(Sakchai Lalit/AP)Since Australia began redirecting hundreds of asylum seekers to offshore processing camps in 2013, it’s become rare for human rights observers to applaud its prime minister’s treatment of refugees. Human rights groups have accused Bahrain of state-sanctioned torture and other human rights violations, and Araibi said he was tortured there and would fear for his life if he was sent back. Other countries have also sought ways around having to admit asylum seekers they cannot send back to their countries of origin. Australia’s offshore processing centers are an example of efforts to avoid violating the principle while refusing to take in asylum seekers who arrive by sea. An opposition-backed bill that will be voted on later this month could facilitate more medical transfers of adult asylum seekers in offshore camps to Australia, despite governmental resistance.

Source: Washington Post February 10, 2019 09:00 UTC