Australia will persist with its plan to resettle asylum seekers found to be genuine refugees in Cambodia
Four teenage refugees were allegedly assaulted by on Nauru this week. Immigration Minister Scott Morrison and other government MPs are reluctant to interfere in the security matters of another sovereign nation. Calls continue for improved medical assistance to be provided to detainees held in offshore detention .
Australia has deported another Hazara asylum seeker. The Refugee Review Tribunal believe he can live safely in Kabul, rather than his home-town in the Afghani provice of Ghazni.
Labor party MPs have watered down suggestions that their policy on ‘turn backs’ has changed, after Shadow Immigration spokesman Richard Marles backed away from his suggestion that Labor would consider ‘turn backs’ when in government
According to The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights the Assad regime has attacked a refugee camp in Abedin, killing at least ten civilians. At an international conference in Germany convened last week world leaders urged greater investment to tackle the ongoing humanitarian crisis and increased intakes from host countries.
In other international developments, the UNHCR is planning to ramp up operations to support displaced persons in eastern Ukraine as winter approaches. Italy is winding down Mare Nostrum, their search and rescue operation, after a boat disaster in which more than 300 migrants drowned. It will be replaced by Operation Triton, a more limited border security operation that does not have a search and rescue function, and is run by the European Union. It has received support from the UK, who perceive such functions as “pull factors”, encouraging people to make the dangerous crossing.