Fifty-eight refugees on Manus Island flew to the USA after being accepted for resettlement. Another group of 130 refugees on Nauru are expected to follow in coming days or weeks. This group of nearly 200 refugees form the second cohort to gain resettlement under the US deal.
An Iranian asylum seeker on Manus Island was force fed in a PNG hospital after nearly two weeks on a hunger strike. According to hospital staff, the 42-year-old was tied to a hospital bed while receiving intravenous treatment. A nurse at the hospital said he could die if not taken to Australia for treatment.
Fifty-five Indonesian minors joined a complaint to the Australian Human Rights Commission after being jailed as adults in Australia for people-smuggling offenses. The minors who crewed asylum seeker boats want compensation and have signalled potential legal action against the Australian government.
Research conducted by the Norwegian Refugee Council and the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre found that 72% of Afghan refugees who return home after living abroad are forced to flee violence internally. The study, which came after a deadly attack on Save the Children’s office in Jalalabad, found that the large majority of internally displaced Afghan families do not receive aid.