UN Rules Australia Breached Human Rights Obligations With Offshore Detention of Asylum Seekers

UN has urged Australia to compensate the victims and reform migration legislation and bilateral agreements to prevent similar violations.

A general view during a panel on Childrens Rights and the Digital Environment to mark the annual Day of the Child, at the 52nd UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, on March 10, 2023. Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images

The U.N. Human Rights Committee has declared Australia legally responsible for the arbitrary detention of asylum seekers in offshore processing facilities.

The two cases relate to agreements signed between Australia and Nauru in 2012 and 2013, with the Pacific nation hosting detainees in return for payments.