British and NZ governments are facing calls to summon Australian high commissioners to explain revelations of child abuse and sexual assault

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

The UK and New Zealand governments are facing calls to summon Australian high commissioners to explain revelations of child abuse and sexual assault in more than 2,000 reports.



The Nauru files, published by the Guardian, contain graphic reports of sexual assault, child abuse and self-harm in incident reports written by detention centre staff.

The revelations have sparked domestic and international outrage over the conditions asylum seekers are held in on the remote pacific island of Nauru as part of Australia’s policy of offshore detention.

In Britain the leader of the Liberal Democrats, Tim Farron, called on the foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, to speak to Australia’s high commissioner.

‘I want death’: Nauru files chronicle despair of asylum seeker children Read more

“Detention of asylum seekers, and in particular asylum-seeking children, should only ever be used as a last resort, yet across the world there are an increasing number of disturbing instances where governments are ignoring their international obligations and abusing the desperation of refugees,” he said.

“Following horrific and important revelations made by the Guardian, I have written to Boris Johnson urging him to meet urgently with the Australian high commissioner to express deep concern about the situation in Nauru, and stress that their responsibilities under the 1951 convention apply the same in Nauru as they would to refugees in Australia.

“I am also calling on the Australian government to bring in UNHCR to independently monitor all of Australia’s detention centres and asylum processes, to ensure that no more children are made to suffer the abuse that thousands been subjected to. Given the financial pressures faced by UNHCR globally, the Australian government should cover any costs.”

After the revelations the UNHCR also said it was “gravely concerned” by the allegations raised.

Separately, New Zealand’s Labour party foreign affairs spokesman, David Shearer, told Radio New Zealand he had written to the Australian high commissioner seeking a meeting.

“This is not going to be a table banging, finger waving-type of meeting,” he said. “I simply want to first of all express my concern of what is actually happening in the Pacific.

“Secondly, to get some sort of indication from his side about where the policy is going and what he thinks might be the future of these people who are being detained indefinitely at the moment.

“We should care because obviously it is in our back yard. Australia is our closest friend.”

The Australian prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, said the files would be “carefully examined” but he did not indicate what steps the government would take to review the incident reports to assess whether they had been appropriately handled.

Australia’s Labor leader, Bill Shorten, urged the government to improve oversight in detention facilities and appoint an independent monitor of children to protect their welfare.