"Australia is pursuing draconian measures to deter people without visas from entering the country by boat. In doing so, it is failing in its obligation under international accords to protect refugees fleeing persecution," the paper wrote on Friday. Scott Morrison's decision to return 41 asylum seekers to Sri Lankan authorities is in the international media spotlight. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen / Fairfax "There is something about the boat people that has provided politicians with an exploitable issue that does Australia's otherwise commendable record on refugees no good." By Tuesday, the Guardian UK was running the handover on its front page, while other media including the BBC World Service, Britain's Independent, the Irish Times, al-Jazeera, India's Business Standard and Zee News had all published stories on Mr Morrison's controversial decision to return the 41 asylum seekers to Sri Lankan authorities. "Australia is facing international condemnation after it confirmed it handed a boat of asylum seekers to the government of Sri Lanka, where they now face 'rigorous imprisonment'," The Independent wrote.

"It is the first time the Australian government has confirmed it has intercepted people at sea, screened them and returned them to their country of origin," the BBC wrote. "Australia says its asylum policy - which is also widely believed to involve towing boats back to Indonesian waters - is aimed at saving lives." The world turns its gaze towards Australia. Al-Jazeera reported: "Australia has confirmed it handed over a boatload of asylum seekers to Sri Lankan authorities in a transfer at sea, drawing outrage from rights groups who fear those on board could face persecution when they go home." The United Nations High Commission on Refugees, which normally treads cautiously when condemning nations on their treatment of refugees, has now issued two statements about the return of the Sri Lankan asylum seekers. The first, issued on Thursday, expressed "profound concern" over reports that Australia was poised to hand Sri Lankan asylum seekers back to the country's navy after only the briefest refugee assessment.

On Tuesday, the agency issued another statement, saying it was "deeply concerned" that the Abbott government had returned 41 asylum seekers to Sri Lanka after intercepting them at sea. "UNHCR's experience over the years with shipboard processing has generally not been positive. Such an environment would rarely afford an appropriate venue for a fair procedure," the statement read. Fifty-three international law scholars from 17 Australian universities have condemned Australia's return of asylum seekers to Sri Lanka as a violation of international law that risks sending vulnerable people back to persecution and torture. A statement, signed by the scholars, said Australia's conduct under Operation Sovereign Borders “clearly violates international law”. Loading

A High Court hearing on whether Mr Morrison can return the second group of 153 Sri Lankan asylum seekers will resume on Tuesday afternoon. Follow us on Twitter