The National Council of Churches in Australia, Act for Peace and the Australian Churches Refugee Taskforce have joined in issuing a statement in which they “bear witness” to the suffering that Australia’s offshore refugee processing policy has caused.
The statement comes as authorities in Papua New Guinea say they have removed the last of the 600 or so men who had remained at Australia’s refugee processing centre following its closure last month. There have been reports violence was used in removing the men – now at two other sites on the island – but Australia’s Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said in a statement that advocates have been making “inaccurate and exaggerated” claims of violence and injuries and said they had failed to produce any evidence to support their allegations.
In a statement released today, the three organisations pleaded that if the men are to remain in PNG “for now”, force not be used to relocate them and that the Australian Government “contributes to securing their dignity and safety”. They also requested that the Australian Government “ensure the processing of re-settlement for these men occurs safely, swiftly and with the greatest regard to family unity”.
“We mourn the loss of justice for those refugees in PNG who are willing to put their own bodies in danger as the last cry of despair in the search for a safe future,” the organisations write. “We pray for Australian Government leadership who may not have envisaged such suffering in re-enacting offshore processing, but who now cannot shy from the reality of the damage that has been done.”
Anglican Bishop Philip Huggins, president of the NCCA, said it was “difficult to understand how a nation like Australia has found itself in this situation”.
“Other countries face far greater challenges with hosting refugees and struggling with unexpected arrivals. Australia’s current situation has put enormous, unnecessary ethical pressure on all involved and needs to be resolved peacefully and swiftly.”
Advocates for the men have also expressed concern about the quality of the accommodation they men have been moved to.
