Weekly media wrap – 7 September 2015

Images of three-year-old Syrian boy Aylan Kurdi, whose body washed up on a Turkish beach, led to a shift in the European mood surrounding the Syrian refugee crisis. British Prime Minister David Cameron announced his nation would take thousands more Syrian refugees. The Prime Minister of Finland offered his country home as a refuge for asylum seekers.

These events have placed renewed pressure on the Australian Government to increase its refugee intake. Several prominent members of the Australian Liberal party – including Agricultural Minister Barnaby Joyce and NSW Premier Mike Baird – have come out in favour of increased resettlement of Syrian refugees.

The Opposition are calling for a one-off boost of 10,000 permanent refugee places to deal with the Syrian humanitarian crisis. Prime Minister Tony Abbott said the government will accommodate more Syrian refugees within the current quota of 13,750. 

The New York Times published an editorial criticising Australia’s asylum seeker boat turn-back and offshore detention policies. The article labeled these policies as ‘unconsciounable’, ‘inhumane’ and ‘of dubious legality’. Immigration minister Peter Dutton responded by calling the government’s actions lawful and effective.

Robert Cornall, who authored the inquiry into Reza Barati’s death, will review the status of more than 30 asylum seekers with adverse ASIO security assessments currently in detention in Australia.

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'.