Weekly media wrap - 2 February 2019

Kurdish asylum seeker Behrouz Boochani won the prestigious Victorian Prize for Literature for his book No Friend But the Mountains: Writing from Manus Prison. Boochani has been kept on Manus Island since 2013. He wrote the book in Farsi using WhatsApp; it was translated by Omid Tofighian.

The Weekend Australian reported that a boat carrying asylum seekers is believed to have left India this month with Sri Lankan Tamils and Indian nationals on board. It is reported that the boat could be travelling to New Zealand. Estimates of numbers onboard vary between 80 and 200 people.

UNHCR’s Indonesian chief said that turning back asylum boats at sea puts lives at risk. Ahead of the upcoming Australian federal election, the UNHCR is expected to continue to lobby to end the practice of boat turnbacks and for Canberra to lift its restrictions on refugee resettlements out of Indonesia.

The Asian Football Confederation claimed the detention of refugee footballer Hakeem al-Araibi in Thailand is not the responsibility of the AFC’s president, Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim al-Khalifa, because he was recused from overseeing the region 18 months ago out of conflict-of-interest concerns. Salman has been criticised for his inaction over the matter.

The UNHCR reported that six lives were lost on average every day in 2018 attempting to reach Europe crossing the Mediterranean Sea. The UNHCR released the latest Desperate Journeys report, which describes shifts in policy by some European states that saw numerous incidents where large numbers of people were left stranded at sea.

Weekly media wrap - 26 January 2019

A male detainee at Villawood Immigration Detention Centre, believed to be in his thirties and from Sierra Leone, died on Friday evening. Police said initial investigations suggest the death is not suspicious. The death allegedly triggered chaos in the centre.

Thailand's ambassador to Australia asked for patience in the case of detained refugee footballer Hakeem al-Araibi and stressed the independence of Thailand's judiciary. Meanwhile, a number of  Australian sportspeople signed an open letter to the Prime Minister, asking him to directly engage with Thai Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha regarding al-Araibi's case.

One hundred and seventeen people drowned trying to cross the Mediterranean last weekend and nearly 400 rescued migrants were returned to Libya. Two hundred people have died trying to cross the Mediterranean this year.

The Trump administration's ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy, which returns asylum seekers to Mexico to wait while their cases progress through US courts, took effect on Friday. Meanwhile, Mexico has struggled to process an influx of Central Americans applying for its new humanitarian visa.

Weekly media wrap - 19 January 2019

Said Imasi, a stateless man who has been in immigration detention in Villawood for nine years, filed a High Court challenge to the landmark immigration case, Al-Kateb v Godwin (2004). In the case, the majority of the High Court ruled that a person could remain within administrative detention for as long as was required to resolve the individual’s case. Imasi does not know where he was born and has no country that will claim him. Lawyers for Imasi have said that they hope this challenge will open a process to end arbitrary ongoing detention in Australia.  

Doctor Nick Martin, a former senior medical officer working with asylum seekers on Nauru, won the 2019 Blueprint for Free Speech prize for his medical attention and advocacy speaking out against offshore detention. Martin consistently voiced his concerns that Australia’s offshore detention regime was deliberately neglecting and harming refugees and asylum seekers and ignoring medical recommendations.

Independent MP Cathy McGowan sought the views of her constituents as to whether she should support a bill which would allow fast-track transfers for urgent medical treatments for refugees on Manus Island and Nauru. The bill, which has the proclaimed support of most cross-benchers, Labor and the Greens, is likely to come before Parliament in February 2019.

The World Report 2019, Human Rights Watch’s annual assessment of human rights around the globe, condemned Australia’s offshore detention regime, labelling it ‘draconian’.

Weekly media wrap - 14 January 2019

Rahaf al-Qunun, an 18-year-old Saudi refugee, was accepted for resettlement in Canada. The young woman was stopped by Thai authorities in Bangkok on her way to Australia, which had granted her a three-month tourist visa. She intended to seek asylum in Australia on the basis of a fear of persecution for her renunciation of Islam. After locking herself in her hotel room and pleas on social media, UNHCR was given access to al-Qunun and quickly declared her a refugee. UNHCR referred al-Qunun for resettlement to Australia. Minister for Home Affairs Peter Dutton said she would receive ‘no special treatment’, with the Labor party encouraging the government to resettle her. However, she ultimately accepted resettlement in Canada, flying from Bangkok to Toronto.

Malta agreed to allow two boats carrying 49 people rescued at sea to disembark after 18 days at sea. The two vessels, sailing under the German flag, had been denied access to European ports since December.

Weekly media wrap - 24 December 2018

An appeal to stop the deportation of a family of Tamil asylum seekers was dismissed by the Federal Court. The family, including two Australian-born children, lived for many years in the small Queensland town of Biloela prior to their detention in March 2018. They have been campaigning against their deportation for much of this year through various court proceedings, receiving significant community support including a petition with over 140,000 signatures calling on Peter Dutton to intervene. In dismissing the appeal, the judge ordered that the family not be deported until February 2019.

A former worker in the Manus Island detention centre filed a case in Victoria’s Supreme Court suing the security company G4S and the Australian Government for unsafe and harmful working conditions at the centre. The former worker stated that the job description and working conditions presented to him upon applying for the job were misleading. He said that he actually experienced inadequate security to protect staff from violence, no training for emergency procedures or security briefings, inadequate facilitates to treat detainees, and insufficient water, hygiene and power.

An Afghan Hazara refugee who was transferred from Nauru to Australia for medical treatment over six weeks ago has not yet seen a doctor in Australia. Specialist medical reports state that without immediate treatment, the woman, Narges, is at risk of permanent hearing loss and developing fatal infections. Narges was recently taken to a medical appointment from the Villawood detention centre, but the appointment was cancelled.

The Australian Labor Party quashed a push to overhaul their current asylum seeker policy platform at their national conference. There had been proposals by some within the party to end offshore detention, cease boat turnbacks, and improve regional processing. The party will, however, likely increase their refugee intake commitment by up to 4000.

Weekly media wrap - 20 December 2018

Parallel class action cases in the High Court of Australia claim that around 1200 asylum seekers and refugees in Nauru and Papua New Guinea have been subjected to crimes against humanity and torture. The claims seek injunctions to transfer the class action participants to Australia and damages for harm while in the offshore centres. The claims are being brought under the civil law of negligence, which requires the Commonwealth of Australia to meet a certain duty of care to people within its jurisdiction.

In 2017-2018, 27,931 people applied for asylum in Australia having arrived by plane, an increase from 18,290 the previous year. Applicants from China, who receive protection at a rate of around 10 per cent, made up one-third of all applications.

An Australian-based footballer of refugee background arrested in Thailand faces extradition to his country of origin, Bahrain. Hakeem al-Araibi, arrested on holiday at Bangkok airport, has previously faced torture in Bahrain and been convicted of vandalism in absentia in the country. The forced return of al-Araibi to Bahrain would amount to refoulement.

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton appointed Major General Craig Furini as Operation Sovereign Borders commander, arguing for the retention of offshore regional processing centres, as well as ongoing boat turnbacks.

The Australian Government launched an inquiry into the integration and employment of refugees and other humanitarian entrants in Australia. The review is likely to be completed by February 2019.

In international news, a seven-year-old girl from Guatemala died of dehydration and exhaustion in the custody of United States Customs and Border Protection in New Mexico, having crossed the border from Mexico.

Weekly media wrap - 9 December 2018

The Australian Labor Party agreed to support independent MP Kerryn Phelps’ bill for emergency medical transfers from offshore detention, provided that changes be made to keep a ministerial power to refuse transfers. The minister would also be required to table a statement in parliament if they refuse to transfer someone, and an independent health advice panel would be established.

With support from Labor and independents, the bill was passed through the Senate late on the last day of the final Parliamentary sitting week for 2018, and so was not passed by the House of Representatives. The law could still be passed in February when the House of Representatives resumes. Prime Minister Scott Morrison criticised Labor’s support for the bill and for ‘destroy(ing) the building blocks of border protection that keep Australians safe’.

Protesters rallied outside Parliament House and offices of MPs in support of the bill. Some of Australia’s biggest film and television stars wore blue ribbons to the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Awards, to call for the government to bring asylum seeker children detained on Nauru to Australia.

A new report was published by Médecins Sans Frontières this week, highlighting new data showing the current mental health crisis on Nauru. The report rated the severity of mental illness using the Global Assessment of Functioning scale, revealing that both its Nauruan and refugee patients showed similar levels of mental illness far worse than other MSF projects around the world.

Hakeem Al-Araibi, a Bahraini refugee, has spent more than ten days in Thai detention, and has been officially arrested for a court to rule on his extradition to Bahrain. Al-Araibi is not expected to be immediately extradited, pending further hearings. Al-Araibi is a permanent resident of Australia after being granted refugee status in 2017.

A full bench of the federal court granted an extension to an Iraqi asylum seeker to lodge a notice of appeal,  overturning a decision by circuit court judge Sandy Street. In May 2018, Street dismissed the Iraqi man’s appeal against a negative refugee assessment, which had been upheld by the Immigration Assessment Authority. He upheld the original decision and gave his reasons in court orally but failed to publish his reasons until after the time limit for the man to appeal had lapsed. The federal court said the cause of the Iraqi man’s failure to file the appeal was ‘wholly outside the responsibility of the appellant’.

Weekly media wrap - 2 December 2018

Crossbench members of parliament introduced a private member’s bill that would require the urgent evacuation of any asylum seeker on Manus Island or Nauru who, on the recommendation of two or more doctors, is ill and unable to be treated offshore. The proposed changes would also require the urgent medical transfer of all asylum seeker children on Nauru.

A related rally at Parliament House earlier in the week delivered a petition of 170,000 signatures urging the government to remove children and their families from indefinite detention on Nauru. Meanwhile, a group of refugee men voluntarily left Manus Island for Nauru hoping for better conditions while they wait for resettlement in a third country.

A Bahraini refugee who has lived in Australia for four and a half years was detained in Thailand and threatened with deportation to Bahrain, where he fears persecution. 

US President Donald Trump defended his country’s use of tear gas at the Mexican border to repel thousands of Central American migrants – the so-called 'migrant caravan'.

Weekly media wrap - 24 November 2018

A new report from Amnesty International and the Refugee Council of Australia revealed the dire mental and physical conditions of the asylum seekers who remain on Manus Island, and that acts of self-harm and suicide attempts have worsened. The report criticises the restricted and understaffed heath and counselling services and the lack of protection for the more than 600 asylum seeker men still on the Island. Since August 2017, there have been three suicides and many more incidences of self-harm and attempted suicide.

The Australian Government stated that it will not sign the United Nation’s migration pact (the Global Compact), claiming it may threaten border protection and risk Australia’s efforts to stop people-smuggling. The USA and several European countries have also rejected the pact, stating that it would weaken border security and undermine existing immigration programs. The Global Compact’s aim is to improve international cooperation on migration and to allow safe, orderly and regular migration.

Teachers across many major Australian cities took part in rallies against offshore detention. The teachers, backed by several major unions to leave their classrooms and attend the rallies, called for asylum seekers and refugees, particularly children, to be released from detention on Manus Island and Nauru. The rallies coincided with Universal Children’s Day. This week five more children were evacuated from Nauru.

Anne Richard, the former US assistant secretary of state for population, refugees and migration, stated that the USA was of the understanding that Australia would do more to assist refugees from outside its region, particularly from Central America, in exchange for the USA resettling refugees from Nauru and Manus Island.

New Zealand’s Foreign Minister expressed his concern that New Zealand’s offer to take refugees currently on Manus Island and Nauru may include a potential element to ban them from travelling to Australia. This follows Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s recent statement that he may be more open to a deal with New Zealand if it prescribed that the refugees would be banned from ever coming to Australia.

Weekly media wrap - 19 November 2018

Australia assisted regional countries to stop 10 boats carrying around 300 asylum seekers from leaving in the past 14 months. The operations involve Australian Federal Police (AFP) officers gathering intelligence about planned departures and passing that information on to their counterparts in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Malaysia. Local authorities then stop asylum seekers from departing by boat. Since 2013, Australian government documents obtained under freedom of information requests show 78 operations involving 2525 asylum seekers. 

The Senate refused to extend the fast-track asylum procedure to 108 asylum seekers who arrived in Australia before 2014. The current fast-track procedure provides a limited review process for rejected asylum seekers that raises a risk of errors in the decision-making process.

Former United States immigration official Anne Richard said the US-Australia refugee swap included an understanding that Australia would resettle more refugees from Central America and Africa. Under the informal arrangement, the United States has agreed to resettle up to 1250 refugees from Nauru and Papua New Guinea.

Weekly media wrap - 13 November 2018

Refugee advocates said 27 asylum seeker children remain on Nauru, after eight more children were moved from the island on Monday for medical treatment in Australia. Meanwhile, Papua New Guinean authorities moved more than 20 refugees from Port Moresby to Manus Island, including some who were receiving ongoing medical treatment, ahead of next week's APEC summit. This move coincided with a reported spike in suicide attempts.

The Australian Border Force allegedly prevented a baby who was born and remains in immigration detention from being baptised in a church. Meanwhile, bureaucrats from the Home Affairs Department were accused by lawyers of 'reprehensible' tactics to deny an Iraqi Christian's asylum claim.

The Australian newspaper reported that 13,800 refugees in Indonesia waiting for third country resettlement – some for more than 15 years – are still wary of boat turnbacks, despite news of evacuations of families and children on Nauru.

Figures released in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal’s annual report revealed that the number of Chinese nationals appealing rejected applications for refugee visas has more than doubled in the last year, from 1200 to 2821.

In the US, the Trump administration announced new measures that would deny asylum to people who enter the country through the US southern border with Mexico.

For anyone seeking help, Lifeline can be reach on 13 11 14, and Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636.

Weekly media wrap - 4 November 2018

A number of asylum seeker families held on Nauru were quietly transferred to Adelaide and are receiving medical treatment. While the government initially refused to confirm whether this transfer occurred, Prime Minister Scott Morrison since admitted to working to reduce the number of children on Nauru, claiming that the number has halved in the last nine weeks. High Commissioner to the UK and former Attorney-General George Brandis stated that the Australian Government anticipates that all children on Nauru will be moved by the end of 2019.

Advocates claimed that these transfers signal that the government is conceding to public pressure and increased rhetoric from many areas of the government calling for children to be brought from offshore detention to Australia. There has been a perceivable increase in public concern about this issue, which was this week exemplified by thousands who protested in Sydney and Melbourne and by a recent poll which demonstrated that almost 80 per want asylum seeker children and families transferred off Nauru.  

The Federal Court stalled a federal government attempt to challenge the court’s jurisdiction to hear cases involving refugee transfers, and therefore also the court’s ability to order that refugees be brought to Australia. The matter was based on the government’s claim that a subsection of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) prevents Australian courts other than the High Court from hearing cases on ‘transitory persons’.

A Refugee Council of Australia report found that federal government cuts to asylum seeker support payments have meant that almost 80% of asylum seekers in Australia are now at risk of homelessness and destitution. This issue has resulted in charities and state governments being required to manage the burden, reportedly costing between $80-$120 million a year.  

Weekly media wrap - 29 October 2018

Eleven more children awaiting high-level medical treatment on Nauru were transferred to Australia, as the ‘Kids Off Nauru’ movement gathered momentum. However, the Morrison Government challenged the Federal Court's ability to order humanitarian evacuations, throwing into doubt further urgent court hearings to decide if dangerously ill refugee children should be flown to Australia. Meanwhile, Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton revealed that a further 13 refugee children on Nauru are with parents deemed national security risks by the US, raising concerns the children and their families would not be accepted by Australia or New Zealand.

The Labor Party said it would support the Government’s 'lifetime ban' bill on people held in offshore detention coming to Australia, if all children and their families on Nauru were transferred to New Zealand. Prime Minister Scott Morrison rejected the compromise, saying he would not ‘horsetrade’ on border protection. Meanwhile, Liberal Party MP Julia Banks, crossbenchers Cathy McGowan and Rebekha Sharkie, and likely new Member for Wentworth Kerryn Phelps urged the Government to find a solution to the crisis.

A former Home Affairs officer who resigned from his job in the refugee processing area so that he could speak freely called on all federal parliamentarians to put an end to Australia's offshore system, arguing that its reliance on boat turn-backs makes it meaningless. A new data release about Australia’s maritime border enforcement program revealed 33 boats were stopped since the start of the Abbott Government, while 78 smuggling operations were stopped before they ever boarded vessels.

Papua New Guinea’s Supreme Court dismissed on a technicality a case brought by Manus Island detainees asserting their human rights. The lawyer representing the more than 730 refugee and asylum seeker men vowed to keep fighting for compensation.

Australia imposed sanctions and travel bans on five Myanmar military generals accused of leading violent human rights violations on the country's Rohingya people during last year’s crisis.

Weekly media wrap - 24 October 2018

The mental and physical health of children and families on Nauru dominated this week’s news. Following the return of Médecins Sans Frontières staff from Nauru and their call for the transfer of refugees from Nauru to Australia, support for the proposed transfer is building. On Monday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison received a letter signed by almost 6000 medical professionals that called for the removal from Nauru of 80 children suffering health issues. Meanwhile, a number of families were ‘quietly’ flown to Australia from Nauru on medical advice.

In related news, after talks with the Australian Medical Association, the Labor party proposed legislation to allow for easier transfers of refugees from Nauru to Australia for health treatment. Three Liberal Members of Parliament also requested Scott Morrison to resolve what has been termed the humanitarian emergency on Nauru. Morrison is also reconsidering the resettlement of refugees from Nauru to New Zealand, if the Australian parliament passes a law that bans resettled refugees from ever entering Australia.  

Onshore, a year after Australia was elected to the UN Human Rights Council, the Human Rights Law Centre (HRLC) submitted a case to the UN Human Rights Committee against the Australian Government on behalf of 14 families who have been separated for up to five years as a result of offshore detention policies. The submission coincides with a ruling by the UN Human Rights Council Working Group on Arbitrary Detention that states that the Australian Government has breached international human rights by arbitrarily detaining an Iranian asylum seeker since 2015.

In Manus Island news, Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton confirmed that 17 more refugees resettled to the US from Papua New Guinea. This brings the total number of refugees resettled under the US deal to 435.

Internationally, the ‘caravan’ of Central American refugees crossed the Mexican border where they were temporarily stopped by Mexican riot police. President Trump threatened to deploy the US military to close the US-Mexico border if Mexico did not halt their progress. Separately, the North African countries of Algeria, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia refused to allow establishment of European offshore processing centres called ‘disembarkation platforms’ on their territory.

Weekly media wrap - 17 October 2018

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) was forced out of Nauru after providing mental health help to Nauruans, asylum seekers and refugees for almost a year. The Nauruan Government said MSF’s services were ‘no longer required’, while MSF said mental health situation of asylum seekers and refugees on the island is ‘beyond desperate’. After their departure, MSF called for the immediate evacuation of all asylum seekers and refugees on Nauru.

UNHCR urged Australia to evacuate asylum seekers and refugees in both Papua New Guinea and Nauru to address a ‘collapsing’ health situation. The agency argued that Australia bears international responsibility for having ‘designed, financed and managed the system’ in both offshore sites.

In international news, Austria and Denmark released a policy proposal, Vision for a Better Protection System in a Globalized World, which seeks to protect refugees in their region of origin and prevent irregular migration by boat to Europe.

Weekly media wrap - 6 October 2018

A petition signed by 368 refugees and asylum seekers on Manus Island was presented to Papua New Guinea’s supreme court, calling for the delivery of a crucial judgement regarding the court’s 2016 ruling that the detention centres on the island are unconstitutional and unlawful. The petition calls for compensation and the opportunity to apply for travel documents, opening possibilities for resettlement in other countries.

The immigration detention centre on Christmas Island officially closed. The more-than 30 detainees who remained on the Island were transferred to mainland immigration facilities. Immigration minister David Coleman stated that the centre will remain ready for operations in case re-opening is necessary.

The Australian Government spent over $320,000 in legal costs in 2017-18, responding to court proceedings and challenging requests for urgent medical transfers of asylum seekers and refugees from Manus Island and Nauru. It is likely that the costs will be far greater this financial year given the increasing number of critically ill asylum seekers and refugees requiring urgent medical attention.  Additionally, Australian authorities admitted to cancelling or blocking medical evaluations of asylum seekers from Nauru despite Australian court orders and against medical advice, in order to preserve the relationship between the two governments.

Huyen Tran, a Vietnamese asylum seeker, is awaiting a court decision regarding her potential deportation and separation from her baby daughter. Ms Tran has spent almost one year in immigration detention and gave birth to her daughter whilst in detention. She arrived in Australia by boat in 2011 fleeing religious persecution as a Catholic in Vietnam, and fears she will be killed or jailed if deported. 

Behrouz Boochani, an Iranian Kurdish refugee currently on Manus Island, won a prestigious international award for journalism for his documentation of Australia’s offshore detention regime. The Anna Politkovskaya investigative journalism award recognises excellence in investigative reporting and is bestowed each year by the Italian magazine Interzionale.

Weekly media wrap - 29 September 2018

The four-year Australia–Cambodia refugee settlement agreement expired. Under the agreement, refugees in Nauru could receive refugee protection in Cambodia. Of seven refugees transferred, six have returned home and one remains in Cambodia. The cost of the agreement to Australia was around $55 million.  

The federal court ordered the medical evacuation of a family of three from Nauru to Australia, further ordering that the family not receive treatment from Australian government contractors on the island. More than 30 asylum seekers and refugees have been transferred from Nauru to Australia this year for medical care.

The Australian Federal Police is investigating an alleged sexual assault at Yongah Hill Immigration Detention Centre in Western Australia. A person detained there claims a Serco officer sexually assaulted him on 16 September.   

In Europe, the EU negotiated with Egypt to increase patrols in the Mediterranean and potentially host an asylum processing centre to filter refugees and migrants intercepted at sea en route to Europe. Talks are ongoing.

Weekly media wrap - 23 September 2018

Prime Minister Scott Morrison rejected a plea from the Australian Medical Association President, Dr Tony Bartone, to bring families and children on Nauru to Australia. Dr Bartone said the medical profession was concerned about the health and welfare of refugees and people seeking asylum on both Nauru and Papua New Guinea.

Independent MP Andrew Wilkie read out a list of the severe medical conditions of children on Nauru who were evacuated to Australia on medical grounds, by order of the federal court. The list was read during debate of a motion of no confidence against Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton, in response to a Senate committee finding he had misled parliament.

A Queensland coroner will investigate the adequacy of health and medical evacuation services on Nauru during an inquest into the death of Iranian refugee Omid Masoumali, who set himself on fire on Nauru in 2016.  

Sir Frank Lowy, a self-described ‘boat person’, criticised Australian Government leadership regarding refugees and people seeking asylum and rejected calls to cut immigration. Meanwhile, the City of Sydney joined 10 other councils around Australia in passing a motion supporting expansion of the community sponsorship model of refugee entry. Furthermore, New Zealand raised its refugee quota from 1000 to 1500, to begin in July 2020. However, the United States reduced its cap on refugee entry from 45,000 in 2018 to 30,000 in 2019, bringing it to its lowest level since the program began in 1980.

The New York Times reported that Prime Minister Scott Morrison has a trophy on display in his office in the shape of a fishing boat that reads ‘I stopped these’. Meanwhile, Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton shared his belief that immigration detainees should not have access to mobile phones.  

The final version of a UN report investigating potential violations conducted against the Rohingya in Myanmar was presented to the UN Human Rights Council. It found military actions were disproportionate to security risks and showed genocidal intent. Australia is considering options in response, including targeted sanctions. Also at the UN Human Rights Commission, Australia has received criticism from delegates on offshore detention policies.

Italy and Austria expressed support for a plan to process people seeking asylum on ships in the Mediterranean Sea. The proposal is considered an alternative to the regional disembarkation platform concept. A similar proposal in 2016 was not accepted by the European Commission due to concerns over legality. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has suggested that Spain build a wall across the Sahara to slow migration from Africa to Europe.

Weekly media wrap - 19 September 2018

Doctors warned that a 12-year-old refugee girl on Nauru, who had made several suicide attempts, would die if she was not taken off the island. Meanwhile, the daughters of a Tamil family taken from their home in Biloela, Queensland were reported to be suffering behavioural issues in immigration detention.

The family of a young Iraqi asylum seeker who died last week in immigration detention after his fourth attempt at suicide said he had been threatened with rape and mistreated. The family indicated that they plan to take legal action against the federal government.

At least a dozen Sri Lankan asylum seekers were forcibly deported back to Sri Lanka on a specially chartered plane from Perth. The Guardian reports the majority were Tamil, but at least one was Sinhalese. Separately, an Iraqi asylum seeker whose appeal was due next week was also deported against his will.

The new UN Human Rights Chief Michelle Bachelet described Australia’s offshore processing system as ‘an affront to the protection of human rights’ in her maiden speech at the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

If you or someone you know is thinking about suicide, you can call Lifeline on 13 11 14.

Weekly media wrap - 8 September 2018

Saruuan Aljhelie, a 22-year-old Iraqi refugee detained at WA’s Yongah Hill detention centre, died after spending days in a critical condition at a Perth hospital following an attempt to take his own life. Aljhelie had been transferred to Yongah Hill from Villawood detention centre a few weeks ago, separating him from his family including two children. On the night of the attempted suicide, protests and riots broke out at the detention centre as detainees demanded information regarding Aljhelie, and tensions escalated with detainees setting fire to a number of the accommodation units.

This year’s Pacific Islands Forum, bringing together leaders from 18 countries across the Pacific, is being held on Nauru. While the Forum focuses on a number of regional issues and areas for collaboration, its location has brought significant attention to Australia’s offshore detention centres on Nauru. Employees of the immigration centre have been threatened with losing their jobs if they speak to journalists, and journalists have been severely restricted in what they can write about, who they can talk to, and their travel around the island.

The Nauruan Government blocked a critically ill refugee woman from being transferred to Australia, despite an Australian Federal Court order directing that the woman be flown to Australia for immediate healthcare. The Nauruan multicultural affairs secretary refused to grant the approval of the transfer, stating that she was ‘not convinced’ the woman was considered a medical emergency.  Lawyers for the refugee have stated that this refusal means that the Australian home affairs minister and department are in breach of the court order.

The Nauruan President claimed that refugee children are deliberately self-harming to ‘short-circuit’ the system to get transferred to Australia, and that refugee advocates and parents are encouraging children to self-harm. Meanwhile, a Queensland doctor who was considered the most senior medical officer working with asylum seekers on Nauru has been forced to leave the island amidst ongoing disagreements regarding the transfer of refugee patients off the island.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern reaffirmed her offer of welcoming all asylum seekers from Australia’s offshore detention centres to New Zealand. Australia’s and New Zealand’s foreign affairs ministers discussed refugee resettlement at a meeting in Nauru prior to the Pacific Islands Forum, with Australia stating concerns that refugees could use New Zealand as an entry point into Australia after obtaining New Zealand citizenship.