Tear gas has been used against detainees of the asylum seeker detention centre on Christmas Island, off the coast of Australia.

According to information released in February by the Department of Immigration there are 1829 people being held in the Christmas Island detention centre. All are male.

The majority of the asylum seekers being held in detention throughout Australia are from Afghanistan and have been held in detention from between 6 months and 1 year.

A spokesmen for the Department of Immigration and Citizenship said the mood among those who remain in the centre is generally calm.

“There have been no reported injuries to staff or detainees although one person received medical treatment on-site for a pre-existing condition,” the spokesman said.

“Consideration is being given to what additional resources should be made available for the further management of facilities in the current climate.”

Amnesty International has expressed concern over the incident and issued a reminder that the organisation has been concerned about deteriorating conditions on Christmas Island after a visit there in October last year.

Amnesty says that it had concerns about the time the Department of Immigration takes to process claims, as well as the lack of adequate medical and mental health services available to those in detention. Amnesty International has repeated called for government to end mandatory detention in offshore and remote areas.

The Department for Immigration and Citizenship lists several keys to immigration detention, including that mandatory detention is essential to its current and future strategies for controlling Australia’s borders. .

The Department has also assured that a full investigation will be undertaken into the events at Christmas Island that led to authorities using tear gas.

“We view this sort of protest activity very seriously,” the spokesman said. “Such actions will not influence the outcome of people’s cases and we will be undertaking further discussions with those involved as to the acceptable way to raise any issues they may have.”

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Maddison Kennedy

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