06 May 2016•Update: 11 May 2016
MELBOURNE, Australia
Australia’s government announced Friday that it has apologized and paid compensation to a charity group whose workers were wrongfully accused of coaching self-harm to asylum seekers held at an offshore detention facility.
The Immigration Department said in a statement that it regretted its decision in Oct. 2014 to remove Save the Children (SCA) staff from the processing center on the Pacific island nation of Nauru, without offering them detailed reasons for the move.
“Although SCA is no longer providing services for the Department on Nauru, the Department affirms SCA's good standing with it and acknowledges that at the time of the removal direction and subsequently, it had no reason to cause doubt to be cast on SCA's reputation," it said.
Details on the confidential settlement have not been disclosed.
News broadcaster ABC also reported that during initial negotiations, the charity group had sought a figure just below A$1 million ($736,500) due to loss of income, damage to reputation and consolation for pain and suffering, hurt and humiliation.
Mat Tinkler, the group’s director of policy and public affairs, said they welcomed the decision.
"It is a relief," the ABC quoted him saying. "This has been a very difficult chapter in our organisation and we're very pleased to reach agreement with the Department of Immigration and Border Protection today."
He underlined that the case “was a very difficult and traumatic experience for the staff; they are all now pursing their own claims against the Government."
Under its immigration policy, Australia detains asylum seekers who arrive by boat at offshore detention centers including Nauru, where conditions have been described as appalling by rights advocates.
On Oct. 2, 2014, the Immigration Department had ordered the removal of 10 Save the Children staff from Nauru, whose government later deported nine of them.
Friday’s statement comes three days after Immigration Minster Peter Dutton accused "advocates and others" of providing false hope to asylum seekers in detention centers, after two people classified as refugees set themselves on fire on Nauru.
Peter Dutton rebuked those he said "are encouraging them to engage in behaviours they believe will pressure the Government to bring them to Australia”.
"They can oppose government policy and espouse a cause for open borders, but that is not the policy of this Government and no action advocates or those in regional processing countries take will cause the Government to deviate from its course," he said.
A 23-year-old Iranian man who poured petrol on himself and ignited it April 27 in front of United Nations representatives died two days later, while a Somali woman -- reportedly aged 19 or 21 -- remains in a critical condition in a Brisbane hospital after her self-immolation Monday.
