Australia violated rights of asylum seekers held in Nauru, UN watchdog says

UN Human Rights Committee ruling covers cases involving 25 refugees who endured years of arbitrary detention.

The Australian authorities violated a quality rights pact by detaining a radical of asylum seekers, galore of them minors, connected the distant Pacific land of Nauru, adjacent aft they were granted exile status, a United Nations watchdog has ruled.

The UN Human Rights Committee said Australia violated 2 provisions of the legally binding 1966 International Covenant connected Civil and Political Rights – 1 connected arbitrary detention and 1 protecting the close to situation their detention successful court.

“A authorities enactment cannot flight its quality rights work erstwhile outsourcing asylum processing to different state,” committee subordinate Mahjoub El Haiba said successful a connection connected Friday pursuing Thursday’s ruling.

The UN watchdog’s ruling covers 2 cases involving 25 refugees and asylum seekers who endured years of arbitrary detention successful Nauru.

The sheet of 18 autarkic experts recovered that successful some cases Australia violated the rights of refugees, including minors who received insufficient h2o and healthcare.

The refugees and asylum seekers from Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Myanmar were intercepted portion trying to scope Australia by vessel successful 2013, erstwhile they were aged betwixt 14 and 17 years old.

Nearly each the minors suffered a deterioration successful wellbeing there, including value loss, self-harm, kidney problems and insomnia portion successful detention, it said.

The committee called connected Australia to supply capable compensation to the refugees, and to instrumentality steps to guarantee akin violations bash not hap again.

The committee has nary powerfulness to compel states to travel its rulings, but its decisions transportation reputational weight.

Australia’s authorities said it was considering the committee’s views and would springiness a effect “in owed course”.

“It has been the Australian government’s accordant presumption that Australia does not workout effectual power implicit determination processing centres,” said a spokesperson for the Department of Home Affairs.

“We invited Nauru’s continued concern successful the effectual transportation of determination processing arrangements.”

The bureau of Nauru President David Adeang did not respond to a petition for comment.

Under Australia’s hardline policy introduced successful 2012, the authorities sent thousands of refugees attempting to scope the state by vessel to “offshore processing” centres.

They were held successful 2 detention centres – 1 connected Nauru and another, since shuttered, connected Papua New Guinea’s Manus Island.

The UN committee rejected Australia’s statement that rights abuses that occurred connected Nauru did not autumn wrong its jurisdiction.

A fig of European countries person been examining the anticipation of akin arrangements to outsource their migration policies.

Thursday’s decisions “send a wide connection to each states: wherever determination is powerfulness oregon effectual control, determination is responsibility,” El Haiba said.

“The outsourcing of operations does not absolve states of accountability. Offshore detention facilities are not quality rights-free zones.”

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Al Jazeera and quality agencies