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“There is undeniable, cumulative evidence that suggests that asylum seeker and refugee children are not safe under existing arrangements on Nauru. The Australian government must take immediate action for children and their families to prevent further harm,” Nicole Breeze, director of policy and advocacy with Unicef Australia, said.



Australia should also do more to assist with resettling refugees from across the region and around the world, Breeze said.



“Australia has unfairly shifted its responsibilities for asylum seekers and refugees to our Pacific neighbours for far too long. We must do our fair share to respond to the world’s worst refugee crisis. Unicef Australia also calls on the government to increase Australia’s humanitarian intake program to 30,000 places.”



Unicef and the Nauruan government have jointly released a report reviewing child protection on Nauru.



While the report is focused on the safety and rights of Nauruan children, the Naurun government and Unicef said: “There is also a need for a considered and appropriate set of measures to prevent and respond to allegations and incidences of abuse of children in the regional processing centre and of children living in Nauruan communities as refugees or unaccompanied minors.”



The report found that the four major protection concerns were physical abuse of children, neglect, witnessing family violence, and sexual abuse. Nauruan police said the three most common issues involving children they encountered were neglect, sexual assault, and incest.

Nauru’s minister for home affairs, Charmaine Scotty, said Nauru had worked hard to reform and improve child protection.

“The republic of Nauru recognises the need for legal and policy reform,” she said. “It acknowledges that some laws date back to colonial times and urgently require revision based on changing circumstances and conditions, including the need to accommodate human rights concessions.”

Scotty said the the review of child protection in Nauru had assisted the government to better address the care and protection needs of children by developing a national child protection policy.



Breeze said it was commendable that the Nauruan government had taken positive steps to improve protections for all children on the island.



“However, the existing body of evidence suggests that it is very difficult to keep children and families with such complex needs safe on Nauru. Nauru and Manus Island were never meant to be medium- to long-term resettlement options.”

