The state of civic space in Nauru is rated as ‘obstructed’. Concerns documented in recent years include restrictions on media freedom due to prohibitively high visa fees to enable foreign journalists to visit the country. Very few journalists have been able to access the country to report on human rights issues such as the treatment of asylum seekers and refugees. Further, Nauru has not yet ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) or established a national human rights institution.
Association
New arrangement to detain asylum seekers from Australia
In February 2025, Nauru came to a new arrangement with Australia to receive asylum seekers detained and deported from the country. Nauru, not being a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention, has no legal obligation to provide safety, resettlement assistance or basic protections for these individuals.
Nauru's President David Adeang announced in April 2025 the conclusion of negotiations with Australia on long-term multi-year funding for a Regional Processing Centre.
As of April 2025, 93 transferees reside in Nauru, four of whom have been granted refugee status, while 89 asylum seekers are undergoing the appeals process.
Concerns have long been raised about the treatment of detainees on the island. In 2016, the Nauru files, published by Guardian Australia, exposed the Nauru detention centre’s own internal reports of systemic violence, rape, sexual abuse, self-harm and child abuse in offshore detention.
As previously documented, there are also concerns that asylum seekers being detained in Nauru are being denied access to freedom of expression and to receive and impart information. Humanitarian websites are blocked on shared computers, and refugees are only given limited phone credit to make outgoing calls.
In January 2025, the UN Human Rights Committee highlighted the major human rights violations in Nauru and ruled that Australia must take responsibility for people seeking asylum who are re-directed to Nauru.
In February 2020, the International Criminal Court (ICC) found that detention conditions of refugees in Nauru may constitute a breach of international law. This detention appears to amount to “cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment”, according to the Court.
Expression
Press freedom curtailed
A new study published in March 2025, led and designed by ABC International Development (ABCID) and informed by Pacific partners highlighted ongoing challenges to ensure press freedom
All journalists in Nauru are employees of the Nauru Media Bureau (NMB). They are classified as public servants and take an oath of allegiance to the government. Consequently, media independence is limited, and content is rarely critical of the government or public figures.
Media freedom is further curtailed by the challenge foreign media face to enter and work in Nauru as visa applications are expensive and not always successful.
Currently, there is a heavy visa application fee (AUD 8,000 or USD 5,193)) for international media personnel intending to visit Nauru for media-related work, and a letter is required from employers stating the reason for the trip. The fee is non-refundable if the application is unsuccessful. This is likely to dissuade foreign journalists from visiting Nauru to report on issues of international interest.
According to the study, foreign journalists have been refused visas to report in Nauru, including the ABC. The government obstructed foreign reporting on refugees and asylum seekers in Nauru, stating ‘it would hinder their assimilation and progress and cause riots and unrest that local police would struggle to maintain’.
Nauru also does not have a law on the right to information, and Article 12 of the constitution, which protects freedom of expression, permits laws that regulate information obtained by public officers, thus enabling laws that prevent access to government information.