Australia's Anglican church to take in asylum seekers

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Image captionDozens of babies born in Australia to detainees are now expected to be deported to Nauru

Australian Anglican churches will offer sanctuary to asylum seekers who face deportation to Nauru.

The High Court on Wednesday found Australia's policy of sending asylum seekers to government-funded offshore processing centres was constitutional.

The decision means 267 asylum seekers, including 37 babies, face deportation to the detention centre on Nauru.

Brisbane Dean Dr Peter Catt said the asylum seekers would likely face trauma and abuse if deported.

"This fundamentally goes against our faith so our church community is compelled to act, despite the possibility of individual penalty against us," Dr Catt said in a statement.

"Historically churches have afforded sanctuary to those seeking refuge from brutal and oppressive forces."

The offer comes as pressure builds on Immigration Minister Peter Dutton to allow the asylum seekers to remain in Australia.

Mr Dutton told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. that no child would be "put in harm's way".

"We are going to work individually through each of the cases," he said.

Trauma report

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Image captionThe island nation of Nauru holds migrants while Australia processes their asylum claims

A medical report commissioned by the Australian Human Rights Commission found 95% of children held in detention at the Wickham Point detention facility in Darwin showed risks of post-traumatic stress disorder.

The doctors who wrote the report said the children were among the most traumatised they had ever seen.

"We were deeply disturbed by the numbers of young children who expressed intent to self-harm and talked openly about suicide and by those who had already self-harmed," Dr Hasantha Gunasekera said.

Professor Gillian Triggs, president of the Australian Human Rights Commission, called on Australia to uphold its international treaty obligations to protect vulnerable people

"These responsibilities remain whether or not third-country processing is authorised by Australian law," Prof Triggs said.

The UN also expressed concern and urged the Mr Dutton to "refrain from transferring all concerned individuals to Nauru".

But Mr Dutton defended the government's border protection measures, saying the number of children in detention had decreased from a peak of 2,500 under the previous Labor government to around 80.

"There were 1,200 people who drowned at sea, including women and children, the voices of whom have never been heard," he told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.

"Many of the advocates you speak of are completely opposed to any border protection measures at all."  http://www.bbc.com/news