UN slams Australia for plan to send asylum seekers home


The United Nations has slammed as a possible breach of the Refugee Convention the Australian government's plans to speedily send a group of Sri Lankan asylum seekers home. The boatload of asylum seekers believed to be from Sri Lanka arrived at the far-flung Australian territory of Cocos Islands on Thursday - the first such group … Continue reading UN slams Australia for plan to send asylum seekers home

United Nations refugee agency slams Australia’s tough new asylum seeker policy


The UN refugee agency took Australia to task Wednesday over a tough new policy that allows boat people who reach its mainland to be sent to remote Nauru or Papua New Guinea for detention while their asylum claims are processed. The so-called "excision" rules, passed last week, extend previous legislation which only allowed the authorities … Continue reading United Nations refugee agency slams Australia’s tough new asylum seeker policy