UN agency urges Australia to refrain from transferring individuals to Nauru

The spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Rupert Colville, on Wednesday said the organization was very concerned about the situation of the 267 people at risk of being transferred from Australia to Nauru following the High Court's decision delivered this morning in Canberra.

Central to the decision was a retrospective amendment to the Migration Act which was passed by the Australian Parliament shortly after the case was initiated and which validated the offshore processing of asylum seekers.

"We are concerned that this amendment, as well as broader aspects of Australia's policy on the treatment of migrants and asylum seekers arriving without prior authorization, significantly contravenes the letter and spirit of international human rights law," the spokesperson said in a media statement issued Wednesday afternoon.

Most of these people, including up to 80 children, were reportedly brought to Australia from Nauru to receive medical treatment and are in fragile physical and mental states.

The group includes more than 12 women and at least one child who allegedly suffered sexual assault or harassment while in Nauru, and the group also includes 37 children born in Australia.

"We believe that transferring these 267 individuals to Nauru could further damage their physical and mental health, and would put Australia at risk of breaching its obligation not to return any person to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment under the convention against torture," the statement said.
 [Xinhua]
4/2/16
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