Nauru detention centre must be urgently evacuated in light of UN ruling

10 January 2025

The Australian government must urgently heed the ruling of the United Nations Human Rights Committee that its offshore detention regime breaches human rights and evacuate detainees to safety in Australia.

As of January 2025, Australia's offshore asylum processing centre in Nauru holds over 100 asylum seekers, the highest number of asylum seekers detained in over a decade. The UN findings highlight the urgent need to evacuate these individuals to Australia.

The UN Committee's findings expose Australia's blatant violations of international law, including the arbitrary detention of asylum seekers, many of whom are minors and recognised refugees, in Nauru. By failing to uphold the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Australia is a signatory, the government has trampled on fundamental rights, including the right to challenge detention in court.

These violations have significantly impacted the wellbeing and health of asylum seekers, with findings that minors have experienced weight loss, self-harm, kidney issues, and insomnia.

"Offshore detention is a policy characterised by sheer cruelty, a dead end that has caused irreparable harm to countless people seeking safety. For over a decade, people seeking refuge in Australia have endured unimaginable suffering in Nauru, because of Australia's cruel offshore processing regime,"

"Offshore detention is a policy characterised by sheer cruelty, a dead end that has caused irreparable harm to countless people seeking safety. For over a decade, people seeking refuge in Australia have endured unimaginable suffering in Nauru, because of Australia's cruel offshore processing regime," says Sam Klintworth, Amnesty International Australia's National Director

"The United Nations ruling on Australia's offshore detention regime comes as no surprise but still brings great shame. The government must immediately evacuate the people held on Nauru and close the centre permanently. It's time for Australia to honour its international obligations by immediately evacuating individuals to safety and provide safer, humane pathways to resettlement."

Amnesty International Australia urges the Government to immediately evacuate individuals stuck in both Nauru and Manus offshore processing centres and bring them to safety in Australia. The Federal Government must abolish the offshore processing regime once and for all, provide fair and humane pathways for asylum seekers, compensate survivors of this policy as recommended by the UN, and prevent further violations.

Background

In 2015, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture determined that Australia's offshore detention constituted systematic violations of the International Convention Against Torture. Despite years of scandals, legal challenges, and public outcry, these policies persist.

The UN Human Rights Committee's latest findings follow a 2016 petition filed by 24 asylum seekers from Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar. These individuals, intercepted as minors and transferred to Nauru in 2014, were subjected to appalling conditions, including inadequate access to water and healthcare.

The UN has called on Australia to compensate victims and ensure such violations are never repeated. Amnesty International Australia joins this call and urges the government to act immediately to restore humanity within resettlement pathways in accordance with our human rights obligations.