Angelina Jolie to visit Nauru's asylum seeker center
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E-mail Xinhua, July 14, 2014
Hollywood actress and refugee activist Angelina Jolie will visit the Pacific island nation of Nauru, which hosts an Australian asylum seeker processing center, local media reported on Monday.
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Angelina Jolie visits an asylum in Jordan [File photo] |
Nauru President Baron Waqa made the invitation to Jolie while attending the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence Against Women in Conflict last month, the Australian Broadcasting Commission reported.
Jolie opened the conference in her capacity as Special Envoy for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
The Nauruan government said the issues dealt with at the conference did not happen in their country, but that it was an opportunity to discuss the impact of violence in times of conflict on refugees and asylum seekers.
In a statement, the government said it believes the visit will be a wonderful opportunity to showcase the facilities for refugees on Nauru, which it believes are the world's best practice.
The UNHCR last year slammed living conditions in the Nauru center as "rat-infested, cramped and very hot."
Meanwhile, Australian Immigration Minister Scott Morrison denied he is worried about Jolie's visit and the publicity it will attract.
"I don't propose to respond to any of the assertions you've just made," he said. "As I've said, who visits Nauru is a matter for the Nauruan government so I'll leave that to my colleagues on Nauru."
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