Rights groups slam Australian plan to transfer criminals to Nauru
1 month, 1 week ago

Rights groups slam Australian plan to transfer criminals to Nauru

Raw Story  

by Laura CHUNG Rights groups on Monday denounced an Australian plan to send three violent foreign criminals -- including a murderer -- to live on the tiny Pacific nation of Nauru. Canberra said Sunday it had paid an undisclosed sum to Nauru -- population about 13,000 -- in return for it issuing 30-year visas to the trio, who lost their Australian visas due to criminal activity. "There has to be consideration of the lawfulness of banishing people offshore when they've been living as part of our community," said Jane Favero, deputy chief executive of the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre. Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said the three would be held in immigration detention until they are put on a flight to Nauru or a legal challenge is lodged.

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History of this topic

Plans to deport three non-citizens to Nauru thwarted by legal challenges
1 month ago

Plans to deport three non-citizens to Nauru thwarted by legal challenges

ABC  

It's been revealed the federal government can't go ahead with the deportation to Nauru of all three people identified for removal after urgent court applications were lodged. Plans to deport one Iraqi man to Nauru were thwarted after an urgent application to the High Court on Friday. Today, the High Court held a preliminary hearing about the case, which asks …

Legal challenge launched to Australia's paid deportation to Nauru
1 month, 1 week ago

Legal challenge launched to Australia's paid deportation to Nauru

ABC  

Efforts to deport a man from Australia to Nauru will be challenged in the High Court, a legal not-for-profit has confirmed. The man is one of three currently in immigration detention awaiting transfer to the small Pacific nation, which Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke revealed on Sunday had been paid to take them. Nauru to take members of NZYQ cohort …

Trump’s extremist border policies are part of a global authoritarian moment
1 month, 1 week ago

Trump’s extremist border policies are part of a global authoritarian moment

Al Jazeera  

Successive government in the US, the UK and Australia have embraced and exchanged brutal migration policies for years. Shortly after, in 2001, the Australian government introduced the so-called Pacific Solution, which saw Nauru and Manus Island in Papua New Guinea incorporated into an elaborate architecture of offshore detention. When the Australian government moved the last person out of the Nauru …

Australia plans to deport 3 violent criminals to Nauru
1 month, 1 week ago

Australia plans to deport 3 violent criminals to Nauru

Associated Press  

MELBOURNE, Australia — Australia will soon deport three violent criminals including a convicted murderer to Nauru even though they are not citizens of the tiny Pacific atoll, after an Australian court ruled that dangerous immigrants can no longer be imprisoned indefinitely. Opposition leader Peter Dutton said on Monday that more than 200 immigrants with criminal records who could not be …

Nauru to take non-citizen NZYQ cohort freed from immigration detention
1 month, 1 week ago

Nauru to take non-citizen NZYQ cohort freed from immigration detention

ABC  

Nauru will offer visas to members of the NZYQ cohort of non-citizens released into the Australian community following a High Court decision, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke has revealed. Burke suggests Nauru was paid, flags court challenge Mr Burke visited Nauru earlier this year and suggested Australia had offered the Pacific nation something as part of an "arrangement", but declined …

Australia asked to pay compensation for violating rights of asylum seekers in Nauru camps
2 months, 2 weeks ago

Australia asked to pay compensation for violating rights of asylum seekers in Nauru camps

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Australia violated the human rights …

Australia violated rights of asylum seekers held in Nauru, UN watchdog says
2 months, 2 weeks ago

Australia violated rights of asylum seekers held in Nauru, UN watchdog says

Al Jazeera  

The Australian government violated a human rights treaty by detaining a group of asylum seekers, many of them minors, on the remote Pacific island of Nauru, even after they were granted refugee status, a United Nations watchdog has ruled. The UN Human Rights Committee said Australia violated two provisions of the legally binding 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political …

Nauru agrees to give Australia veto rights over pacts with third nations including China
3 months, 2 weeks ago

Nauru agrees to give Australia veto rights over pacts with third nations including China

CNN  

Melbourne, Australia AP — Australia announced a multimillion-dollar agreement with Nauru on Monday that gives Canberra a veto right over a range of pacts the tiny Pacific atoll might want to enter with third countries, including China. Australia offered 140 million Australian dollars over five years to the remote nation’s population of 12,000 under the treaty to be implemented next …

Nauru Files whistleblower speaks for first time about Australia's offshore detention leak
1 year, 5 months ago

Nauru Files whistleblower speaks for first time about Australia's offshore detention leak

ABC  

'Simone' had a choice: quit her job or fight back. These files will go on to make up the largest leak from inside Australia's system of offshore detention – 2,116 incident reports, involving asylum seekers held on Nauru. "The way the offshore processing centre was run was meant to punish people for seeking asylum," Simone says. On-screen, there was a …

A teenager is among the first boat arrivals sent to Nauru in nine years
1 year, 5 months ago

A teenager is among the first boat arrivals sent to Nauru in nine years

ABC  

A 17-year-old boy is among a group detained inside the regional processing centre on the remote pacific island of Nauru. "Therefore, those personnel have been transferred to Nauru for regional processing by the government of Nauru, in accordance with longstanding Operation Sovereign Borders policies," he said. In recent years, the Nauru Processing Centre has been wound back, as refugees and …

End Days for Australia’s Nauru Detention Center?
1 year, 8 months ago

End Days for Australia’s Nauru Detention Center?

The Diplomat  

The Australian government was expected to begin the process of removing all remaining asylum seekers from the island of Nauru by the end of June, more than a decade after the offshore processing on the tiny Pacific Island was restarted. As Human Rights Watch noted, “few other countries go to such lengths to deliberately inflict suffering on people seeking safety …

Last refugee held on Nauru arrives in Australia
1 year, 9 months ago

Last refugee held on Nauru arrives in Australia

Al Jazeera  

While offshore detention policy is being wound down, campaigners say ‘dark chapter’ will not end until last refugees leave PNG. The last refugee held on the Pacific island of Nauru under Australia’s notorious offshore detention policy has been evacuated to Australia, according to refugee advocacy groups. One chapter of misery is over.” Australia resumed sending refugees to Nauru in 2013 …

Australia to stop detaining asylum seekers in PNG
3 years, 5 months ago

Australia to stop detaining asylum seekers in PNG

Al Jazeera  

Papua New Guinea says it will provide asylum seekers who wish to stay a path to citizenship, but rights group accuse Canberra of ‘dumping’ refugees. Australia will stop detaining asylum seekers in Papua New Guinea at the end of December, the two countries have announced, as the Australian government shuts one of two controversial detention centres it set up in …

Nauru 19 members seek political asylum in Australia as retrial begins
5 years, 4 months ago

Nauru 19 members seek political asylum in Australia as retrial begins

ABC  

A former Nauruan politician is seeking political asylum in Australia as a retrial of anti-Government protestors kicks off in the island nation today. Key points: The 'Nauru 19' are opposition MPs who were charged with rioting in 2015 A retired Australian judge threw out the case, calling it a "shameful affront" Some facing retrial have fled to Australia to seek …

Australia’s offshore refugee policy has failed
6 years, 1 month ago

Australia’s offshore refugee policy has failed

Al Jazeera  

Such policies may seem like a quick win with some domestic constituencies, but they are not wins in the long run. I felt desperate because, despite overwhelming evidence of the abuse, for years Australian authorities continued to claim – with no evidence – that the policy of sending asylum seekers to remote offshore locations is the only way to save …

Australia to move child refugees on Nauru to the US
6 years, 1 month ago

Australia to move child refugees on Nauru to the US

Al Jazeera  

Nauru is one of two camps where refugees and asylum seekers were put by Australian government. “Every asylum seeker child has now been removed from Nauru or has had their claim processed and has a clear path off the island,” Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Sunday. Horrid conditions In 2017, Australia closed its Manus detention centre and tried …

Manus and the deepening despair of Australia’s endless detention policy
6 years, 3 months ago

Manus and the deepening despair of Australia’s endless detention policy

Al Jazeera  

Fellow refugees are the only lifeline for men who wonder whether they will ever escape the remote Pacific island where they have been held for more than five years under Australia’s harsh offshore detention policies. Manus Island, Papua New Guinea – Aziz Abdul Muhamat had agreed to meet me for an interview near the East Lorengau refugee transit centre at …

Australia faces increased pressure over remote detention policy
6 years, 3 months ago

Australia faces increased pressure over remote detention policy

Al Jazeera  

UNHCR and Australian doctors criticise policy as more details of trauma of detainees on remote Pacific islands emerge. The Australian government, under pressure for its harsh migrant detention policy, has received a double blow as the United Nations and a leading doctors’ group again criticised its harsh treatment of refugees held on remote Pacific islands. The regional office of the …

Facing heat, Australia to take children off Nauru by year-end
6 years, 4 months ago

Facing heat, Australia to take children off Nauru by year-end

Al Jazeera  

Number of children held on Pacific island has more than halved in two months with refugee groups saying only 38 remain. “There are hardly any children on Nauru … and we expect that by the end of this year, there will be none,” Australia’s top diplomat in Britain, High Commissioner George Brandis, told the London radio station LBC. “Children have …

Shock statistic that proves Australia wants children and their families OFF Nauru
6 years, 5 months ago

Shock statistic that proves Australia wants children and their families OFF Nauru

Daily Mail  

Australians want the government to accept an offer from New Zealand to resettle refugees in detention on Nauru, according to a new poll. The YouGov Galaxy poll commissioned by The Sunday Telegraph reveals 79 per cent of people want children and their families transferred off the island. Support for the NZ deal was strongest among millennials, according to the poll …

Former Home Affairs insider calls for Nauru and Manus Island refugees to be brought to Australia
6 years, 5 months ago

Former Home Affairs insider calls for Nauru and Manus Island refugees to be brought to Australia

ABC  

A man who worked for the Home Affairs department up until last week fears there will be a high price to pay if the Government does not resettle refugees on Nauru and Manus Island in Australia. On Thursday one of the Government's own MPs, Julia Banks, backed calls to change the policy on resettlement in Australia, saying we have a …

Pressure mounts on Australia over child refugees held in Nauru
6 years, 5 months ago

Pressure mounts on Australia over child refugees held in Nauru

Al Jazeera  

Hundreds of people marched to the Australian parliament on Tuesday to demand the government suspend its policy of sending asylum seekers and refugees to remote Pacific territories, and bring children already detained on Manus Island to Australia. About 500 protesters representing 30 different groups from around rural Australia, including high school students, took part in the rally, amid mounting concern …

Pressure mounts on Australia over child refugees held in Nauru
6 years, 5 months ago

Pressure mounts on Australia over child refugees held in Nauru

Al Jazeera  

Hundreds of people marched to the Australian parliament on Tuesday to demand the government suspend its policy of sending asylum seekers and refugees to remote Pacific territories, and bring children already detained on Manus Island to Australia. About 500 protesters representing 30 different groups from around rural Australia, including high school students, took part in the rally, amid mounting concern …

Nauru faces uncertain economic future as asylum seekers leave and the money dries up
6 years, 6 months ago

Nauru faces uncertain economic future as asylum seekers leave and the money dries up

ABC  

Regional leaders attending the annual Pacific Islands Forum have gathered on the tiny island of Nauru, one of the few countries to have been both the richest and the poorest in the world in the last 50 years. Key points: Nauru first became the site of an Australian-funded processing centre in 2001 It draws revenue from the visa fees it …

Refugee crisis rears its head at Commonwealth Games on Gold Coast
6 years, 11 months ago

Refugee crisis rears its head at Commonwealth Games on Gold Coast

Daily Mail  

The refugee crisis has reared its ugly head at the Commonwealth Games after an unfortunate coincidence saw the Nauru team enter the opening ceremony to the tune of Beds Are Burning. Australians watching the opening ceremony from home on Wednesday night took to social media to highlight the 'awkward moment' Nauru entered the stadium to the ill-fitting Midnight Oil song. …

UN official visiting Nauru detention centre concerned about 'shocking' mental health situation
7 years ago

UN official visiting Nauru detention centre concerned about 'shocking' mental health situation

ABC  

A senior United Nations official has demanded the Federal Government reconsider its offshore processing policy as concerns about detainees' mental health grows. Key points: UNHCR says mental health situation on Nauru is particularly shocking Cites family separation as a major issue, gives example of catatonic 14yo girl separated from her mother UN is urging Australian Government to rethink its offshore …

Why Australia’s detention centres on Nauru and Manus Island are still open
7 years, 7 months ago

Why Australia’s detention centres on Nauru and Manus Island are still open

Al Jazeera  

I’ve been making films for more than 20 years and this is the hardest film I have ever made. One year ago, on August 17, 2016, Papua New Guinea and Australia announced they would close the Manus Island offshore detention centre, after PNG’s Supreme Court had ruled the centre was illegal and in breach of fundamental human rights. by Eva …

Australia to pay $53m to Manus Island asylum seekers
7 years, 9 months ago

Australia to pay $53m to Manus Island asylum seekers

Al Jazeera  

Government says settlement with 1,905 Manus detainees, who sued over ‘hostile conditions’, is ‘not admission of guilt’. The Australian government has agreed to pay 70 million Australian dollars to more than 1,900 asylum seekers who sued over their treatment at the Manus Island detention centre on Papua New Guinea. “The people detained on Manus Island have endured extremely hostile conditions …

Australia agrees to pay $70 million to Manus Island detainees
7 years, 9 months ago

Australia agrees to pay $70 million to Manus Island detainees

CNN  

Story highlights 1,905 detainees brought the class action against the Australian government Australia Immigration Minister said the settlement was not an admission of liability CNN — The Australian government has agreed to pay detainees on Manus Island more than $70 million in the “largest settlement in a human rights class-action” in the country’s history. More than 1,900 detainees had alleged …

Nauru president: Australia’s refugee policy ‘working well’
7 years, 11 months ago

Nauru president: Australia’s refugee policy ‘working well’

Associated Press  

SYDNEY — Nauru’s president said Thursday that Australia’s controversial policy of sending asylum seekers to his Pacific island nation was “working well,” as he met with the Australian prime minister amid questions over the fate of hundreds of refugees languishing at Nauru’s Australian-run detention camp. The meeting in Sydney between President Baron Waqa and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull follows fresh …

Australia poised to announce refugee resettlement deal with United States
8 years, 4 months ago

Australia poised to announce refugee resettlement deal with United States

ABC  

Australia is on the brink of signing a breakthrough deal with the United States on asylum seekers after months of protracted negotiations. Key points: Under the deal the US will resettle detainees on Manus Island and Nauru found to be refugees 'Plenty of time' for deal to be struck before hardline Trump takes office, Pyne says Labor welcomes prospect of …

UN human rights investigator to visit Australia's immigration detention centres
8 years, 4 months ago

UN human rights investigator to visit Australia's immigration detention centres

ABC  

Australia's immigration laws are set to come under the microscope as the United Nations special rapporteur on the human rights of migrants arrives in Australia today. "This is an opportunity for me to understand how Australia manages its overall migration policies, and their impact on the human rights of migrants," he said. "The act prevents me from fully and freely …

Manus Island, Nauru refugees to be banned from entering Australia, Malcolm Turnbull says
8 years, 4 months ago

Manus Island, Nauru refugees to be banned from entering Australia, Malcolm Turnbull says

ABC  

The Federal Government will soon move to ban refugees and asylum seekers on Manus Island and Nauru from ever coming to Australia, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says. Key points: Law would cover those who tried to reach Australia by boat from mid-July 2013 It would block them from obtaining any visa Refugee advocates fear policy will "push people over the …

'I Felt Like I Was A Slave'; Report Slams Conditions For Refugees On Nauru
8 years, 5 months ago

'I Felt Like I Was A Slave'; Report Slams Conditions For Refugees On Nauru

NPR  

'I Felt Like I Was A Slave'; Report Slams Conditions For Refugees On Nauru Enlarge this image toggle caption DigitalGlobe/ScapeWare3d/DigitalGlobe/Getty Images DigitalGlobe/ScapeWare3d/DigitalGlobe/Getty Images A newly released report describes disintegrating mental health among dozens of the more than 1,100 people being held by Australia on the Pacific island nation of Nauru. The Amnesty report characterizes the overall scale of the mental …

Nauru detention centre concerns downplayed by Department of Immigration
8 years, 5 months ago

Nauru detention centre concerns downplayed by Department of Immigration

ABC  

The Department of Immigration and Border Protection has downplayed allegations of abuse within the regional processing centre on Nauru. Key points: More than 2,000 files of alleged abuse, self harm published by media Department says most cases were "minor" or "trivial" It says action was taken in serious and critical cases In August, Guardian Australia published thousands of leaked files …

Nauru: Australia’s Guantanamo Bay?
8 years, 6 months ago

Nauru: Australia’s Guantanamo Bay?

Al Jazeera  

In 2013, Australia’s government announced a tough new policy towards refugees travelling by boat to its shores. There, in Nauru and on Papua New Guinea’s Manus Island, they are still held in what Australia’s government calls “regional processing centres”. Nauru’s “detention centre” first opened in 2001, under a policy brought in by Australia’s conservative Liberal Party – the so-called “Pacific …

Nauru: A place of abuse and desperation
8 years, 6 months ago

Nauru: A place of abuse and desperation

Al Jazeera  

Following recent revelations, giving further details of conditions for asylum seekers in Australia’s offshore detention network, a former refugee prison camp employee, Natasha Blucher, has told Al Jazeera of her relief at seeing the publication of documents leaked from within the system, reporting on alleged human rights abuses against some 442 people who remain on Nauru as asylum seekers. “It …

Australia to close Manus Island refugee prison camp
8 years, 7 months ago

Australia to close Manus Island refugee prison camp

Al Jazeera  

Australia agrees to shut Manus Island island, but it is unclear where the 800 refugees held in it will ultimately end. Australia and Papua New Guinea have agreed to close a controversial Australian-funded prison camp for asylum seekers on Manus Island, although the ultimate fate of 800 refugees held in the camp remains unclear. “Both Papua New Guinea and Australia …

Nauru: Leak reveals children sexually abused at prison
8 years, 7 months ago

Nauru: Leak reveals children sexually abused at prison

Al Jazeera  

Thousands of abuse and assault cases outlined in documents leaked to the Guardian paint a grim picture of life in Nauru. More than 2,000 incidents, including sexual abuse, assault and attempted self-harm, were reported over two years at an Australian prison for asylum seekers in Nauru, more than half involving children, the Guardian has reported. Leaked documents published by the …

Australian psychologist gives account of life inside Manus Island and Nauru detention centres
8 years, 9 months ago

Australian psychologist gives account of life inside Manus Island and Nauru detention centres

ABC  

An Australian psychologist says the conditions he witnessed at the Manus Island and Nauru offshore detention centres are the most demoralising he has ever seen in his 43-year career. Key points: Mr Stevenson visited Manus, Nauru detention centres on 16 occasions during 2014/15 Says Peter Dutton "has no idea what it's like" despite visit to Nauru "$5 billion per year …

Nauru’s detention centre: ‘Many of us think of suicide’
8 years, 9 months ago

Nauru’s detention centre: ‘Many of us think of suicide’

Al Jazeera  

As the number of refugee suicides rise, we examine the detention centre at the heart of Australia’s asylum policies. The history of detention centres on Nauru is brief, but the island has been central to Australia’s asylum policies. It first housed a detention centre for asylum seekers between 2001 and 2008, under the so-called Pacific Solution of Australia’s conservative Liberal …

Manus Island detainees launch High Court bid to be moved to Australia
8 years, 10 months ago

Manus Island detainees launch High Court bid to be moved to Australia

ABC  

More than 700 asylum seekers held on Manus Island have launched legal action calling on the Federal Government to immediately move them to Australia. Key points: The asylum seekers want their refugee claims assessed immediately They allege they have been subject to "gross" human rights breaches The group is The application for an urgent injunction was filed with the High …

Iranian refugee dies after setting himself on fire on Nauru
8 years, 10 months ago

Iranian refugee dies after setting himself on fire on Nauru

Associated Press  

SYDNEY — An Iranian refugee who set himself on fire at Australia’s immigration detention camp on the Pacific island nation of Nauru died of his injuries on Friday, officials said. Australia refuses to accept asylum seekers who try to reach its shores by boat and pays Nauru and Papua New Guinea to hold them in detention camps instead. The divisive …

Manus Island detention: Peter Dutton says Nauru has room for 850 men who must be moved
8 years, 11 months ago

Manus Island detention: Peter Dutton says Nauru has room for 850 men who must be moved

ABC  

Nauru has room for the 850 men from Manus Island's detention centre, Immigration Minister Peter Dutton says, but he is stressing the Australian Government remains in talks about the options available in Papua New Guinea. Key points: PNG Government orders Manus Island closure after court ruling Meetings with PNG Government to take place in Canberra next week PNG PM promises …

Australia’s refugee camp in Papua New Guinea to close
8 years, 11 months ago

Australia’s refugee camp in Papua New Guinea to close

Associated Press  

SYDNEY — The fate of hundreds of asylum seekers being held in a detention center in Papua New Guinea was in limbo on Wednesday as the country’s prime minister announced the facility would close in response to a court ruling that Australia’s detention of the men on the island nation is illegal. Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister Peter O’Neill said …

Asylum seeker in Nauru convicted for suicide attempt
8 years, 11 months ago

Asylum seeker in Nauru convicted for suicide attempt

Al Jazeera  

Australian refugee advocates and opposition politicians have condemned the conviction of an Iranian asylum seeker on charges of attempted suicide, a criminal offence in Nauru where he is being held in an Australian-run detention centre. Under Australia’s tough immigration policy, asylum seekers attempting to reach the country by boat are intercepted and sent to camps on the South Pacific island …

Powerful Nauru families benefiting from Australian-funded refugee processing centre
8 years, 11 months ago

Powerful Nauru families benefiting from Australian-funded refugee processing centre

ABC  

Some of Nauru's most powerful families are benefiting financially from the island's multi-million-dollar Australian-funded refugee processing centres. Key points: Documents show relatives of Nauruan politicians secured contracts, high-level jobs at processing centre Also show family members have interests in land where centre located Centre landowners to benefit from $10.5m redevelopment of site, paid by Australian Government Buildings to become landowners' …

Australia court: Imprisoning refugees offshore is legal
9 years, 1 month ago

Australia court: Imprisoning refugees offshore is legal

Al Jazeera  

High Court rules in favour of government’s policy to detain asylum-seekers in offshore prisons, sparking an outcry. Australia’s High Court has ruled that the government’s offshore detention of refugees is legal, sparking an outcry from the UN and human rights groups. The legal case was brought by a Bangladeshi woman whose lawyers said her imprisonment on Nauru had been “funded, …

Asylum seeker mother voices fears about being returned Nauru immigration detention centre
9 years, 1 month ago

Asylum seeker mother voices fears about being returned Nauru immigration detention centre

ABC  

A woman who was held in detention on Nauru before giving birth to a son in Darwin last year after complications during the pregnancy has described today's High Court decision as a nightmare. "It's like dying," the woman, who now faces a return to Nauru, told 7.30. Immigration Minister Peter Dutton signalled his intention to send a group of 160 …

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