Transcript Document

The hidden truth about
Manus Island
Human Rights Violations at Australia’s
Asylum Seeker Processing Centre on
Manus Island, Papua New Guinea
Where is Manus Island?
Manus Island
Manus Island – the compounds
Delta
Foxtrot
Oscar
“The environment around the
camp, it is looking like a prison.
The fence, the compound, they
look similar to prisons.”
Manus Island Detainee
Lebanon
Afghanistan
Algeria
Syria
Kuwait
Iraq
Sudan
Somalia
Nepal
Sri Lanka
Pakistan
Bangladesh
Myanmar
Vietnam
The Journey to
Manus Island
The journey to Manus Island
“We ran away from Burma because they
were killing us. If we could stay in Burma,
we would, because we would want to stay
with our families.”
Y. Burmese
Living
Conditions
Overcrowded, hot and humid living conditions
What are the human rights
violations?
Human rights violations on Manus:
 Refoulement
 Arbitrary detention
 Discrimination
 No legal protection
 Cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment
Human rights violations
Refoulement
Human rights violations
Arbitrary detention
Human rights violations
Discrimination
Human rights violations
No legal protection
Human rights violations
Cruel, inhuman and
degrading
treatment
Arrest
Transfer
Detention
The Australian Minister stated that offshore processing would continue, but that where improvements could reasonably be made, they w
Following the trip we visited Canberra to put our concerns directly to the politicians.
The meeting with the foreign Minister, Scott Morrison was brief, yet gave us the
opportunity to highlight with him our main concerns about the facility and to stressed
the importance of treating the men detained on Manus with dignity and respect.
What needs to
happen?
Australian government needs to:
 facilitate the development of refugee law and
refugee protection to those travelling in countries in
Southeast Asia
 encourage Southeast Asian countries to ratify the
1951 Refugee Convention
 work with the region to develop their capacity to
assess asylum claims and protect refugees
Australian government needs to:
 ensure no one is returned to persecution, illtreatment or armed conflict
 use the newly constructed compound in the Manus
Island detention centre to relieve crowding in the
other compounds
 redesign the older compounds to ensure detainees
are not held inhumanely.
PNG must:
 ensure that asylum seekers are not arbitrarily detained within its
territory
 work with UNHCR and the Australian Government to remedy the
inadequacies of its Refugee Status Determination processes
 develop a resettlement policy that identifies practical measures to
be taken to facilitate refugees’ access to housing, employment,
education, and health services and otherwise promote their
effective integration into PNG society.
What Scott Morrison said:
“Where things are presented
that can improve, then of
course, we will do that.”
Still waiting for an answer