Bringing refugees in offshore detention to safety

For a decade the Australian Government has sent men, women and children seeking safety – refugees and asylum seekers – to Nauru and Manus Island, Papua New Guinea. While the deal with PNG concluded at the end of 2020, over 60 individuals remain in limbo in Port Moresby.

Rather than assessing all people asking for protection in a fair, efficient and orderly way, the Australian Government has created a deliberate system of abuse for thousands of adults and children.

The people in offshore detention don’t stand alone. We’re a movement of people who won’t stop until refugees and asylum seekers in the Australian Government’s care are safe.

Together and working closely with like-minded organisations, supporters have already helped to:

• get all kids off Nauru
• see the safe return of Hakeem al-Araibi to Australia
• get some of the people trapped on Manus Island to safety: including those now resettled in the US such as Imran Mohammed; Abdul Aziz Muhamat, now in Switzerland; and Behrouz Boochani, now free in New Zealand.

With your help, Amnesty can continue campaigning to bring the people in Australia’s offshore detention centres to safety.

Bringing people in offshore detention to safety

The issue in depth

“The system the Australian Government has designed for refugees and asylum seekers, has a kind of evil and devastating effect. It can ruin the very inner strength of human spirit.” Imran Mohammad, former Manus Island detainee

Prolonged and indefinite detention, combined with bleak future prospects, has broken many of the men, women and children in offshore detention.

Offshore processing created a serious medical crisis on both Nauru and PNG. For those still trapped in PNG, specialised medical support is desperately needed, including mental health services and torture and trauma counselling.

Amnesty International went to Manus Island and later Port Moresby on a number of occasions to document what was happening at the refugee detention centres. 

Our researchers raised numerous concerns over lack of access to food, power, water, medical and transport services for refugees, as well as the deteriorating mental health of refugees still in the centre. We further documented the situation facing the men once they were transferred to Port Moresby, again highlighting issues with safety and the level of health care they were receiving.