The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has called on the Australian authorities to evacuate refugees from offshore facilities in Papua New Guinea and Nauru amid a deteriorating health situation.
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th October, 2018) The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has called on the Australian authorities to evacuate refugees from offshore facilities in Papua New Guinea and Nauru amid a deteriorating health situation.
"UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is urging immediate action by the Government of Australia to address a collapsing health situation among refugees and asylum-seekers at off-shore facilities in Papua New Guinea and Nauru ... In the context of deteriorating health and reduced medical care, Australia must now act to prevent further tragedy to those forcibly transferred under its so-called 'offshore processing' policy. UNHCR renews its call for refugees and asylum-seekers to be moved immediately to Australia, where they can receive adequate support and care," UNHCR said.
According to UNHCR, about 1,420 people still held in Papua New Guinea and Nauru, while 500 have been evacuated to Australia on medical grounds.
Australia's refugee policy, which includes offshore processing for asylum seekers sent to detention centers to the nearby islands, has often been criticized by human rights organizations.
Under the July 2013 Regional Resettlement Arrangement between Australia and Papua New Guinea, asylum seekers coming to Australia by boat without a visa were to be transferred to Papua New Guinea's Manus Island detention center in the first instance. Australia also has a detention center on Nauru Island in the western Pacific.
