The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says all of the refugees and asylum seekers in Australia's detention camps on both Manus Island and Nauru should be moved for their own well-being.

This comes after two detainees self-immolated; the young Iranian man Omid Masoumali was airlifted from Nauru to Brisbane, where he died; a 21-year old Somali woman Hodan Yasin was also rushed to Brisbane and remains in a critical condition. 

"There is no doubt that the current policy of offshore processing and prolonged detention is immensely harmful," UNHCR said in a statement.  "There are approximately 2,000 very vulnerable refugees and asylum seekers on Manus Island and Nauru (and) despite efforts by the governments of Papua New Guinea and Nauru, arrangements in both countries have proved completely untenable."

Earlier this week, Immigration Minister Peter Dutton lashed out at "advocates and others" who he claims makes the detainee's situation worse by drawing attention to it.  And today he blamed the media, suggesting that news organizations need to "reassess their approach" to covering the story.

But the UNHCR says publicity and media coverage have absolutely nothing to do with the living conditions subjected upon the detainees.

"What we really see on our monitoring missions is that people live in poor physical conditions, they're overcrowded, they don't have access to basic services," said Catherine Stubberfield of the UNHCR's regional office in Canberra to the ABC.  "They're not getting the support they need," she added.  Ms. Stubberfield says rather than a glut of publicity, the plight of the refugees is largely unknown to Australians because of a media blackout.

She also noted that the tragedies of the two young detainees who set themselves ablaze in protest of their conditions shouldn't have been a surprise.  The refugees fled poverty, persecution, trauma, and war - and instead of finding safety and acceptance in a wealthy country like Australia, they are, in effect, imprisoned.

"These are highly predictable outcomes of prolonged detention, and they're really symptomatic of the fact that people have now lost all hope," She told the ABC.

The UNHCR did not suggest where the refugees and asylum seekers should be moved - that decision still belongs to the government.