An increase in the number of migrants and potential asylum seekers being intercepted at sea cannot be used as a justification for the use of the new prison-style detention centre on Christmas Island.

Amnesty International strongly opposes the use of the new $400 million dollar centre on the island. The severe security that is in place and the dehumanising nature of the centre, with its caging, cameras and electric fences, is completely inappropriate to accommodate those who may have fled violence and persecution.

The government has confirmed that 37 adult male passengers and crew from a vessel intercepted by Border Protection Command on 16 December, northeast of Darwin, will be held in the new immigration detention facility following approval by the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Senator Chris Evans.

The government’s policy is to open the new facility when numbers and separation arrangements require it. However, Amnesty International notes that the government has already acknowledged that the centre on Christmas Island is too oppressive to house vulnerable asylum seekers and that a number of people who have recently arrived were being detained in older facilities on the island.

Currently, according to the government, there are 135 unauthorised boat arrivals on Christmas Island – the majority of them single adult males – from six boat arrivals since September. Of those, 28 people are in housing or community-style facilities while their asylum claims are processed. The remainder are accommodated in the older Phosphate Hill detention centre and the so-called Construction Camp facility.

Amnesty International remains deeply concerned with the Australian government’s general policy of taking people intercepted at sea to Christmas Island. Amnesty believes that individuals should not be punished simply based on their mode of arrival and that the practice of taking people intercepted at sea to Christmas Island does not accord with the government’s stated current policy of treating asylum seekers with dignity.

Recent experiences with remote detention in Australia and offshore have highlighted the serious physical and psychological damage remote detention has on individuals. This is particularly the case for those who have already experienced torture and trauma. Ensuring appropriate services reach those on Christmas Island creates further complications, risking the health and well being of those detained.