Danish Minister seeks insight at Nauru refugee center

Danish Minister for Immigration and Integration, Kaare Dybvad Bek, is visiting the Pacific island of Nauru to draw inspiration from an asylum center run under a controversial agreement with Australia. The Australian model, which has been in place for years, effectively controls irregular maritime entries by processing asylum seekers in the offshore center. On Nauru, approximately 1000 people are held at the facility while their asylum cases are determined. Critics, including human rights organizations such as Amnesty International, have repeatedly condemned the center’s conditions. However, Bek views Nauru’s framework as successful for keeping asylum seekers outside of Australia during their application process, which is a challenge for many Western countries. Despite the criticism aware to Bek, he emphasizes learning from both the authorities and critics to make an informed assessment. The Danish government has been exploring setting up a similar model in Rwanda without success thus far.