In the media
Permanent residence protest
On the final day of a 100-day rally for permanent residency in Melbourne, white supremacists sought to sabotage the event. The asylum seekers rallying for residency were subject to the flawed ‘fast track’ decision-making process and have been in legal limbo for over ten years.
In court
A new class action case was brought on behalf of South Sudanese refugees who have finished their prison sentences but remain in indefinite detention because they cannot be deported to their country of origin.
Nauru and PNG
Following the National Anti-Corruption Commission report into the offshore detention contracts to Paladin, Crikey published a 3-part series on the questions that remain outstanding. Radio National’s Late Night Live discussed the rise in the number of people that have been sent to Nauru and the conditions they are experiencing.
In Israel, the Palestinian territories and Lebanon
The Israeli Knesset passed legislation to ban UNRWA from operating on Israeli soil. The move was widely condemned for the impact it will have on vulnerable people and the precedent it sets for conflicts elsewhere. The Conversation published a feature on the bidirectional flight of refugees between Lebanon and Syria as they seek safety from violence and conflict in their respective countries of origin.
International
The ongoing war in Sudan has caused one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world. The UNHCR data portal on Sudan provides a live update on the number of people who have fled the conflict, over 11 million displaced, and their whereabouts. More than 48 people died and a further 100 were reported missing when they were apparently forced off a boat near Djibouti. The European Court of Justice found that the Taliban’s treatment of women constitutes persecution, the latest restriction being women are prohibited from praying aloud. In practical terms this means individual assessments of Afghan women are not necessary to determine their eligibility for refugee status. The EU Commissioner talked up the concept of regional “return hubs” outside of the EU based on the arrangement that Italy and Albania have agreed.
In policy
The government proposed legislation to increase the search and seize powers of staff at immigration detention centres. The Foreign Affairs Minister released Australia’s latest Humanitarian Policy. The UNSW Kaldor Centre published a Policy Brief on redesigning Australia’s asylum procedures, using Switzerland as the model.
In research
The Scanlon Institute’s Australian Migration and Population Dashboard brings together statistics on the various aspects of migration. The Measuring Irregular Migration and related Policies project, MIrreM, published an updated working paper on irregular migration across 20 countries.
New release
Seize the Summit, a documentary directed by Arwa Damon