Australia blocks asylum seekers from Sri Lanka, Afghanistan

MELBOURNE - Australia Friday announced a suspension of the processing of new asylum applications from Sri Lanka and Afghanistan.

The suspension has taken place due to “the evolving circumstances in these two countries”. It is likely that, in the future, more asylum claims from Sri Lanka and Afghanistan will be refused, a press communique stated.

It said that the situations in both Sri Lanka and Afghanistan were evolving.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees is reviewing conditions in both these countries and related guidelines for refugee status determination.

“Given these developments, the Australian government has suspended the processing of new asylum claims by Sri Lankan nationals for a period of three months and the processing of new asylum claims by Afghan nationals for a period of six months,” said the joint statement by Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Chris Evans, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Stephen Smith and Minister for Home Affairs Brendan O’Connor.

Canberra feels that asylum seekers should only be granted the right to live in Australia if they are genuinely in need of protection.

“Irregular maritime arrivals claiming asylum will continue to be subject to mandatory detention, including those subject to the suspension. The government is also strengthening a range of law enforcement measures targeting people smugglers,” the statement said.