"It is the view of the Refugee Council of Australia that those on Nauru who are fairly assessed and proven to be refugees, should be immediately resettled here in Australia," O’Connor said.
Last week, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, whose representatives visited the Nauru processing center in July, published a report, where they documented how some 1,200 asylum-seekers, forcibly transferred to the island from Australia, are subjected to inhuman living conditions and denial of medical care while authorities of both countries ignore the violations.
In 2015, a special committee within the Australian Parliament was established to investigate the allegations of mass abuses and rights violations at the Nauru processing center. In September 2015, the committee published its recommendations for the government, but with no much effect.
The Nauru facility was opened in 2001 and ran until 2008. In 2012 it was reopened following the large increase in the number of maritime arrivals by asylum seekers.