I am aware of and concerned about reports of mistreatment of asylum seekers held in Australia’s care on Nauru and Manus Island. Ireland’s Embassy in Canberra is monitoring this issue. I note that the Australian Senate has launched an inquiry into the allegations which is due to report in March 2017.
Ireland works through the mechanisms of the EU and the UN to ensure that human rights are respected in Australia and elsewhere around the globe.
The United Nations High Commission on Refugees, of which Ireland is a strong supporter, recently issued a statement on this matter. UNHCR said it was not able to verify the individual incidents raised by the reports but that the documents released were broadly consistent with its “longstanding and continuing concerns regarding mental health, as well as overall conditions for refugees and asylum-seekers on Nauru.”
Ireland addressed this subject in its statement during the Universal Periodic Review of Australia’s human rights record in November 2015, at the United Nations Human Rights Council. In its statement, Ireland said that the continued detention of children in off-shore detention centres was of particular concern. Ireland strongly recommended that Australia cooperate fully with the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council and ensure everyone enjoys the right to unhindered access to and communication with the United Nations, its representatives and mechanisms, including by preventing and ensuring adequate protection against reprisals.
