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Asylum seekers – Analysis and Comment

Iranian Kurdish poet Behrouz Boochani, a long term detainee on Manus, wrote about the cruelty he witnessed in detention in his book, No Friend but the Mountain. Amnesty International via AAP

Cruel, and no deterrent: why Australia’s policy on asylum seekers must change

It’s critical that the Australian government take a new direction in refugee policy and move beyond its tired rhetoric of deterrence as a justification for detaining refugees on Nauru and Manus.
Seidu Mohammed smiles after receiving his refugee claim acceptance letter in Winnipeg in May 2017. The Ghanian man lost his fingers to frostbite after crossing the Canada-U.S. border at an irregular spot. THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods

The deadly consequences of proposed Canadian asylum restrictions

Tightening Canada’s borders won’t deter asylum seekers. The proposed restrictions will only make refugees’ journeys more dangerous.
Community members come together in Parkland, Florida, to mark the first anniversary of the killing of 14 students and three staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Cristobal Herrera/EPA

What Parkland’s experience tells us about the limits of a ‘security’ response to Christchurch

Parkland, Florida, where 17 people died in a school shooting on Valentine’s Day 2018, was already a place of highly secure, gated communities, so the survivors instead united against guns and hate.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison and other Coalition MPs described Labor as weak on borders after the opposition and the crossbench voted to pass a bill allowing medical transfers from Manus and Nauru. AAP/Mick Tsikas

A refugee law expert on a week of ‘reckless’ rhetoric and a new way to process asylum seeker claims

A refugee law expert on a week of ‘reckless’ rhetoric and a new way to process asylum seeker claims The Conversation44 MB (download)
Today on Trust Me, I'm An Expert, a refugee legal expert busts myths about how proposed medical transfer rules would work, and described some of this week's border security rhetoric as 'reckless'.
Australia could be breaching its international legal obligations if it is not fairly assessing asylum seekers who apply for protection at customs. BRENDAN ESPOSITO/AAP

We don’t know how many asylum seekers are turned away at Australian airports

Australia’s immigration department doesn’t keep a record of the number of people applying for asylum at airports. This means there is no oversight over the treatment of those seeking protection.