It has urged Australia and Nauru to urgently provide a “decent” outcome for “Abyan”, the 23-year-old Somali-born refugee who is 15 weeks pregnant from an alleged sexual assault on Nauru.
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The Australian government on Wednesday said that a Somali refugee who claimed that she was raped in Nauru will be flown to Australia for a second time to potentially have an abortion.
Most of the asylum seekers who attempt to reach Australian shores are usually transferred to Australia-run immigration detention camps in the impoverished Pacific island nations of Nauru and Papua New Guinea.
Peter Dutton has not revealed any details of the woman’s flight arrangements, calling for her privacy to be respected.
UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Rupert Colville said the victim of the alleged rape remains afraid of reprisals by her attacker on the island of Nauru.
“She should come to Australia, not only to speak to a doctor in terms of the termination but also to seek mental health services”, he added.
Dutton, as well as Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, had previously said the young woman indicated she no longer desired a termination after she was moved from Nauru to Australia earlier in the month.
The island government refuses to answer numerous “ridiculous” questions posed to it because “Nauru has no obligation to answer to Australian media”. That was contested by Abyan and her lawyers.
“The Australian media approaches us with great arrogance and an air of racial superiority which is highly offensive to us”, Adeang said.
Mr Adeang says if the country allowed journalists to visit, refugees who are living peacefully would be asked by refugee advocates to start rioting for the cameras. “They need to paint a different picture to justify their political agendas and their own lack of fact-checking and poor journalism”.
Nauru charges foreign journalists $8000 to apply for a visa, and the fee is not refunded if the application is refused. “Her brother and mother, however, have been left behind on Nauru and do not know when they will be able to reunite with her”, said Colville, illustrating the situation.
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“It has taken far too long to get to this point, but I am glad that Abyan will finally get the care that she requires”.
