Statement by Minister of Multicultural Affairs Hon David Adeang at the United Nations Summit for Refugees and Migrants
As many of you would be aware, the Governments of Nauru and Australia have collaborated on a remote processing model whereby asylum seekers attempting to reach Australia by boat are taken to Nauru for determination of their asylum claims and temporary settlement.
This innovative model has not been without its issues. Thank you for this opportunity to relate to you, first hand, Nauru’s experiences with the model, our achievements and challenges, and our suggestions for making this model a viable component in a comprehensive strategy for international and regional cooperation on addressing large unregulated flows of people.
By transferring people who arrive by boat to a different location for processing and protection, Nauru and Australia have been able to diminish the benefit of using people smugglers and avoid thousands of deaths at sea. Importantly, the individuals are put directly into a process where their asylum claims are determined in accordance with UNHCR guidance. Nauru then grants protection to those who fall within the Refugee Convention definition or are in need of complementary protection. These refugees are temporarily settled in Nauru and accorded Convention rights.
When asylum seekers were first transferred to Nauru, they were housed in a closed centre. They had access to recreational and education facilities, and some excursions but, initially, not full freedom of movement. In part, this was to allow our small community to build bridges with the people of 22 different nationalities that comprised at least 10 ten percent of our national population.
For over a year now, the Centre is fully open and all asylum seekers are free to move around the island day and night, stay with friends, work in local businesses, go to the beach and decide where they spend time.
At the Centre, where they reside while processing or appeals are underway, we provide health and welfare services,case management services, particular support to parents with children, recreation spaces, fitness equipment, internet access, a library and multi-faith prayer rooms.
Those who are determined to be refugees are given accommodation in our community, businesses, schooling for children and a range of classes including tertiary studies for adults. We provide micro-credit loans for refugees to establish small businesses and subsidize university fees. Each person is assigned a settlement case officer who assists in the transition into the community, advising on cultural and logistical issues, assisting with employment options and providing any other necessary support.
As importantly, Nauru has established a robust, fair and impartial refugee determination system. We are proud of the newest refugee determination system in the world. We consider it to be world class, incorporating all the elements which are recommended by UNHCR including a sound legislative base, legal advice and representation, and merits and judicial review steps.
We seek to accord Convention rights to those who are found to be refugees, including the issuance of Convention travel documents. We call on States to recognise these documents which conform to UNHCR and ICAO specifications.
There is no reason that, with properly resourced facilities and services, and with a robust refugee status determination process, remote processing cannot be a humane, practical and effective tool in addressing refugee flows.With these, remote processing could allow countries to regain control over their borders, diminish the lure of smugglers, process refugee claims in an orderly and timely way and ultimately, save lives.
We are Convention signatories as well as active members in the Bali Process. We are confident that our RSD system can withstand legal scrutiny and that it could and should be used by the region to ensure that asylum seekers are guaranteed a credible legal process. With the infrastructure at the Centres and its established RSD process, Nauru is well-placed to provide surge capacity for large scale migration flows and to be a place of processing and transition on the path to viable permanent outcomes.
However, as a small island nation, Nauru needs to call on other countries to assist in finding durable resettlement solutions for our refugees.
This is the critical missing component; remote processing is one part of what needs to be a comprehensive migration strategy.
I wish to call on States today to assist my nation in the search for permanent homes for the 924 refugee men, women and children currently on Nauru.