RASC News Agency: The United Nations Human Rights Committee has declared that Australia has violated the rights of refugees detained on Nauru Island. The committee’s findings pertain to the cases of 25 refugees, including Afghanistani, Iranian, Pakistani, and Iraqi nationals, who have been held in detention for several years. In a statement released Thursday, the committee stated that Australia’s detention of a group of refugees among them minors on the remote island of Nauru, even after granting them refugee status, constitutes a violation of international human rights conventions. Under Australia’s stringent immigration policies, individuals who attempted to reach the country by boat since 2013 have been sent to offshore detention centers, including one on Nauru Island in the South Pacific. The UN Human Rights Committee, which monitors the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 1966, reviewed a collective complaint from refugees and found that Australia had breached two key provisions of the treaty: one regarding arbitrary detention and another concerning the right to challenge one’s detention in court.
The committee has called on Australia to compensate the victims and take measures to prevent the recurrence of similar violations. The report also carries an important message for other nations considering the transfer of refugees to third countries. Recently, the European Union has announced that it is exploring the possibility of relocating refugees to safe countries outside the Union. Mahjoub al-Haybah, a committee member, emphasized that the Thursday report sends a clear message to all nations: “Wherever there is effective control or power, there is also responsibility. Offshore detention centers are not exempt from human rights obligations.” The committee’s findings relate to a group of 24 refugees from Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar. These individuals were detained in 2013 at ages ranging from 14 to 17 when they attempted to reach Australia by boat.
According to the committee’s statement, this group, transferred from Christmas Island to Nauru in 2014 without guardians, was confined in an overcrowded center where they had limited access to clean water or healthcare. The statement noted that nearly all minors detained in this facility suffered from significant welfare issues, including weight loss, self-harm, kidney problems, and insomnia. The statement further disclosed that, with the exception of one individual, all remained in detention on Nauru even after being granted refugee status. The committee also reported that an Iranian refugee, along with other family members, was arbitrarily detained on Nauru.
The committee explained that this Iranian refugee, who arrived in 2013 with several family members by boat, was transferred to Nauru seven months later. Although he was recognized as a refugee by Nauru authorities in 2017, he was not released. He was eventually transferred to Australia in 2018 for medical treatment, but remained in various detention facilities there. In response to the report, Australia maintained that no evidence has been found to suggest that these alleged violations occurred within its jurisdiction.
