Australia, Papua New Guinea to close refugee camp on Manus Island

Australia and Papua New Guinea (PNG) agreed Wednesday to close a controversial camp of asylum seekers on the remote Manus Island, weeks after a court ruled that holding refugees in the facility was illegal.

PNG Prime Minister Peter O'Neill announced the closure of the camp in a statement following talks with Australian Immigration Minister Peter Dutton in Port Moresby.

The camp holds about 850 asylum seekers who sought to reach Australia by boat. It is funded by the Australian government.

“Both Papua New Guinea and Australia are in agreement that the center is to be closed,” the PNG prime minister said, adding, “It is important that this process is not rushed but carried out in a careful manner.”

Dutton also confirmed that Canberra had agreed to shut down the detention center, saying, "Today we can announce... the closure of the Manus Island detention center and that's a very good outcome."

The Supreme Court of Papua New Guinea ruled in late April that detention of asylum seekers in the camp was in violation of the right to personal liberty enshrined in the country’s constitution.

Australia stops boats transporting asylum seekers from reaching its shores and denies resettlement to those arriving by sea even if they are found to be genuine refugees. The country also turns back refugees to their country of departure or sends them to the impoverished island nations of Nauru and Papua New Guinea as well as Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean.

More than 440 people reportedly remain in Nauru and almost double that number in Manus.

'Shameful outsourcing of responsibilities'

Amnesty International's Anna Neistat has said, "The Australian government has for many years been shamefully outsourcing to PNG and Nauru its responsibilities to protect and fairly process hundreds of people who are seeking safety."

"The government set up a system of deliberate abuse of and cruelty towards almost 2,000 men, women and children who are simply looking for a safe place to rebuild their lives," she added.

Elaine Pearson, the Australia director of Human Rights Watch, has called for the men in Manus to immediately be moved to Australia or a safe third country.

"Nearly 1,000 men on Manus have already lost three or more years of their lives locked up in limbo for no good reason," she said, adding, "They've endured dirty, cramped conditions, inadequate medical care and violence. Finally, it is time to let them move on with their lives in safety and dignity."

The Manus Island detention center was in the spotlight this week after media published graphic images of two bloodied Afghan men who had allegedly been attacked with an iron bar by locals.

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