UNHCR report on Manus
Dear Prime Minister,
The UNHCR finds that the new conditions for refugees on Manus Island are dire. Before the refugees were forcibly removed to East Lorengau, West Haus and Hillside they predicted that the three compounds were too small, unfinished, not secure and dangerous. UNHCR's report agrees and gives specific examples of security breaches, dirty water supplies, no health care, no interpreters, no communal spaces, no shade outdoors, and angry locals.
What is your response to the UNHCR recommendations which include:
- Serious issues around peaceful co-existence between refugees, asylum-seekers and the Manusian community at Ward 1 should be addressed as a matter of urgency, with an emphasis on de-escalation and dialogue. It should be noted that local population, including landowners, do not feel they were adequately consulted prior to the decision to construct West Lorengau Haus and Hillside Haus in their neighbourhood.
- Key on-site services, including caseworkers, medical and especially specialist mental health, torture and trauma counselling and interpreters, should be reinstated immediately.
- Specialist mental health services along with emergency and resuscitation support, including blood stocks, must be provided as a matter of urgency.
- Communal space outside of small bedrooms is urgently needed at West Lorengau Haus and Hillside Haus.