UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, François Crépeau commenced [press release] an investigation on Tuesday into the human rights of migrants in Australia. Crépeau arrived in Australia to assess the migration programs, policies and laws developed by the Australian government in recent years. The UN investigator aborted [Reuters report] a visit to the country last year on the grounds of, “lack of government assistance and access to asylum seeker detention camps.” On this visit, Crépeau will assess on-shore detention centers and off-shore detention centers in the neighboring island Republic of Nauru. The preliminary conclusions will be released at a UN press conference on November 18.

Australian refugees and their treatment have been a topic of discussion among international human rights organizations as of late, prompting Amnesty International to report that Australia is using the island of Nauru as an “open-air prison” [JURIST report] as a means to prevent immigration. In October the Papua New Guinea Supreme Court dismissed [JURIST report] an application by more than 300 detained asylum-seekers requesting transfer to Australia. In August Australia announced [JURIST report] that Australia and Papua New Guinea intend on closing the controversial Manus Island detention center.