THE regional humanitarian crisis triggered by Australia’s indefinite detention of refugees and people seeking asylum should be an area of concern for Pacific island nation, says Amnesty International regional researcher Roshika Deo.
She said the issue should be highlighted by Vanuatu and Fiji before Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison during his official visit to their respective countries.
“More than a thousand innocent men and women remain locked away in Australia’s open-air prisons, in Nauru and Manus Island. By failing in its responsibility to refugees and people seeking asylum, the Australian government has created a regional crisis in the Pacific islands,” Ms Deo said.
“It was Prime Minister Scott Morrison who announced last year that Australia would end its detention of children in Nauru.
“This was a tacit admission that offshore detention is not a viable policy – in fact it is damaging to a person’s physical and mental well-being, regardless of age.”
