The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea says it is surprised by and disappointed at the agreement reached by Peter O’Neill and Kevin Rudd that all asylum seekers coming to Australia by boat will be processed on Manus Island and that those deemed to be genuine refugees will be resettled in Papua Read more
Refugee Action Coalition Sydney has reported five attempted suicides by asylum seekers in Nauru in recent weeks. The latest attempted hanging took place last Saturday (2 February). All of those attempting suicide were Iranian or Iraqi asylum seekers among those transferred from Australia to Nauru on 21 January, 2013 “Just as with the recent suicide Read more
An Amnesty International Australia researcher says major changes are needed immediately at the Australian run detention camp for asylum seekers on Nauru. Alex Pagliaro was one of two researchers who last week visited the camp where 387 male asylum seekers are crammed into leaky tents in a very hot environment. She says it is a Read more
Three of the asylum seekers detained in Nauru’s processing centre have attempted self harm in as many days. Self harm is defined as the intentional, direct injuring of body tissue most often done without suicidal intentions. An Iranian man attempted self harm on Thursday, while another two Iranians did the same on Saturday, an Australian Immigration Department spokesman Read more
The Salvation Army, which is running care services for asylum seekers on Nauru Island, says facilities should be improved before women and children are transferred there. Salvation Army spokesman Paul Moulds says women and children should not be sent yet, because asylum seekers are sleeping in tents while the compound is under construction. “We certainly Read more
Manus Island is one of the poorest and most remote areas of Papua New Guinea. Ambrose Kiapseni is the region’s Catholic Bishop and his diocese includes Manus. He criticised the establishment of the first asylum seeker centre there and he told Alison Carabine that he hasn’t changed his mind. Listen to interview on Radio Australia
General secretary of PNG and Solomon Islands Catholic Bishops Conference, Father Victor Roche, told Radio Australia that when one of their bishops last year described his unhappiness at the conditions he saw in an offshore detention centre, the bishops formed a collective viewpoint on the issue. “We are against the offshore detention centres in Papua Read more
The Australian government has backed a plan to break the asylum seeker policy deadlock which would see centres in Nauru and Papua New Guinea re-established to process refugee claims. 211 asylum seekers were taken to Christmas Island last Friday on two Navy boats after they called Australian authorities saying their boat had engine problems late Read more
Violence on the Israeli-Egypt border has opened up an opportunity for Egypt to rescue African asylum seekers who are being kidnapped on the Sinai Peninsula, according to the Catholic bishops of the Middle East. Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi has declared that Egypt will “control all parts of Sinai”, where clashes have been occurring between militants Read more
Papua New Guinea would favourably consider reopening an asylum seekers’ processing centre if asked by Australia according to Prime Minister Peter O’Neill. And in Nauru, the office of Dominic Tabuna, the Minister for Commerce, Industry and Environment, issued a statement saying that while Nauru stands ready to assist the Australian government, Nauru had “no say” Read more