Report by Australian chapter of advocacy group says policy is ‘embarrassing’ and at odds with country’s commitment to Refugee Convention

Australia’s reputation on human rights took a hit on the world stage last year, Human Rights Watch’s latest annual report has said, after the Labor government returned asylum seekers to offshore immigration on Nauru less than three months after the last detainees were removed.

Despite labelling Australia as a “vibrant democracy” that “mostly protects the civil and political rights of its citizens”, the Australian chapter of the global human rights advocacy group has levelled heavy criticism at the federal government’s decade-long “inhuman” offshore detention regime, with Australian director Daniela Gavshon describing the policy as “embarrassing” for the country.

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