Nearly 200 refugees on Nauru and Manus Island were accepted for resettlement in the USA. The refugees, mainly from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Myanmar and Bangladesh, form the second cohort to gain resettlement under the US deal. Refugee advocates expect the group to fly out in early 2018. Iranians, who form the largest number of refugees on both Nauru and Manus, have been suspended from entering the US following the reinstatement of Donald Trump’s travel ban. The ban excludes entry into the US by nationals from Chad, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen, North Korea and Venezuela.
Immigration minister Peter Dutton refuted claims by refugees and asylum seekers on Manus Island of threats by locals. Dutton described the claims as ‘complete nonsense’, despite a video showing one local wielding a metal implement and shouting ‘I will kill you’ outside a transit centre in Lorengau.
Following the release of this video footage, the presidents of Australia’s top medical colleges sent a letter to Peter Dutton, expressing their concern for the health of asylum seekers and refugees on the island. The letter, which represents the concerns of 61,500 doctors, called for improved transparency on health care services, provision of medication, and creation of a mental health service.
Australia ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OPCAT), thereby consenting to be legally bound to the treaty. Under OPCAT, which advances the 1985 United Nations Convention against Torture, Australia is obliged to allow independent inspections of all places of detention onshore. Inspection of Australia’s offshore detention centres is not an obligation.