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| UN warns Australia to consider best interests of asylum seeker children | UN warns Australia to consider best interests of asylum seeker children |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The UN refugee agency has warned Australia must consider the best interests of children after a high court ruling that could pave the way for asylum seeker families to be returned to Nauru. | The UN refugee agency has warned Australia must consider the best interests of children after a high court ruling that could pave the way for asylum seeker families to be returned to Nauru. |
| The immigration minister, Peter Dutton, says the cases of 267 people in Australia whose hopes for resettlement were dashed by the decision will be considered individually, based on medical advice. | The immigration minister, Peter Dutton, says the cases of 267 people in Australia whose hopes for resettlement were dashed by the decision will be considered individually, based on medical advice. |
| Related: Turnbull and Dutton unmoved by calls to spare 267 asylum seekers from deportation to Nauru | Related: Turnbull and Dutton unmoved by calls to spare 267 asylum seekers from deportation to Nauru |
| “This decision by the high court greatly concerns us as these children and their families face a great risk in being sent to a place that cannot be considered safe nor adequate,” said a UN spokesman, Benyam Mezmur. | “This decision by the high court greatly concerns us as these children and their families face a great risk in being sent to a place that cannot be considered safe nor adequate,” said a UN spokesman, Benyam Mezmur. |
| A UN high commissioner for refugees spokesman, Rupert Colville, said the group of asylum seekers were in a fragile state and could have mental health issues. “Of course being sent back to this situation may just make them worse,” he told ABC Radio. | A UN high commissioner for refugees spokesman, Rupert Colville, said the group of asylum seekers were in a fragile state and could have mental health issues. “Of course being sent back to this situation may just make them worse,” he told ABC Radio. |
| He said returning them to Nauru could be a breach of the convention against torture which covers cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment. | He said returning them to Nauru could be a breach of the convention against torture which covers cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment. |
| The immigration minister, Peter Dutton, hit back at the UN warning, insisting that he had the children’s best interests at heart and would not send them back to harm’s way. “We have to be compassionate on one hand but we have to be realistic about the threat from people smugglers,” he told ABC Radio on Thursday. | |
| Dutton accused refugee advocates of wanting an open border policy that would put people’s lives at risk of drowning at sea. “We’re acting in the best interests not only for these children but children that would follow them,” he said. | |
| Meanwhile, churches and cathedrals are offering an ancient means of protection to 267 asylum seekers. More than 10 places of worship in Australia have declared a place of sanctuary for them, a practice used in medieval times to offer refuge from brutal and oppressive forces. | Meanwhile, churches and cathedrals are offering an ancient means of protection to 267 asylum seekers. More than 10 places of worship in Australia have declared a place of sanctuary for them, a practice used in medieval times to offer refuge from brutal and oppressive forces. |
| “We offer this refuge because there is irrefutable evidence from health and legal experts that the circumstances asylum seekers, especially children, would face if sent back to Nauru are tantamount to state-sanctioned abuse,” said the Anglican Dean of Brisbane, Peter Catt. | “We offer this refuge because there is irrefutable evidence from health and legal experts that the circumstances asylum seekers, especially children, would face if sent back to Nauru are tantamount to state-sanctioned abuse,” said the Anglican Dean of Brisbane, Peter Catt. |