Tamil asylum seeker Thileepan Gnaneswaran was deported this week to Sri Lanka, separating him from his wife and baby daughter. Gnaneswaran was reportedly arrested and interrogated upon his return, before being released. The UN human rights committee formally requested in writing that the Australian government not deport him. Following Gnaneswaran’s deportation, the UNHCR released a statement saying that it was alarmed by his separation from his family.
The body of Fariborz Karami was flown from Nauru to Brisbane, following a dispute between the Australian Border Force and Karami’s family about where he would be buried. Extended family members in Australia have taken responsibility for Karami’s funeral and burial, and anonymous donors have covered the cost of flying his body to Australia. Karami took his own life over a month ago on Nauru.
A court judgement could re-open protection applications for more than 1600 asylum seekers who arrived in Australia through Ashmore Reef, some 600 kilometres north of Broome. The judgement delivered in the federal circuit court this month found an invalid appointment of a ‘proclaimed port’ made 16 years ago by then immigration minister Philip Ruddock.
Vigils were held outside the offices of a number of Australian politicians this week to mark the fifth anniversary of offshore processing.
A motion passed by the Australian Council of Trade Unions Congress this week condemned offshore processing of asylum seekers on Nauru and Manus Island as discriminatory, reaffirming the ACTU’s previous position on the issue. Senior Labor leader Anthony Albanese said he did not expect a big debate over asylum seekers at the ALP conference to be held in December.
UNHCR urged all parties in Syria to provide safe passage to civilians displaced by recent fighting in the south of the country. An estimated 140,000 people remain displaced across the south-west and need safe passage out of the area, plus immediate humanitarian assistance. This follows an announcement this week of a joint Syrian-Russian initiative to set up a refugee centre in Syria to help those wishing to return home.