Weekly media wrap - 29 October 2018

Eleven more children awaiting high-level medical treatment on Nauru were transferred to Australia, as the ‘Kids Off Nauru’ movement gathered momentum. However, the Morrison Government challenged the Federal Court's ability to order humanitarian evacuations, throwing into doubt further urgent court hearings to decide if dangerously ill refugee children should be flown to Australia. Meanwhile, Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton revealed that a further 13 refugee children on Nauru are with parents deemed national security risks by the US, raising concerns the children and their families would not be accepted by Australia or New Zealand.

The Labor Party said it would support the Government’s 'lifetime ban' bill on people held in offshore detention coming to Australia, if all children and their families on Nauru were transferred to New Zealand. Prime Minister Scott Morrison rejected the compromise, saying he would not ‘horsetrade’ on border protection. Meanwhile, Liberal Party MP Julia Banks, crossbenchers Cathy McGowan and Rebekha Sharkie, and likely new Member for Wentworth Kerryn Phelps urged the Government to find a solution to the crisis.

A former Home Affairs officer who resigned from his job in the refugee processing area so that he could speak freely called on all federal parliamentarians to put an end to Australia's offshore system, arguing that its reliance on boat turn-backs makes it meaningless. A new data release about Australia’s maritime border enforcement program revealed 33 boats were stopped since the start of the Abbott Government, while 78 smuggling operations were stopped before they ever boarded vessels.

Papua New Guinea’s Supreme Court dismissed on a technicality a case brought by Manus Island detainees asserting their human rights. The lawyer representing the more than 730 refugee and asylum seeker men vowed to keep fighting for compensation.

Australia imposed sanctions and travel bans on five Myanmar military generals accused of leading violent human rights violations on the country's Rohingya people during last year’s crisis.

Weekly media wrap - 24 October 2018

The mental and physical health of children and families on Nauru dominated this week’s news. Following the return of Médecins Sans Frontières staff from Nauru and their call for the transfer of refugees from Nauru to Australia, support for the proposed transfer is building. On Monday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison received a letter signed by almost 6000 medical professionals that called for the removal from Nauru of 80 children suffering health issues. Meanwhile, a number of families were ‘quietly’ flown to Australia from Nauru on medical advice.

In related news, after talks with the Australian Medical Association, the Labor party proposed legislation to allow for easier transfers of refugees from Nauru to Australia for health treatment. Three Liberal Members of Parliament also requested Scott Morrison to resolve what has been termed the humanitarian emergency on Nauru. Morrison is also reconsidering the resettlement of refugees from Nauru to New Zealand, if the Australian parliament passes a law that bans resettled refugees from ever entering Australia.  

Onshore, a year after Australia was elected to the UN Human Rights Council, the Human Rights Law Centre (HRLC) submitted a case to the UN Human Rights Committee against the Australian Government on behalf of 14 families who have been separated for up to five years as a result of offshore detention policies. The submission coincides with a ruling by the UN Human Rights Council Working Group on Arbitrary Detention that states that the Australian Government has breached international human rights by arbitrarily detaining an Iranian asylum seeker since 2015.

In Manus Island news, Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton confirmed that 17 more refugees resettled to the US from Papua New Guinea. This brings the total number of refugees resettled under the US deal to 435.

Internationally, the ‘caravan’ of Central American refugees crossed the Mexican border where they were temporarily stopped by Mexican riot police. President Trump threatened to deploy the US military to close the US-Mexico border if Mexico did not halt their progress. Separately, the North African countries of Algeria, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia refused to allow establishment of European offshore processing centres called ‘disembarkation platforms’ on their territory.

Weekly media wrap - 17 October 2018

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) was forced out of Nauru after providing mental health help to Nauruans, asylum seekers and refugees for almost a year. The Nauruan Government said MSF’s services were ‘no longer required’, while MSF said mental health situation of asylum seekers and refugees on the island is ‘beyond desperate’. After their departure, MSF called for the immediate evacuation of all asylum seekers and refugees on Nauru.

UNHCR urged Australia to evacuate asylum seekers and refugees in both Papua New Guinea and Nauru to address a ‘collapsing’ health situation. The agency argued that Australia bears international responsibility for having ‘designed, financed and managed the system’ in both offshore sites.

In international news, Austria and Denmark released a policy proposal, Vision for a Better Protection System in a Globalized World, which seeks to protect refugees in their region of origin and prevent irregular migration by boat to Europe.

Weekly media wrap - 6 October 2018

A petition signed by 368 refugees and asylum seekers on Manus Island was presented to Papua New Guinea’s supreme court, calling for the delivery of a crucial judgement regarding the court’s 2016 ruling that the detention centres on the island are unconstitutional and unlawful. The petition calls for compensation and the opportunity to apply for travel documents, opening possibilities for resettlement in other countries.

The immigration detention centre on Christmas Island officially closed. The more-than 30 detainees who remained on the Island were transferred to mainland immigration facilities. Immigration minister David Coleman stated that the centre will remain ready for operations in case re-opening is necessary.

The Australian Government spent over $320,000 in legal costs in 2017-18, responding to court proceedings and challenging requests for urgent medical transfers of asylum seekers and refugees from Manus Island and Nauru. It is likely that the costs will be far greater this financial year given the increasing number of critically ill asylum seekers and refugees requiring urgent medical attention.  Additionally, Australian authorities admitted to cancelling or blocking medical evaluations of asylum seekers from Nauru despite Australian court orders and against medical advice, in order to preserve the relationship between the two governments.

Huyen Tran, a Vietnamese asylum seeker, is awaiting a court decision regarding her potential deportation and separation from her baby daughter. Ms Tran has spent almost one year in immigration detention and gave birth to her daughter whilst in detention. She arrived in Australia by boat in 2011 fleeing religious persecution as a Catholic in Vietnam, and fears she will be killed or jailed if deported. 

Behrouz Boochani, an Iranian Kurdish refugee currently on Manus Island, won a prestigious international award for journalism for his documentation of Australia’s offshore detention regime. The Anna Politkovskaya investigative journalism award recognises excellence in investigative reporting and is bestowed each year by the Italian magazine Interzionale.

Weekly media wrap - 29 September 2018

The four-year Australia–Cambodia refugee settlement agreement expired. Under the agreement, refugees in Nauru could receive refugee protection in Cambodia. Of seven refugees transferred, six have returned home and one remains in Cambodia. The cost of the agreement to Australia was around $55 million.  

The federal court ordered the medical evacuation of a family of three from Nauru to Australia, further ordering that the family not receive treatment from Australian government contractors on the island. More than 30 asylum seekers and refugees have been transferred from Nauru to Australia this year for medical care.

The Australian Federal Police is investigating an alleged sexual assault at Yongah Hill Immigration Detention Centre in Western Australia. A person detained there claims a Serco officer sexually assaulted him on 16 September.   

In Europe, the EU negotiated with Egypt to increase patrols in the Mediterranean and potentially host an asylum processing centre to filter refugees and migrants intercepted at sea en route to Europe. Talks are ongoing.

Weekly media wrap - 23 September 2018

Prime Minister Scott Morrison rejected a plea from the Australian Medical Association President, Dr Tony Bartone, to bring families and children on Nauru to Australia. Dr Bartone said the medical profession was concerned about the health and welfare of refugees and people seeking asylum on both Nauru and Papua New Guinea.

Independent MP Andrew Wilkie read out a list of the severe medical conditions of children on Nauru who were evacuated to Australia on medical grounds, by order of the federal court. The list was read during debate of a motion of no confidence against Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton, in response to a Senate committee finding he had misled parliament.

A Queensland coroner will investigate the adequacy of health and medical evacuation services on Nauru during an inquest into the death of Iranian refugee Omid Masoumali, who set himself on fire on Nauru in 2016.  

Sir Frank Lowy, a self-described ‘boat person’, criticised Australian Government leadership regarding refugees and people seeking asylum and rejected calls to cut immigration. Meanwhile, the City of Sydney joined 10 other councils around Australia in passing a motion supporting expansion of the community sponsorship model of refugee entry. Furthermore, New Zealand raised its refugee quota from 1000 to 1500, to begin in July 2020. However, the United States reduced its cap on refugee entry from 45,000 in 2018 to 30,000 in 2019, bringing it to its lowest level since the program began in 1980.

The New York Times reported that Prime Minister Scott Morrison has a trophy on display in his office in the shape of a fishing boat that reads ‘I stopped these’. Meanwhile, Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton shared his belief that immigration detainees should not have access to mobile phones.  

The final version of a UN report investigating potential violations conducted against the Rohingya in Myanmar was presented to the UN Human Rights Council. It found military actions were disproportionate to security risks and showed genocidal intent. Australia is considering options in response, including targeted sanctions. Also at the UN Human Rights Commission, Australia has received criticism from delegates on offshore detention policies.

Italy and Austria expressed support for a plan to process people seeking asylum on ships in the Mediterranean Sea. The proposal is considered an alternative to the regional disembarkation platform concept. A similar proposal in 2016 was not accepted by the European Commission due to concerns over legality. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has suggested that Spain build a wall across the Sahara to slow migration from Africa to Europe.

Weekly media wrap - 19 September 2018

Doctors warned that a 12-year-old refugee girl on Nauru, who had made several suicide attempts, would die if she was not taken off the island. Meanwhile, the daughters of a Tamil family taken from their home in Biloela, Queensland were reported to be suffering behavioural issues in immigration detention.

The family of a young Iraqi asylum seeker who died last week in immigration detention after his fourth attempt at suicide said he had been threatened with rape and mistreated. The family indicated that they plan to take legal action against the federal government.

At least a dozen Sri Lankan asylum seekers were forcibly deported back to Sri Lanka on a specially chartered plane from Perth. The Guardian reports the majority were Tamil, but at least one was Sinhalese. Separately, an Iraqi asylum seeker whose appeal was due next week was also deported against his will.

The new UN Human Rights Chief Michelle Bachelet described Australia’s offshore processing system as ‘an affront to the protection of human rights’ in her maiden speech at the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

If you or someone you know is thinking about suicide, you can call Lifeline on 13 11 14.

Weekly media wrap - 8 September 2018

Saruuan Aljhelie, a 22-year-old Iraqi refugee detained at WA’s Yongah Hill detention centre, died after spending days in a critical condition at a Perth hospital following an attempt to take his own life. Aljhelie had been transferred to Yongah Hill from Villawood detention centre a few weeks ago, separating him from his family including two children. On the night of the attempted suicide, protests and riots broke out at the detention centre as detainees demanded information regarding Aljhelie, and tensions escalated with detainees setting fire to a number of the accommodation units.

This year’s Pacific Islands Forum, bringing together leaders from 18 countries across the Pacific, is being held on Nauru. While the Forum focuses on a number of regional issues and areas for collaboration, its location has brought significant attention to Australia’s offshore detention centres on Nauru. Employees of the immigration centre have been threatened with losing their jobs if they speak to journalists, and journalists have been severely restricted in what they can write about, who they can talk to, and their travel around the island.

The Nauruan Government blocked a critically ill refugee woman from being transferred to Australia, despite an Australian Federal Court order directing that the woman be flown to Australia for immediate healthcare. The Nauruan multicultural affairs secretary refused to grant the approval of the transfer, stating that she was ‘not convinced’ the woman was considered a medical emergency.  Lawyers for the refugee have stated that this refusal means that the Australian home affairs minister and department are in breach of the court order.

The Nauruan President claimed that refugee children are deliberately self-harming to ‘short-circuit’ the system to get transferred to Australia, and that refugee advocates and parents are encouraging children to self-harm. Meanwhile, a Queensland doctor who was considered the most senior medical officer working with asylum seekers on Nauru has been forced to leave the island amidst ongoing disagreements regarding the transfer of refugee patients off the island.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern reaffirmed her offer of welcoming all asylum seekers from Australia’s offshore detention centres to New Zealand. Australia’s and New Zealand’s foreign affairs ministers discussed refugee resettlement at a meeting in Nauru prior to the Pacific Islands Forum, with Australia stating concerns that refugees could use New Zealand as an entry point into Australia after obtaining New Zealand citizenship. 

Weekly media wrap - 3 September 2018

In Cairns, 15 Vietnamese asylum seekers arrived by boat and were subsequently detained and transferred to Christmas Island, where they will have their asylum claims assessed. The group were likely Montagnards, a persecuted Christian minority.

In Nauru, The Guardian reported a crisis of ‘resignation syndrome’ among children, with at least 12 children transferred to Australia for urgent medical care this year. Meanwhile, in preparation for the Pacific Islands Forum, Nauruan authorities moved asylum seekers out of the detention centre and destroyed tents that have housed asylum seekers and refugees for the past five years.

In Indonesia, asylum seekers and refugees said boat turnbacks, not regional processing centres, prevented boat journeys from the country to Australia. Refugees in Indonesia face a long wait for resettlement in another country, if they are ever resettled at all. Australia has not resettled refugees from Indonesia since 2014.

In international news, the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar reported systemic gross human rights violations and abuses committed against the Rohingya by Myanmar’s military, the Tatmadaw. The Mission documented crimes against humanity and possible genocide, evidence of the ‘gravest crimes under international law’, with 900,000 Rohingya fleeing from Myanmar into Bangladesh in 2017.

Weekly media wrap - 25 August 2018

A 12-year-old asylum seeker girl on Nauru was taken to hospital after trying to set herself on fire, another 17-year-old girl was being treated after refusing to eat, drink or receive medical care, and a 12-year-old boy on hunger strike for 20 days was flown by air ambulance to Australia with his family for medical treatment. The Australian Border Force had initially refused to allow the boy's family to accompany him.

Human rights groups launched a ‘Kids off Nauru’ campaign, setting the federal government a three-month deadline to get all refugee and asylum seeker children off the island. Meanwhile New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she wanted to meet with asylum seekers and refugees on Nauru during the Pacific Islands Forum in September. 

Ministerial responsibility for immigration policy is currently unclear following a leadership spill within the Liberal Party. Prime Minister-elect Scott Morrison is expected to settle his new Cabinet over the weekend. Former Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton resigned from the position on Wednesday after mounting an unsuccessful leadership challenge.

A former outlaw motorcycle gang insider became the first known Australian to gain refugee status, after winning a landmark asylum claim in Canada.

In international news, Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior Matteo Salvini commended Australia's ‘No Way’ border control policy on Italian radio, leading to a flurry of analysis of Australia’s Sovereign Borders operation in the Italian media.

Weekly media wrap - 19 August 2018

A 12-year-old Iranian-born refugee boy being held on Nauru has continued to hunger strike for almost a fortnight. Advocacy organisations and medical staff have voiced serious concerns about his mental and physical health, including the possibility of resignation syndrome and imminent death. It is not yet known whether he will be transferred to Australia for further treatment.

The Guardian has reported on several other critical child cases on Nauru, including some children needing immediate intensive care who are reportedly being removed from the island this week. Many legal challenges against the Australian Government regarding refugee children’s health have been brought before courts over the past six months, each of which has resulted in the government conceding or in court orders for children to be removed from Nauru.

The Migration (Validation of Port Appointment) Bill 2018 passed the House of Representatives with unanimous Coalition and Labor support. This retrospective legislation ultimately seeks to authorise past government actions in directing boats through Ashmore Reef between 2002-2013 in order to indefinitely detain at least 1600 asylum seekers via offshore detention. The Senate’s standing scrutiny of bills committee expressed concerns around the retrospective nature of the legislation and its attempt to fix previous government errors.

Greens MP Adam Bandt stated that boat arrivals could be stopped by processing of asylum seekers and bringing refugees to Australia more quickly. He claimed that if Australia accepts refugees, including following their processing in third countries, there is less likelihood that they will attempt to reach Australia by boat.

A recent study in Queensland demonstrates that refugees and new immigrants integrate well in Australia, particularly into regional areas. The study surveyed over 200 refugees from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, and found that the refugees reported feeling welcome and a generally high sense of belonging and safety. However, the study also demonstrated a high rate of unemployment among the new arrivals, with only 18 per cent in paid employment. 

Weekly media wrap - 11 August 2018

One hundred and twenty-three Indonesians who said they were children but were imprisoned as adults after being found guilty of people smuggling offences complained to the Australian Human Rights Commission. They were imprisoned as adults on the basis of wrist x-rays, an age determination method that is not reliable.

Qantas and Virgin are being pressured to stop participating in the forced removal of asylum seekers from Australia. The Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR), among others, claimed that the airlines owed obligations to respect human rights under the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. The Australian Government also charters flights to remove asylum seekers and refugees.

A group of 450 asylum seekers and refugees in Nauru appealed to Canada for resettlement. The Canadian Government responded that it is unable to resettle refugees in Nauru or Papua New Guinea.

Russia presented the United States with plans for the coordinated return of refugees to Syria, aiming to repatriate 900,000 Syrians from Lebanon. The United Nations said returns are not safe, with conflict ongoing in the country.

Weekly media wrap - 6 August 2018

The Federal Court saw two orders for the transfer of children from Nauru to Australia for medical treatment. Justice Robertson ordered the transfer of a sick adolescent girl, finding the applicant ‘to be at imminent risk to her health’. A critically unwell refugee baby and his parents detained on Nauru were also ordered to be flown to Sydney for diagnosis and treatment.

Two refugees on Manus Island with critical illnesses have also been belatedly rushed to medical attention. The first, Mohammed Hamza Hussein, lost one eye in an assault four years ago and is going blind in his other eye. The second, Abdikaldeawe Abdisalam, severely injured his leg in an accident and was unable to access treatment for nearly a week. This week Hussein was flown to Port Moresby for an assessment of his failing ‘good’ eye. Doctors say his condition will not be able to be treated in Port Moresby. Abdisalam was expected to be transported to Port Moresby requiring urgent surgery.

Two deaths in Australia’s onshore and offshore immigration detention facilities were examined by coroners this week. In Queensland the state coroner found that the 2014 death of 24-year-old Iranian asylum seeker Hamid Khazaei, who died after a routine infection, was entirely preventable. In Perth, coroner Sarah Linton commenced a two-week inquest into the 2015 death of Fazel Chegeni Nejad, who died on Christmas Island after escaping from the detention centre there.

Meanwhile, the former head of the Australian Border Force, Roman Quaedvlieg, commented that all deaths within Australia’s offshore immigration regime should be investigated by an Australian judge or coroner. Quaedvlieg said the current system, which rarely formally investigates deaths, has led to a failure to address systemic problems.

Mayors and councillors from 17 Victorian local councils drafted a joint resolution to call on the Australian Government to reverse its cuts to support payments for asylum seekers living in communities on bridging visas. This comes following an end to status resolution support services from July 2018 for several thousand asylum seekers on bridging visas.

The Opposition Leader, Bill Shorten, said that a Labor government would work with countries such as Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Canada and New Zealand to resettle asylum seekers currently on Manus Island and Nauru. He said Labor did not believe in indefinite detention of illegal arrivals but would not commit to setting a time limit.

Weekly media wrap - 30 July 2018

Peter Dutton, Minister for Home Affairs, stated that Australia will not sign a major United Nations agreement on migration in its current form, even though Australia was involved in negotiating the deal. The Global Compact for Migration (GCM) aims to address all aspects of international migration and increase cooperation internationally. Minister Dutton does not agree with large parts of the GCM including that migration detention should be a measure of last resort and that immigration detention should not be promoted as a deterrent.

The cases of up to 1600 asylum seekers may need to be revisited following a court judgement finding that Australia’s attempted excision of Ashmore Reef was invalid. Over many years, Australian customs ships intercepted numerous asylum seeker boats and sailed them through Ashmore Reef so that the asylum seekers were considered ‘offshore arrivals’ who the government could then legally send to offshore detention centres for processing. The government is now seeking to retrospectively legitimise the excision through legislation currently under consideration.

The Australian Government stated that since Operation Sovereign Borders began in 2013, over 600 people smugglers have been arrested, and attempts to smuggle 2500 asylum seekers were stopped with 33 boats turned back. The information was revealed as part of a lifting of secrecy surrounding Operation Sovereign Borders.

A Tamil asylum seeker known as Kavi was deported to Sri Lanka, despite protection concerns including the recent murder of his father and reported disappearance of his mother and sister in Sri Lanka. Kavi’s bridging visa was cancelled before the reported disappearance of his mother and sister, and his claim for protection was subsequently denied. The Department of Home Affairs stated that the Minister will not consider protection claims from someone who does not hold a current visa. 

A group of asylum seekers currently on Nauru wrote to New Zealand’s Prime Minister seeking to be settled in New Zealand. The group stated that they do not want to use New Zealand as a means to get to Australia. The Australian Government has previously rejected New Zealand’s offer to resettle asylum seekers, citing concerns that this may be used by people smugglers as a propaganda tool.

Refugee support agencies and health services claimed that demand for mental health services for asylum seekers will continue to increase due to the government’s scheduled August cut in income support for thousands living in the community awaiting decisions on their protection claims. A spokesperson for the Department of Home Affairs stated that ‘Individuals on a bridging visa with work rights, and who have the capacity to work, are expected to support themselves while their immigration status is being resolved’. 

Weekly media wrap - 21 July 2018

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.

Weekly media wrap - 15 July 2018

Three refugees were removed from offshore centres in Nauru and Papua New Guinea to Australia for medical care.

In the first case, a two-year-old girl requiring treatment for encephalitis was flown from Nauru to Papua New Guinea for medical testing. The Australian Federal Court ordered that she be brought to Australia, as the Port Moresby hospital lacked the equipment or the expertise to perform the necessary testing.

In the second case, a 14 year-old girl who attempted to set herself on fire in Nauru will also be transferred to Australia. The girl and her family, who are refugees, have been in Nauru for almost five years.

In the third case, the Australian Federal Court ordered that an Iranian refugee, Fatemeh, and her son be brought to Australia from Nauru for medical care. In March, Fatemeh was flown to Taiwan for heart surgery, before being forcefully returned to Nauru in May. Fatemeh has a serious heart condition and her son, 17, is mentally ill. According to The Guardian, the order is the ninth such case of medical intervention requiring transfer from Nauru or Papua New Guinea to Australia.

Answers to Senate Estimates questions on notice provided recent statistics on the number of people in Australian-led offshore centres in Manus Island and Nauru. At May 2018, there were 939 people in Nauru, of whom 821 were refugees. Of these, 137 were children. At the same time, there were 716 men in Manus Island, of whom 583 were refugees. 

Weekly media wrap - 8 July 2018

The Australian Government agreed to move a seriously ill refugee girl from Nauru to Australia to seek mental health care. She is at least the seventh child to be moved from offshore detention after legal action taken on their behalf. Another girl, a two-year-old refugee, was moved earlier in the week to receive treatment for encephalitis. The principal lawyer for the National Justice Project, which has represented most of the children moved, said the mental health of children in detention has reached a crisis point.

The Australian Border Force told the mother of Fariborz Karami, the Iranian asylum seeker who took his own life on Nauru last month, that his body will be sent to Iran against her wishes. Fazileh Mansour Beigi, Fariborz's mother, begged for her son to be buried in Australia, where her sister can perform a burial service and visit his grave.

The Guardian Australia reported on the case of ‘Akam’, a stateless refugee who faces indefinite incarceration in Australia because he is deemed to have failed the Department of Home Affairs’ character test.

The Federal Court ruled to reject a ban that would have seen asylum seekers detained in Melbourne, Sydney and regional Western Australia lose access to their mobile phones.

Former Defence Force personnel spoke out about the Tampa and children overboard affair in a new documentary, accusing former Prime Minister John Howard and former Labor leader Kim Beazley of manipulating events for political purposes.

A report published by Liberty Victoria's Rights Advocacy Project found laws and policies in the Australian Capital Territory are excluding asylum seekers and refugees from accessing essential services, namely housing and education.

Heavy fighting in south-west Syria pushed more than 270,000 people from their homes towards the Israeli and Jordanian borders. The UN warned of a humanitarian catastrophe caused by the fighting that erupted after a Russian-backed army offensive to recapture rebel-held southern Syria.

In Australia, the crisis support service is Lifeline (13 11 14).

Weekly media wrap - 30 June 2018

A terminally ill Afghan refugee was moved to Australia this week and is receiving palliative care at a Gold Coast hospital. This follows calls from doctors to move him from what they have described as inadequate specialist palliative care on Nauru. The Australian Department of Home Affairs originally offered to send the man to Taiwan for palliative care.

The mother of Fariborz Karami, the Iranian asylum seeker who died on Nauru two weeks ago, wrote to the Australian Border Force seeking the return of her son’s body. Karami’s body remains refrigerated on the grounds of the regional processing centre, which continues to be under Australian control. Regarding the matter, a spokesman for the Department of Home Affairs advised that ‘these are matters for the Nauruan authorities’.

Two members of a Tamil asylum seeker family from Queensland were granted an urgent injunction preventing immigration authorities from deporting them. The family has been in immigration detention in Melbourne since March, when they were forcibly removed from their home in Queensland.

The Australian Government has not granted any humanitarian visas for ‘persecuted’ white South Africans. A spokeswoman for Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton said the applications were still being assessed and none had been granted. A senior official told Senate Estimates last month that Minister Dutton had never asked bureaucrats to prioritise refugee visa applications from white South Africans.

European Union leaders met in Brussels to negotiate a new deal to respond to the continent's continued issues with migration. In a final and broad statement, the European leaders agreed to set up joint asylum processing sites and restrict migrant moves within the bloc. Leaders also agreed to tighten their external borders and increase financing for some North African states to prevent migration to Europe. The deal comes following Italy’s recent refusal to allow several migrant rescue boats to dock at its ports, seeking shared responsibility for people arriving across the Mediterranean.

South Korea’s Justice Ministry said their laws governing the arrival of refugees will be tightened, after a rapid rise in the number of Yemeni asylum seekers. More than 552 people from Yemen arrived on the southern island of Jeju in South Korea between January and May. The country has granted refugee status to just over 800 people since 1994.

Almost 300 Syrian refugees left Lebanon this week, returning to Syria under the supervision of the UNHCR. In April, about 3000 Syrian refugees in the Arsal camps registered with the committee organising their return. They asked to return to their towns under a framework of reconciliation with the Syrian authorities.

Weekly media wrap - 23 June 2018

Over 2000 doctors have signed an open letter urging the government to transfer a Hazara refugee who is dying of lung cancer from Nauru to Australia. Doctors claim the man needs immediate palliative care and have stated that the treatment he is receiving in the Australian-run facility on Nauru is ‘totally inadequate’. The Australian Border Force provided him the option or either being transferred to Taiwan for care, or being returned to Afghanistan. A public petition to bring the man to Australia has also gathered more than 22,000 signatures.

Meanwhile, a Federal Court judge ruled that a pregnant Somali refugee woman requiring an abortion be transferred from Nauru to Australia. The pregnant woman is the victim of female genital mutilation and requires specialised medical treatment. The Australian Government previously proposed she be sent to Taiwan for the procedure.

A further six refugees from Manus Island were transferred to the US to be resettled. The government has confirmed that a total of 292 refugees have now been transferred to the US from Manus Island and Nauru under the US-Australia resettlement deal.

A family of Tamil asylum seekers living in Biloela QLD for many years, including two Australian-born daughters, lost their appeal to stay in Australia and will likely be deported back to Sri Lanka. Many of the Biloela community have rallied against the family’s deportation, and their case and treatment has sparked widespread attention, including a petition urging the Minister for Home Affairs to allow them to stay signed by more than 62,000 people. The family has 21 days to decide whether they will contest the Federal Circuit Court ruling.

The federal court ruled that asylum seekers in detention can keep their mobile phones, following the government’s legislation introduced in September 2017 banning detainees from having phones and other items considered risky.

Independent MP Andrew Wilkie introduced legislation into parliament seeking to abolish mandatory detention of asylum seekers and refugees. The proposed legislation promotes community-based alternatives, and would require all asylum seekers currently in offshore detention to be brought to Australia. It would also establish a framework of collaboration with Asia-Pacific nations.

Following widespread outrage over the separation of immigrant and asylum seeker parents and children at the US southern border, President Trump signed an Executive Order to end family separations and detain parents and children together. However, the language of the Order leaves room for exceptions, and Trump maintained that strong immigration enforcement and border security will continue. 

Weekly media wrap - 16 June 2018

An Iranian asylum seeker committed suicide in Nauru. The Guardian reported the 26-year-old man, identified as Fariborz K, was found in his tent on Friday morning. A recent health assessment identified him as ‘severely traumatised’. Twelve asylum seekers and refugees have died in the Pacific regional processing centres: seven in Papua New Guinea and five in Nauru.

Several thousand asylum seekers in Australia are in the process of being cut off from social support in 2018. Since 4 June, Status Resolution Support Services (SRSS) have been ended for many asylum seekers on bridging visas. SRSS comprised payment of around $35 a day, plus case management support and access to trauma and torture counselling.

In Europe, Italy refused to disembark a boat carrying 629 migrants and refugees, who had been rescued in Libyan territorial waters. Following a standoff between Italy and Malta, Spain offered to accept the boat in the port of Valencia.