An Australian Senate committee says the death of an Iranian asylum seeker at the Manus Island detention centre in Papua New Guinea was eminently foreseeable.
23-year-old Reza Barati died and several others were injured in two nights of violent clashes in February.
An asylum-seeker holds a picture of Reza Barati who died at the detention centre. Photo: AAP
A Senate report found the centre's inability to cope with an influx of detainees, combined with the absence of any clear resettlement framework, created an environment where unrest was inevitable.
During the unrest, it says the PNG national security staff used excessive force to control detainees, adding that the PNG police mobile squad did not fire warning shots into the air, as has been asserted, but fired dangerously into the centre.
It says after the incident, Australia's Immigration Minister Scott Morrison's public statements contained untrue assertions that were not corrected until four days later.
It says the minister sought to unfairly apportion blame to the asylum seekers by being selective in the facts he choose to use in initial statements.
The committee recommended that the Australian government acknowledge its responsibility to protect the human rights of detainees, ensure an adequate investigation into events, take responsibility for its human rights violations and facilitate appropriate access to the centre for NGOs and journalists.
The opposition has recommended that Canberra pay compensation to victims, but that has been rejected by teh Senate's government members.
The Senate's recommendations are:
Recommendation 1
The committee recommends that the Australian Government ensure an adequate and effective investigation into
the criminal assaults perpetrated against individuals detained at the Manus Island Regional Processing Centre during the events of 16 to 18 February 2014, including by assisting the Papua New Guinea authorities in any ongoing investigations and facilitating the taking of witness testimony from individuals present at the incident who are now in Australian territory.
Recommendation 2
The committee recommends that the Australian Government acknowledge its responsibility to respect, protect and fulfil the human rights of individuals detained at the Manus Island Regional Processing Centre.
Recommendation 3
The committee recommends that, in accordance with the right to an effective remedy and right to health in international human rights law, the Australian Government:
-- acknowledge and take responsibility for violations of human rights in relation to the incident at the Manus Island
Regional Processing Centre from 16 to 18 February 2014; and
-- provide compensation to those who have suffered human rights violations, including to Mr Reza Barati's family
and to asylum seekers who were injured during the incident.
Recommendation 4
The committee recommends that the Australian Government ensure that all asylum seekers injured in the violence at the Manus Island Regional Processing Centre from 16 to 18 February 2014 receive adequate professional
assistance, including medical treatment, full rehabilitation and mental health services, as well as independent legal advice.
Recommendation 5
The committee recommends that, in the interests of transparency and accountability, the governments of Australia and Papua New Guinea take measures to facilitate appropriate access to the Manus Island Regional Processing Centre, including:
-- allowing United Nations representatives full access to the centre and transferees;
-- permitting qualified lawyers, including lawyers certified to practice in Australia, access to the centre in order to
meet with transferees and provide legal assistance;
-- allowing the Australian Human Rights Commission to regularly inspect the centre and meet with centre staff and
transferees; and
-- perrmitting journalists to visit the centre and speak freely with centre staff and transferees.
Recommendation 6
The committee recommends that Transfield Services and the Australian Government ensure that service provider staff employed at the Manus Island Regional Processing Centre be provided with sufficient workplace training to perform their roles, in line with the standards applicable to employees working in detention environments in Australia, and accounting for the particular difficulties associated with working in remote conditions.
