Why Australia is closing its refugee detention center on Manus Island
After years of controversy and claims of human rights violations, Australia is closing its refugee detention center on Manus Island.聽
In an announcement made Wednesday, Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister聽Peter O鈥橬eill said that Australia and PNG were in agreement that the offshore Australian detention center, located on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea, must close. He did not say what would become of the 854 men currently housed there聽but said options were聽being discussed.聽
The decision comes after talks between PNG officials and Australian immigration minister Peter Dutton, according to The Guardian. The offshore detention centers, meant to deter refugees from seeking asylum in Australia, have been聽criticized by the United Nations and various human rights groups for poor conditions and alleged human rights violations.聽
海角大神's Bamzi Banchiri聽reported in April:聽
Under the controversial program that has drawn widespread international criticism, asylum seekers heading for Australian shores by boat are intercepted by military vessels patrolling the waters and sent to its northern neighbor. The agreement was set up between the two nations in 2013, in which Australia agreed to give Papua New Guinea $309 million in exchange for establishing the refugee camp.
Australian policymakers supporting the program have long argued that the program is intended to protect the lives of the asylum seekers traveling by boat, alluding to聽.
In March of 2015, Human Rights Watch reported that聽since 2013, when Australia began sending all refugees to Nauru and Manus, none had been resettled in Papua New Guinea.聽
"Asylum claims are not processed in a fair, transparent or expedient manner, at a to detainees鈥� physical and mental health," Human Rights Watch wrote. "There are reports of physical and sexual abuse of detainees. Recent hunger strikes on Manus Island point to the poor conditions endured by asylum seekers and the uncertainty they face because of prolonged refugee status determination procedures."
In April, a Papua New Guinea's Supreme Court ordered the Australian and Papua New Guinea governments to "take all steps necessary" to stop the "unconstitutional and illegal detention of the聽asylum seekers or transferees." The system violated the human rights of asylum seekers by detaining them since they never willingly entered Papua New Guinea, the court said.聽
However,聽the order did not appear to聽have an immediate impact on Australia's policy.
"It Australia's border protection聽policies 鈥� they remain unchanged," Mr. Dutton, the immigration minister,聽said at the time. "No one who attempts to聽travel to Australia illegally by boat聽will settle in Australia."聽
The announcement on Wednesday follows a leak last week of 2,000 incident reports documenting the abuse of refugees on the island nation of Nauru,聽which houses a similar Australian detention center.
The reports included "multiple cases of detainees cutting themselves, security officers聽propositioning and聽harassing female聽detainees, and dozens聽of abuses against children,"聽the Monitor's Ben Rosen reported. "There are 159 reports of threatened self-harm involving children alone."
The leaked reports . The Australian Department of Immigration and Border said in a statement that it had聽 for investigation.聽
Though the mounting evidence of abuse and human rights violations on Manus and Nauru have prompted outrage among many Australians, polls suggest that a majority of Australians are in favor of deterring refugees from settling there. In a聽2015 poll by Essential Report,聽聽said they "totally agree" and 30 percent said聽they "strongly agree" with聽the government's policy to turn back asylum seekers trying to reach Australia by boat.
