Justice minister defends refugee determination system as ‘world class’ after eight days of protests by people held in camp

Protests by asylum seekers and refugees on Nauru have continued for eight days, with reports authorities locked gates and erected fences to prevent others joining.

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In an open letter the protesters have called for an end to their detention, which for some reached 1,000 days on Friday. The Nauruan justice minister has defended his country’s system in an address to foreign leaders in Indonesia, suggesting it could be expanded.

The rolling protests began last Sunday, apparently sparked by restrictions on celebrations of the Iranian new year. They coincided with demonstrations across Australia.

The crowd of a few dozen men, women, and children, held signs and chanted “freedom” and “kids in detention, shame on you”.

According to refugee advocates, employees of the processing centre erected fences across the road to a camp entrance and locked the gates each afternoon for the duration of each protest. It was believed the action was taken to stop refugees who live in the Nauruan community from joining the protests by those still living in the centre. The refugee advocates provided photos to support their claims.



Broadspectrum, which operates the centre, has been contacted for comment.

An open letter from some detainees, released over the weekend, begged for an end to the offshore immigration processing policy: “What’s the difference between us and others who came with us on the same boat, most of whom are enjoying their pure oxygen; that is, their freedom. Why are we only punished like this by this inhuman government and this nation?”



“No, we have spent 1,000 days here that we can’t get back. One thousand days passing with emptiness and uselessness. We have all experienced such great suffering back home. We left it all and reached your country but now we have been losing our lives slowly in this human dumping ground; your great spider web of unfair policies that kills us slowly.”

The treatment and living conditions of asylum seekers and refugees on Nauru have long been criticised, particularly in relation to children.

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The Moss report into the treatment of asylum seekers on Nauru detailed extensive and unaddressed instances of abuse, and more recently several allegations of physical and sexual violence against refugees and asylum seekers, including children, have gone unpunished. After the high court decision in February that the detention of asylum seekers on Nauru was constitutional, advocates, doctors, churches, and state government leaders lobbied the federal government to stop the return of 267 people – including a large number of children – back to Nauru from Australia where they were receiving medical treatment.

Leaked documents continue to paint a bleak picture of the mental health and subsequent care of people in offshore detention.

The Nauruan government, which is approaching a contentious election, due to be held by the middle of the year, has responded by pointing to its improved medical services, including a new hospital and accusing media of being agenda-driven.

In October the Nauruan government announced the gates of the centre would be permanently opened, allowing all detainees – including those still awaiting refugee assessment – to move freely between the camp and the community on the island. The move was just days before the Australian high court heard a challenge to the legality of offshore processing and detention.

In a statement to the Bali Process ministerial meeting last week, Nauru’s justice minister, David Adeang, defended the detention and processing system in place: “We consider [the refugee determination system] to be world-class, incorporating all the elements which are recommended by UNHCR, including a sound legislative base, legal advice for asylum seekers, and merits and judicial review steps.”

Adeang noted Nauru’s creation of a refugee determination system – nonexistent prior to the arrangement made with Australia to take people who sought asylum by boat – and the review tribunal process which started hearings this month.

He said people found to be refugees were now living in the community, and many were employed.

“Settlement has changed the face of Nauru. It has been less than two years since the first refugee determination, but we now have a vibrant multicultural community,” Adeang said.

The Nauruan government was now working to removal people whose refugee claims had been rejected and who were currently housed in the “open” processing centre, he added. He added that within the centre, there was an “extensive” range of health and welfare services and activities.

Adeang also suggested it could be expanded beyond the Australian arrangement, and used as a “regional solution” for asylum seeker processing and temporary resettlement of refugees.

“Nauru is well-placed to provide surge capacity for large-scale migration flows, as we saw last year in the Andaman Sea,” he said, referring to the Rohingya refugee crisis which saw thousands of asylum seekers left adrift after multiple countries refused to allow their boats to dock.