Independent Australian MP Andrew Wilkie has written to the International Criminal Court, asking for an investigation into the government’s treatment of asylum seekers.

Wilkie said he asked the court to look at policies which were causing "great suffering", citing forcible deportations, compulsory detention and detention camp conditions.

"The effect of the (asylum) policy is that men, women and children are being forcibly relocated and then subjected to arbitrary imprisonment through mandatory and sometimes indefinite detention," Wilkie said in the letter.

"The conditions they are forced to endure in detention are causing great suffering as well as serious bodily and mental injury."

“The Abbott Government’s conduct in relation to asylum seekers also contravenes the Refugee Convention, Convention on the Rights of the Child and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a report this week, accusing the Ukrainian military of using banned cluster munitions as they battle against pro-Russia separatists in Eastern Ukraine.

HRW said it had evidence of “widespread use of cluster munitions,” adding that, “while it was not possible to conclusively determine responsibility for many of the attacks, the evidence points to Ukrainian government forces’ responsibility for several cluster munition attacks on Donetsk”.

"It is shocking to see a weapon that most countries have banned used so extensively in eastern Ukraine," said Mark Hiznay, a senior arms researcher at HRW.

However, Ukraine’s "anti-terrorist operation" spokesman Vladyslav Seleznyov dismissed the report as “utter nonsense”, saying "we do not use banned weapons… Neither do we shell civilian neighbourhoods because this endangers lives."

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) stated that the Syrian government has ramped up the use of airstrikes against opposition forces, with over 200 bombing raids carried out within 36 hours.

Though there were several reported casualties, the organisation was unable to confirm an exact number. ‘Barrel bombs’ were amongst those dropped on targets in opposition held areas including Hama, Idlib and Aleppo.

The Syrian government meanwhile stated air raids had destroyed two of three fighter jets seized by Islamic State militant. The location of the third jet is still unknown.

The intensification of the bombing campaign comes as opposition groups accuse the regime of continuing to use chemical weapons.

The Canadian parliament is in lock down today after a gunman shot and killed a soldier at a war memorial in Ottawa, before running into the parliament building.

Gunfire has been exchanged between the Canadian police and the gunman, who has reportedly been shot dead inside the main parliament building.

Police are currently searching the area for more suspects with the situation described as “ongoing”.

Security has been tightened across the country following the incident.