Australia stops Afghan and Sri Lankan asylum claims

Australia has announced the temporary suspension of Afghan and Sri Lankan asylum applications, saying the move would send a “strong message to people smugglers”. Australian Immigration Minister Chris Evans said the decision had been taken "in the light of the changing circumstances" in the two countries.

“The changes we are announcing today send a strong message to people smugglers that they cannot guarantee a visa outcome for their clients, and a message to those seeking to employ people smugglers that they may find themselves not to be refugees and returned to their country of origin,” Evans told a press conference on Friday.

Many asylum seekers have been arriving in Australia illegally by boat, after which they are placed on Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean to be assessed. More than 1,800 people have arrived on the island in the past three months.

The senior representative of the UNHCR in Indonesia, Manuel Jordao, told the Sydney Morning Herald that thousands of asylum seekers would rather risk sailing to Australia than wait for their case to be dealt with through the proper channels.

Under the changes, the situation for asylum seekers from Sri Lanka will be reviewed after three months and after six months for people from Afghanistan.