Tamil refugees face deportation

In the Christmas Island detention centre’s Alpha Compound — a maximum security-style section holding refugees from Afghanistan and Sri Lanka — Tamil refugees are desperately appealing to the Australian government not to send them back to Sri Lanka. Three Tamils recently had their refugee claims rejected, but are fighting the decision. But the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) could harm their bid for protection. The agency said it was “actively reviewing” and may “downgrade” its international protection guidelines for Sri Lanka. Alarmingly, it is doing the same for Afghanistan.