Called A Just and Humane Approach for Refugees, the paper argues that the treatment of asylum seekers on Nauru and Manus is in breach of the worldwide prohibition on cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.
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An injured refugee (2nd L) from the Australian-funded Manus Island detention centre is pictured in Lorengau after an alleged attack by a group of Papua New Guinean men in this picture taken on August 10, 2016 by photographer Matthew Abbott.
“We are extremely concerned about the serious allegations of violence, sexual assault, degrading treatment and self-harm contained in more than 1,000 incident reports from offshore processing centres on Nauru, many of which reportedly involved children”, Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), told reporters in Geneva.
A report based on interviews last month with those detained on Nauru conducted by researchers from Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch found that asylum-seekers and refugees on the island suffered “severe abuse, inhumane treatment, and neglect”.
Australia says the policy is needed to stop asylum seekers dying at sea on the unsafe boat journey from Indonesia to Australia.
Hayden says if Australia continues to be a barrier towards a positive outcome for refugees and asylum seekers languishing in effective indefinite detention, then the New Zealand government should instead engage directly with the Government of Nauru on resettlement.
The Nauru detention center, which is run by the nation’s government with support from Australia and third-party contractors, made headlines earlier this year when an Iranian refugee succumbed to his wounds after he set himself on fire as a form of protest.
The Law Council of Australia’s president said this responsibility derives from the Commonwealth’s common law duty of care and obligations arising under global law.
These “Nauru files”, published online, shocked the worldwide public and triggered reactions from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the Australian government.
The Australian Government Department of Immigration and Border Protection responded to the Nauru files in a statement saying, “Many of the incident reports reflect unconfirmed allegations or uncorroborated statements and claims – they are not statements of proven fact”.
“We’ve seen over years now a continuing deterioration in the way that asylum seekers are dealt with and some of the tragic consequences, including self-immolations, suicides and suicide attempts”, says one of the academics, Professor Harry Minas, director of the Centre for International Mental Health at the University of Melbourne.
Leaked files from the facility show the Federal Government failed to take action even though it knew asylum seeker children and adults were being abused.
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Mr Hinch said the reports were abhorrent, and he was not impressed with the way the issue had been handled by the Immigration Minister, Peter Dutton.
