15 July 2013
UNHCR: Australia’s off-shore asylum processing centre violates international standards
According to UNHCR, Australia’s off-shore asylum processing centre on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea does not meet international standards. Harsh living conditions, a restricted legal regime, slow processing and restrictions on the freedom of movement amounting to open-ended and arbitrary detention were cited by the UN refugee agency as continued and worrying shortcomings.
The report released in Canberra on Friday also notes positive developments including progress towards the establishment of a legal framework for processing, but according to a UNHCR spokesperson, the existing conditions still do not meet international standards nor the terms of the bilateral agreement between Australia and Papua New Guinea concerning the processing of asylum-seekers.