In a whopping breakthrough for both refugees and refugee advocates, Australia‘s detention centre on Manus Island is set to shut down.
The announcement was made by Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea Peter O’Neill, who released a press statement saying that “both Papua New Guinea and Australia are in agreement that the centre is to be closed.“
The decision follows a ruling by PNG’s Supreme Court that the centre was illegal and that detaining refugees and asylum seekers there contravened the country’s constitution.
It also follows the release of the “Nauru files”, which documented more than 2,000 reports of abuse and self-harm in the Nauru detention centre.
O’Neill says they are still discussing their options and further details will be announced at a later date.
Fingers crossed the Government doesn’t find an equally awful place to put refugees once this one is closed.
Source: The Guardian.
Photo: Getty Images News.
