Australia offshore detention policy disaster, say rights groups
Two human rights groups have slammed Australia’s policy of sending asylum seekers to offshore detention centers, saying it has failed in resettling the migrants.
In a report released on Thursday, Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the Human Rights Law Centre denounced the Australian government’s measure to send refugees who try to enter the country by boat to offshore detention centers on Papua New Guinea (PNG) and Nauru in the Pacific with no prospect of being settled on the mainland.
The rights groups said that more than 850 asylum seekers and 87 refugees remain in indefinite custody under poor conditions on Manus Island in northern PNG.
“After two years, Australia’s experiment in offshore detention has been a disaster,” said Elaine Pearson, the HRW Australia director, in the report.
“Even the few people provided refugee status have been denied freedom of movement and the right to work,” she added.
According to the report, PNG and Australian authorities have transferred 40 men found to be refugees to a transit center since January but they were still prevented from leaving the island and denied opportunities to work and study.
“The tragic reality is that more asylum seekers sent to Manus have died than have been resettled,” said Daniel Webb, the director of legal advocacy at the Human Rights Law Center, pointing to two asylum seekers who died, including one who was allegedly beaten to death by detention center security staff.
“People found to be refugees deserve a real solution - not a transfer to a facility down the road where they remain in limbo,” Webb added.
The report called on Australia to halt all future transfers to Manus.
Australia defends the policy, saying offshore resettlement has stemmed the flow of refugees arriving by boat.
In recent years, the Australian government has been under fire at home and abroad for its strict immigration policies and treatment of refugees.
High rates of depression and under-funded medical facilities are among the criticisms made against detention centers.
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