Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) was forced out of Nauru after providing mental health help to Nauruans, asylum seekers and refugees for almost a year. The Nauruan Government said MSF’s services were ‘no longer required’, while MSF said mental health situation of asylum seekers and refugees on the island is ‘beyond desperate’. After their departure, MSF called for the immediate evacuation of all asylum seekers and refugees on Nauru.
UNHCR urged Australia to evacuate asylum seekers and refugees in both Papua New Guinea and Nauru to address a ‘collapsing’ health situation. The agency argued that Australia bears international responsibility for having ‘designed, financed and managed the system’ in both offshore sites.
In international news, Austria and Denmark released a policy proposal, Vision for a Better Protection System in a Globalized World, which seeks to protect refugees in their region of origin and prevent irregular migration by boat to Europe.