Australia flayed over move to transfer asylum seekers

Australia's move to transfer asylum seekers to Papua New Guinea (PNG) is an "outsourcing" of human rights responsibility, Amnesty International said Tuesday.

The new policy allowing the transfer of the asylum seekers to Papua New Guinea for processing and possible resettlement violated Australia's human rights obligations, it said in a statement.

By transferring boat-arriving asylum seekers for processing of their claims and possible resettlement into Manus Island in PNG, Australia was breaching refugee and international human rights law, it said.

A petition prepared by Amnesty called on Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to uphold the rights of all asylum seekers arriving on Australian shores.

As of July 31, Australia has been transferring asylum seekers to PNG for processing and possible resettlement.

Under international law, asylum seekers have the right to have their claims processed in the country they arrive in, regardless of the mode of arrival.