UN says Australia has duty to take care of asylum seekers in PNG

The UN human rights office called on Australia Friday to restore food, water and health services to some 600 interned refugees and asylum seekers in Papua New Guinea, Reuters reports. The government cut off the supplies three days ago. The detainees in the Manus Island Center have defied attempts by Australia and Papua New Guinea to close the camp and to move them to other “transit centers.” UN rights spokesman Rupert Colville decried the “unfolding humanitarian emergency” on Manus Island and urged Canberra to transfer the men to the mainland in order to assess their asylum claims.