Amnesty International Report 2016/17 - Nauru

Republic of Nauru
Head of state and government: Baron Waqa

The Crimes Act 2016 contained provisions to protect human rights but was inadequately implemented. Concerns about the denial of the rights to freedom of expression and of peaceful assembly, freedom of movement and access to the country for foreign media persisted. Passports of several former MPs were suspended. Nauru continued to hold hundreds of refugees and asylum-seekers in a centre while others were placed in the community under its transfer agreement with Australia. The death penalty was repealed for all crimes in May.

SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS

The Crimes Act 2016, which came into force in May, decriminalized same-sex relations, abortions carried out by medical professionals and criminalized marital rape. The authorities took no steps to implement the law to protect women and girls from gender-based violence or to ensure their access to sexual and reproductive health information and services, particularly affecting those in remote locations and/or in marginalized communities.

The Act criminalized the buying and selling of sex, impeding sex workers' access to sexual and reproductive health information and services and making them vulnerable to exploitation, abuse, violence and other crimes. It also adversely impacted HIV treatment and prevention.

FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT

In September, new laws granted the Foreign Ministry powers to cancel passports without court review. Twenty Nauruans claimed that the Ministry cancelled their passports. They included opposition MPs who were suspended after being charged in 2015 in connection with a pro-democracy rally in 2014. In September, Sprent Dabwido, former MP, was prevented from leaving Nauru for medical care. The government later reversed the decision. Roland Kun, a former MP, had his passport confiscated in 2015 after he was charged in connection with speaking to foreign media and protests against the government. He was granted a New Zealand passport and fled Nauru in July.

REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS

There were around 1,200 refugees and asylum-seekers remaining in Nauru. As of 30 November, there were 383 in the Australian-run Regional Processing Centre (RPC), of whom 44 were children, 49 women and 290 men (see Australia entry). There were around 800 refugees living in the community.

There was evidence that children were assaulted by staff working for companies hired by the Australian government to run the RCP and by private individuals. Health care was inadequate and many children were not attending school. Reports of attempted suicide and self-harm were commonplace. Omid Masoumali, an Iranian refugee, died after setting himself on fire in April. The authorities failed to protect refugees and asylum-seekers from continued physical and verbal attacks by the community, as well as arbitrary arrest and detention. The conditions amounted to torture and caused severe psychological harm.^[1]

In August, the UK newspaper The Guardian published over 2,000 leaked incident reports (known as the "Nauru Files") which had been recorded by staff employed at the RPC. The files documented incidents including physical and sexual abuse of refugees and asylum-seekers, including children, in Nauru, as well as cases of hunger strikes, self-harm and medical emergencies.

In November, the Australian government announced that some of the refugees detained in Nauru and Papua New Guinea's Manus Island would be resettled in the USA (see Papua New Guinea entry).

1. Island of despair: Australia's "processing" of refugees on Nauru (ASA 12/4934/2016)