Australian minister says Nauru allegations false

Following leaked reports that detailed widespread assaults and self-harm attempts in Australia’s offshore detention facility on the island of Nauru, Immigration Minister Peter Dutton dismissed the accusations, saying that asylum seekers make false allegations about sexual abuse in order to get entry into Australia. Earlier, the immigration department said that the 2,000 leaked documents, showing systemic abuse in Nauru camp, indicated that a “vigorous” reporting system was in place in the center.

Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young described Dutton’s remarks as “abhorrent,” adding that Australian government cannot transfer people to a camp where children are subjected to abuse and violence, writes The Guardian. The Greens Party has appealed to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to hold a royal commission into the alleged cases of abuse.

Human Rights Commissioner Gillian Triggs said that detaining the asylum seekers on Nauru was “illegal”, “immoral” and “unsustainable.”

The chilling revelations about migrants’ ordeals in Nauru camp have triggered global outcry with human rights bodies demanding Australia to review its immigration policies, reports the BBC. Two U.N. agencies, U.N.I.C.E.F. and the U.N.’s high commissioner for refugees, have urged the authorities to remove the asylum seekers from offshore detention centers.