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              Australia to Investigate Asylum Seeker Abuse Claims

   by Phil Mercer

   Australia's immigration minister has announced an investigation into
   allegations guards at the Nauru offshore processing center have
   sexually abused child asylum seekers.

   It is also alleged that charity workers have been encouraging children
   to harm themselves.  Detainees on Nauru continue to protest Australia's
   plans to deny them resettlement visas and to send refugees to
   Cambodia.

   Refugee groups claim that female asylum seekers on Nauru have been
   forced to have sex with guards before they were allowed to shower.
   There are also allegations that children have been sexually abused.

   These accusations will be investigated by an independent inquiry set up
   by Australia, which runs the center.  Investigators will also examine
   reports that charity workers were fabricating such incidents to have
   young detainees removed from the island camp, or had encouraged asylum
   seekers to harm themselves.

   "The truth is that cases of child self-harm on Nauru are a reality,"
   said Save the Children Australia's Paul Ronalds, who strongly rejects
   claims of coercion and deception.

   "The Australian government's announcement in relation to Cambodia and
   in relation to temporary protection visas has significantly increased
   tensions on the island and led to increased self-harm and other
   unfortunate behavior," he said.

   Australian Immigration Minister Scott Morrison said investigators will
   establish if Save the Children workers have been orchestrating protests
   on Nauru.

   He said it may have been a ploy to help young detainees gain transfer
   to detention camps in Australia which includes the "tactical use of
   children in those protests to frustrate the ability of those who work
   at the center to deal effectively and safely with those issues."

   Australia sends all asylum seekers who arrive by boat to camps in Nauru
   or Papua New Guinea.  In September, Canberra announced a multi-million
   dollar deal with Cambodia to transfer refugees from the camp on Nauru,
   a decision criticized by rights groups.

   They insist Cambodia, one of the poorest nations in Southeast Asia, is
   not capable of resettling refugees.

   For more than a week, activists have reported a series of suicide
   attempts and self-harm at the remote South Pacific detention center.

   The protests follow Australia's decision not to allow detainees on the
   Pacific Island to apply for temporary protection visas.  The government
   in Canberra says while it acknowledges the protestors' frustrations, it
   will not change its mind.

   Last year, violent disturbances caused millions of dollars worth of
   damage at the detention center on Nauru.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/australia-to-investigate-asylum-seeke
   r-abuse-claims/2472456.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/australia-to-investigate-asylum-seeker-abuse-claims/2472456.html