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| Australia Failed to Protect Asylum Seekers, Report Says | Australia Failed to Protect Asylum Seekers, Report Says |
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| SYDNEY, Australia — The Australian government failed to protect asylum seekers locked up in Papua New Guinea during two days of riots in February that left one man dead and others seriously wounded, a parliamentary inquiry has concluded. | SYDNEY, Australia — The Australian government failed to protect asylum seekers locked up in Papua New Guinea during two days of riots in February that left one man dead and others seriously wounded, a parliamentary inquiry has concluded. |
| The inquiry’s report, submitted to Australia’s Senate on Thursday, depicts a crowded, hastily built center on Manus Island, off northern Papua New Guinea, where three Australian prime ministers have sent more than 1,000 asylum seekers, most of them from Iran and Afghanistan, to prevent them from settling in Australia. | The inquiry’s report, submitted to Australia’s Senate on Thursday, depicts a crowded, hastily built center on Manus Island, off northern Papua New Guinea, where three Australian prime ministers have sent more than 1,000 asylum seekers, most of them from Iran and Afghanistan, to prevent them from settling in Australia. |
| Prime Minister Tony Abbott has taken a hard line on refugee policy, turning around boats at sea and towing them out of Australia’s territorial waters and moving refugees to offshore processing centers, with the result that their requests to settle in Australia are stymied. | Prime Minister Tony Abbott has taken a hard line on refugee policy, turning around boats at sea and towing them out of Australia’s territorial waters and moving refugees to offshore processing centers, with the result that their requests to settle in Australia are stymied. |
| In response to the report, prepared by politicians from the conservative governing Liberal Party as well as from the opposition Labor and Greens Parties, Scott Morrison, the immigration minister, said, “We’ve stopped the boats, and we are getting on with the job of resettlement, once again cleaning up a Labor mess in partnership with the government of Papua New Guinea, who retains sovereign control and responsibility for the center.” | |
| But the report found conditions at the Manus Island center failed to meet basic human rights, and from Feb. 16 to 18, the inadequately staffed compound erupted in violent protests. The violence eventually involved detainees, residents and the police and resulted in the shooting of one man, while another, Reza Barati of Iran, was killed after being beaten with a stick and hit on the head with a rock. The report found that staff members spoke of leaving detainees to fend for themselves. | But the report found conditions at the Manus Island center failed to meet basic human rights, and from Feb. 16 to 18, the inadequately staffed compound erupted in violent protests. The violence eventually involved detainees, residents and the police and resulted in the shooting of one man, while another, Reza Barati of Iran, was killed after being beaten with a stick and hit on the head with a rock. The report found that staff members spoke of leaving detainees to fend for themselves. |
| “It is clear from evidence presented to the committee that the Australian government failed in its duty to protect asylum seekers including Mr. Barati from harm,” it said. Mr. Barati was beaten on Feb. 18. Two men from Papua New Guinea have been charged with his murder and are scheduled to be tried next year. The report said his death was foreseeable. | |
| “The report details the cruel way successive Australian governments have locked up asylum seekers, locked them up indefinitely, in inhumane conditions, delaying the process of resettlement so people languish without any hope,” Daniel Webb, director of the Human Rights Law Center in Melbourne, Australia, said after the report was released. | “The report details the cruel way successive Australian governments have locked up asylum seekers, locked them up indefinitely, in inhumane conditions, delaying the process of resettlement so people languish without any hope,” Daniel Webb, director of the Human Rights Law Center in Melbourne, Australia, said after the report was released. |
| Appalling conditions, high temperatures and crowded, windowless rooms heightened tensions among asylum seekers, the report said, but the government’s delay in processing claims for asylum led to the rioting. | Appalling conditions, high temperatures and crowded, windowless rooms heightened tensions among asylum seekers, the report said, but the government’s delay in processing claims for asylum led to the rioting. |
| “The committee believes that the hopelessness of the situation transferees found themselves in, with no clear path forward and no certainty for the future, was the central factor in the incident of 16 to 18 February,” the report said, adding that the harsh conditions had increased the volatility and made protests inevitable. | “The committee believes that the hopelessness of the situation transferees found themselves in, with no clear path forward and no certainty for the future, was the central factor in the incident of 16 to 18 February,” the report said, adding that the harsh conditions had increased the volatility and made protests inevitable. |