Amnesty International says the New Zealand government has neglected to call out Australia on the human rights abuse occurring in its offshore detention centres for refugees.
Manus Island Regional Processing Centre. Photo: Behrouz Boochani
For four years Australia has detained about 1500 asylum seekers on Nauru and Papua New Guinea's Manus Island for trying to enter Australia by boat.
Abuse in the centres has been highlighted by UN special rapporteurs on torture and the human rights of migrants.
Amnesty's New Zealand director Grant Bayldon said New Zealand should reassert its offer to resettle some of the refugees.
"We need the New Zealand government to keep pressing on this but also to call out the Australian government.
"The New Zealand government will speak out against the Iranian or Saudi Arabian government for human rights abuses, it's remained silent for years on human rights abuses in our own back yard.
"Really does our mateship extend so far that we won't call out Australia on this."
Protesters call for immigration detention centers on Nauru and Manus Island to close in Melbourne, in August 2016. Photo: AFP
