The general secretary of the Catholic Bishops Conference of PNG, Giorgio Licini, wrote to PNG's Prime Minister James Marape in January about this.

In the letter Licini reminded Marape of New Zealand's long standing offer to resettle 150 refugees each year from Australian offshore detention in PNG and Nauru.

New Zealand's offer was first extended to Australia in 2013 by former prime minister John Key. The offer has been restated by Jacinda Ardern's government.

The Australian government has refused to take up the offer.

It says it would encourage more people smuggling by boat and that it would create a back door for the refugees to enter Australia.

Giorgio suggested Marape should "not hesitate to discuss this option with the prime minister and the government of New Zealand".

It would give "psychological relief to individuals now almost totally exhausted after seven years of uncertainty and restricted freedom of movement", Giorgio said.

There are about 200 refugees left in PNG.

One hundred of the refugees are unlikely to be accepted for resettlement in the United States, Father Giorgio said.

A similar number remains on Nauru.

In July 2013, the Australian government ruled that no refugees being detained offshore would be resettled in Australia.

Since then, the Australian government has locked up 3127 people without trial in Nauru and on Manus Island.

The office of the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court last week described Australia's detention of refugees in PNG and Nauru as cruel, inhuman, degrading and illegal under international law.

Source

• RNZ
• Image: RNZ

The general secretary of the Catholic Bishops Conference of PNG, Giorgio Licini, has written to Prime Minister Peter O'Neill saying PNG leaders should negotiate a deadline with Australia to release refugees imprisoned on Manus Island.

The island is part of Manus Province in northern Papua New Guinea.

Licini says ending almost six years of indefinite detention for about 600 male refugees should be done on medical and humanitarian grounds.

Prolonging the refugees' detention would compromise their chances of being resettled elsewhere, he says.

"I am now humbly asking you to give a very close deadline to the authorities in Canberra for the removal of all refugees from our country on the basis of strongly compelling medical and humanitarian reasons.

"Without this decision, the mentally impaired people will grow by the dozens in the next few weeks and months. Who is going to care for them? They risk outright rejection by any third country", he wrote.

Licini also explained in his letter that uncertainty about the future had caused a breakdown in the refugees' mental health, and depression and hopelessness had led to self-harm and suicide attempts becoming a daily occurrence.

He said during a recent two-day visit to the island, three refugees had attempted suicide.

Source

• Radio New Zealand
• Image: Amnesty International