Weekly media wrap - 6 June 2016

Immigration minister Peter Dutton said the government was not negotiating with Canadian officials, following media claims that a plan to resettle some refugees detained in Papua New Guinea and Nauru in Canada was being considered. Mr Dutton said talks had been held with many third countries in the hope of reaching an agreement quickly.

The Nauruan government decriminalised suicide and homosexuality to comply with international treaty obligations, following criticism from the United Nations and human rights groups. An Iranian asylum seeker was charged and sentenced for attempting suicide in Nauru last month.

On Manus Island, media reported that conflict had emerged between residents and newly released asylum seekers and refugees, with both locals and those newly arrived concerned for their safety.

A worker at Yonga Hill detention facility in Western Australia was suspended pending an investigation into claims he assaulted an asylum seeker. The Department of Immigration and Border Protection did not deny the claims, but would not reveal the number of other detention incidents referred to police in Australia.

The bodies of more than 100 asylum seekers washed up on the coast of Libya, likely from a boat that capsized on Wednesday. Hundreds more are believed to be missing from a separate capsizing off Crete. Italian authorities said 13,000 people were saved in the Mediterranean Sea in one week. Medecins San Frontieres reported that many of those who had reached Italy from Libya said smugglers had beaten or raped them. Warmer weather and the blocking of safer routes have been cited for the increase in crossing attempts and increase in tragedies.

Elsewhere in Europe, Dutch authorities reported an increase in people smuggler arrests, and the mayor of revealed plans to build an asylum seeker camp in the French capital. In Greece, two separate riots erupted between asylum seekers at detention camps on the islands of Lesbos and Samos.

Weekly media wrap - 25 April 2016

In Papua New Guinea, a judge sentenced two men to five years in prison for the murder of Iranian asylum seeker Reza Barati. The judge said that the men received short sentences because there were others involved in Barati’s murder, who are yet to be charged.

Also in Papua New Guinea, 45 asylum seekers on Manus Island were told they are not entitled to refugee status, despite never applying for asylum. Elsewhere, authorities arrested an Iraqi refugee who was attempting to return to the detention centre. The man reportedly said he felt unsafe after being resettled in the community.

The Sri Lankan Navy intercepted an asylum seeker boat bound for Australia on Tuesday and returned the six adults and three children on board.

An asylum seeker boat sunk in the Mediterranean. Survivors reported that up to 500 drowned in the incident. The United Nations said that this would constitute the biggest loss of life on the Mediterranean in the past year.

Weekly media wrap 29 June

The Australian government amended the Migration Act to fortify the legislation against an upcoming High Court challenge to offshore detention. The amendments passed with the support of the Labor Party.

Opposition MP Joel Fitzgibbon suggested the Labor Party should consider support for boat turn-backs. Following the suggestion, Immigration Minister Peter Dutton urged opposition leader Bill Shorten to clarify the Labor Party’s position. Asylum seeker policy is anticipated to be a significant discussion point at the Labor Party’s national conference in July. 

NSW Premier Mike Baird announced public transport travel concessions for asylum seekers, referring to them as ‘the most vulnerable (group) in our society.’

Several parties challenged the legitimacy of offshore detention during the week. The United Nations said that Papua New Guinea is breaking international law by restricting individuals’ freedom of movement. In a separate matter, several hundred detainees joined an existing legal challenge to their detention under the Papuan constitution. The Australian government reportedly transferred an infant from mainland detention to Nauru. If accurate, this would be the second infant transferred to Nauru this year. 

European Union leaders agreed to resettle 40,000 North African and Middle Eastern refugees. Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi criticised fellow leaders for a lack of regional solidarity. Over 100,000 migrants have crossed the Mediterranean to Europe so far this year.

Read the Kaldor Centre's Weekly News Roundup

Weekly media wrap - 4 May

Four refugees are the first to accept the Australian government’s Cambodian resettlement offer. The ‘Cambodia deal’ continues to face criticism from human rights groups because of the ‘poor quality’ of the country’s medical and health services, and the risks of crime.

An annual poll on attitudes towards national identity, conducted by the Australian National University, found that 65% of Australians support stronger measures to exclude 'illegal immigrants'.

The United Nations Human Rights Committee found that Australia was in breach of the international convention on civil and political rights (ICCPR) after deporting an Iranian citizen on undisclosed national security grounds.

The Lowy Institute for International Policy released a research paper arguing that the 1951 Refugee Convention needs to be reinterpreted, with Australia well-placed to lead the effort. The report stated that 'reform should include greater accountability for those states that cause displacement', arguing that governments currently place too much emphasis on symptoms, rather than causes.

Nauruan opposition MP Mathew Batsiua reported that access to Facebook and other social media sites had been blocked in Nauru 'under the guise of a crackdown on online pornography'. Refugee Action Coalition spokesman Ian Rintoul commented that for many asylum seekers and refugees on the island, Facebook is their primary connection to family and community. The Nauruan government denied actively blocking access to Facebook, but acknowledged that some social media sites may have been shut down as an indirect result of the pornography ban.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime released a report on migrant smuggling in Asia. Warning of a significant threat to the region, the report found that criminal smuggling groups generate $2 billion annually, and lead to an increasing number of deaths and human rights abuses.

Following the death of 800 asylum seekers in the Mediterranean, the United Kingdom withdrew support for future search and rescue operations, arguing that such operations encourage 'more migrants to attempt the dangerous sea crossing… leading to more tragic and unnecessary deaths'.