Refugees in Morrison Government’s care in PNG at risk of COVID-19
The Morrison Government must act urgently to ensure the safety of people it continues to detain in indefinite offshore detention in Papua New Guinea, with the country’s pandemic chief warning that the COVID-19 outbreak could overwhelm its health system within days.
The Morrison Government continues to hold more than 175 people in PNG and 185 in Nauru.
On Thursday night, the PNG Government announced that the number of confirmed cases had reached 72, a rapid increase from only 11 cases in mid-July. Almost all of the active cases are in the capital Port Moresby, where refugees who were detained on Manus Island remain in limbo. The PNG Pandemic Response Controller and Police Commissioner stated yesterday that COVID-19 is now ‘widespread’ throughout Port Moresby. An isolation facility in the capital is quickly approaching capacity. Prime Minister James Marape has warned that PNG’s health system would not ‘have the capacity to deal with a widespread outbreak’.
Shaminda Kanapathi is a human rights activist and refugee who has been held in PNG since arriving in Australia in 2013:
“After years spent in detention we are all susceptible to COVID-19. Our health has been left to deteriorate over these past years without proper access to medical facilities for physical or mental health. Many of us already have compromised auto-immune systems and PNG does not have the capacity to look after non-residents.
“It is time to take immediate action in order to prevent the virus from spreading throughout the community. Immediate evacuation is imperative in order to prevent a spike in infection and tragic loss of life.”
Since 2013 New Zealand has continued to offer to accept 150 refugees each year from Australia’s offshore detention centres on PNG and Nauru.
David Burke, Legal Director of Human Rights Law Centre:
“The Australian Government has always been responsible for the people it has cruelly detained in indefinite detention offshore - that duty of care does not disappear during a pandemic. Everyone deserves to be safe in this public health crisis including the people detained in PNG and Nauru.”
“New Zealand has repeatedly offered to provide a safe place for refugees to resettle. There is no justification for the Morrison Government continuing to lock people up in offshore detention while a compassionate path forward is on the table. Choosing to ignore a solution that would end a policy that has intentionally ripped people’s lives apart is an unspeakably cruel act.”
“After seven long, painful years, the Morrison Government must let people rebuild their lives in safety - either here on in New Zealand.”
Media contact:
Michelle Bennett, Communications Director, Human Rights Law Centre, 0419 100 519