Australia violating rights of refugee children by sending them to Cambodia, says Unicef

United Nations Children’s Fund joins agencies raising concerns about refugee transfer agreement sending children and their families from Nauru to Cambodia

19 April 2015 | The Guardian

Demonstrators march during the Stand up for Refugees rally in Sydney in October 2014 protesting the federal government’s immigration detention policy and the refugee resettlement deal with Cambodia. Photograph: Dan Himbrechts/AAP

The United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) says Australia is violating the rights of children being sent from Nauru to Cambodia under the refugee transfer agreement.

 

Unicef has joined a chorus of international agencies in raising concerns over the $40m refugee resettlement pact with Cambodia, with the first of the refugees expected to be flown out from Nauru this week.

The agency warned that no government policy or action should knowingly put children’s lives or their well being at increased risk.

Australia signs controversial refugee transfer deal with Cambodia

A Unicef spokesman, Chris de Bono, said Australia and Cambodia needed to be aware of their international obligation under the convention to protect children.

 

“The world has an expectation that as signatories to the convention on the rights of the child, whatever action they take, they will have given due consideration to its impact on children and they will put the best interests of the child as a primary concern in making any decision,” de Bono said.

Analysts say Australia may be in breach of the convention given the threat of the children’s rights being violated due to the transfer from Nauru to Cambodia.

A recent Australian report by a former integrity commissioner, Philip Moss, on conditions at the Australian funded centre in Nauru was highly critical and detailed allegations of rape and assault, self harm among children, and trading of sexual favours for drugs.

Government knew of abuse on Nauru months before it acted, staff to allege

The Unicef comments come against a backdrop of heightened fears over the welfare of the detainees both in Nauru and at detention centres in Australia, especially the Wickham Point facility in Darwin.

 

On Saturday a number of detainees with at least one three-month-old child were flown from Darwin to Nauru despite protests.

In the coming week, possibly as early as Monday, a charter plane is expected to fly out from Nauru with about 10 refugees for resettlement in Cambodia.