security, who are claiming their right to the lucrative contract. The visa applications of many foreign private security guards employed by Paladin Solutions were rejected by PNG’s Chief Immigration Officer, with claims that the company must employ more local workers.

The full bench of the federal court condemned a decision by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal to reject the asylum appeal of a homosexual Indian man who argued that he would face persecution due to his sexuality if returned to India. The court criticised the Tribunal’s assertion that the asylum seeker in this case was not homosexual.

Tim Costello, chief advocate of World Vision Australia, expressed that ‘Manus is my government’s cruelty’ following a recent visit to Manus Island as part of a delegation of humanitarian experts. Costello described the absence of hope amongst the asylum seekers he met. Meanwhile, Australia’s offshore detention regime was internationally shamed through a recent Human Rights Watch annual world report stating that Australia ‘maintained its cruel practice of warehousing asylum seekers in abysmal conditions’.

The Australian Council for International Development and The Guardian Australia launched ‘Beyond the Wire’, a new site with personal stories of asylum seekers on Manus Island as well as local Manusians. The site provides ‘unvarnished and unscripted’ accounts from the people themselves. New stories will be released each week.

Weekly media wrap - 13 January 2018

A refugee on Nauru has been waiting for over a year to be transferred from Australia’s offshore immigration centre on Nauru for medical treatment. Doctors have warned that the refugee presents a ‘medical emergency’, but are concerned that he has now become ‘too sick to transfer’ because he may never be well enough to return to Nauru. The Australian Border Force has not made a decision on the refugee’s transfer despite Nauruan authorities twice approving his transfer.

The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spent $100,000 to host a tour for six European journalists and a think tank researcher to showcase Australia's approach to immigration policy. The tour focused on multiculturalism and refugee policy in Australia, and included briefings with the Department of Immigration and Border Protection to discuss Operation Sovereign Borders.

Israel announced that people predominantly from Eritrea and Sudan whose applications for asylum fail must leave the state within three months with a lump sum cash payment or they could be imprisoned. Under this program, thousands of people are reportedly being offered nearly $4,500 and a plane ticket if they leave the country by March. The UNHCR appealed to Israel to halt this policy of relocating Eritreans and Sudanese to sub-Saharan Africa.

Japan is limiting asylum seekers’ right to work in an effort to respond to a system of ‘back-door immigration’. These changes to Japan’s refugee system are reportedly likely to increase the numbers of those in detention centres.

Weekly media wrap - 10 January 2018

The Australian Treasury reported that border policies cost $4 billion in 2016–17. The Australian Financial Review reported that this figure comprised $1.57 billion for detention within Australia, $1.08 billion for offshore centres in Nauru and Papua New Guinea, and $1.06bn on border enforcement. As a result, the yearly cost of holding one person in onshore detention in 2017-18 was $346,178.

At end 2017, according to the new home affairs department, there were 1301 people in onshore detention facilities, including 988 in detention on the mainland and 313 on Christmas Island. There are a further 339 people on Nauru and 801 people in Papua New Guinea (of which 616 have been recognised as refugees).

In 2017, 171,802 people arrived in Europe by sea, around half the number of 2016. The International Organization for Migration reported 3116 people dead or missing in the Mediterranean, the fourth consecutive year of over three thousand deaths.

Weekly media wrap - 26 December 2017

Australia forcibly returned a Tamil asylum seeker, known as Rajah, to Sri Lanka without his protection claim being considered. This was a result of not meeting the government's October deadline to apply for refugee status. Rajah is the first asylum seeker to be returned by Australia under this new rule, which was announced by immigration minister Peter Dutton in May. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees condemned Australia’s decision to forcibly return asylum seekers to their homelands without assessing their protection claims.

Tensions remain high on Manus Island as locals protested the new Australian-built refugee accommodation facilities near Lorengau. Local landowners, angry about the facilities being built on their customary land, blocked the gates of refugee accommodation, cutting off food supplies and medical facilities while also preventing refugees from leaving and staff from entering the facility. Two refugees were attacked, and others have been threatened with violence if they leave the facility. The refugees were forcibly moved to the new facilities near Lorengau following the closure of the previous decommissioned detention centre in November.

The first tranche of Central American refugees arrived in Australia as part of the refugee deal swap with the United States. The 30 refugees, consisting of seven families, are understood to have fled gang-related violence in El Salvador. They underwent several months of assessment by the immigration department prior to arriving in Australia. Under the deal, Australia agreed to take Central American refugees currently located in US-run refugee camps in Costa Rica in exchange for the US taking refugees from Australian offshore detention centres.

Ali Dorani, an Iranian cartoonist also known as Eaten Fish, who was detained on Manus Island for over four years, was offered refuge in Northern Europe. Through his cartoons, Dorani has been instrumental in alerting the world to the plight of refugees and asylum seekers in detention on Manus Island.

Refugee activists blocked and interrupted operations at Melbourne’s container port, protesting against Australia’s refugee detention regime. Protesters, some of whom suspended themselves over the port’s entries, carried banners reading ‘SOS Manus’ and ‘All refugees in detention are political prisoners’. Traffic was suspended and some of the protesters are expected to be charged with transport offences.

Weekly media wrap - 16 December 2017

Nearly 200 refugees on Nauru and Manus Island were accepted for resettlement in the USA.  The refugees, mainly from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Myanmar and Bangladesh, form the second cohort to gain resettlement under the US deal. Refugee advocates expect the group to fly out in early 2018. Iranians, who form the largest number of refugees on both Nauru and Manus, have been suspended from entering the US following the reinstatement of Donald Trump’s travel ban. The ban excludes entry into the US by nationals from Chad, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen, North Korea and Venezuela.

Immigration minister Peter Dutton refuted claims by refugees and asylum seekers on Manus Island of threats by locals. Dutton described the claims as ‘complete nonsense’, despite a video showing one local wielding a metal implement and shouting ‘I will kill you’ outside a transit centre in Lorengau.

Following the release of this video footage, the presidents of Australia’s top medical colleges sent a letter to Peter Dutton, expressing their concern for the health of asylum seekers and refugees on the island. The letter, which represents the concerns of 61,500 doctors, called for improved transparency on health care services, provision of medication, and creation of a mental health service.

Australia ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OPCAT), thereby consenting to be legally bound to the treaty. Under OPCAT, which advances the 1985 United Nations Convention against Torture, Australia is obliged to allow independent inspections of all places of detention onshore. Inspection of Australia’s offshore detention centres is not an obligation.

Weekly media wrap - 11 December 2017

On Manus Island, 60 refugees are being transferred to the Papua New Guinea capital, Port Moresby, for interviews with United States officials as part of the Australia–United States resettlement deal. None of those slated for interview originate from countries banned from the United States by President Trump’s executive order.

In Nauru, refugees seeking to benefit from the Australia–United States resettlement deal have been told that they must separate permanently from partners and children, according to The Guardian. As the United States prefers to accept single refugees rather than families for resettlement, a number of refugees are forced to choose between resettlement and being with their families.

The High Court of Australia heard arguments that fast-track procedures for asylum claims in country are incompatible with asylum seekers’ procedural fairness. The fast-track process, introduced in 2014, includes a review by the immigration assessment authority (IAA), instead of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

In Geneva, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination released it periodic report on Australia, criticising the ‘desperate and dangerous conditions’ in offshore centres producing ‘severe human rights violations’. The Committee further found that Australia exercises effective control over the centres in Papua New Guinea and Nauru, and is thus bound by international human rights law.

The United States withdrew from the compact on migration, a process which aims to improve ways of handling global flows of migrants. Citing national sovereignty, the Trump Administration withdrew from discussions on the Global Compact on Migration, to be held next week.