Ties between the two countries went sour in 2018 when Australia became the first nation to publicly ban Huawei from China on its 5G network and worsened when Australia last year called for an investigation into the origins of the new coronavirus.
In a statement to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, China claimed that detention centers “fall short of adequate medical conditions, where large numbers of immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers have been detained for a long period of time. or even indefinitely, and their human rights have been violated. “
You did not specify any locations, describing them as “third countries”. Asylum seekers intercepted at sea en route to Australia are sent for “processing” in Papua New Guinea or on the island of Nauru in the South Pacific.
The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside normal working hours.
China itself has long faced accusations that it operates detention centers, with UN experts and human rights groups estimating that it has detained more than a million people in its Xinjiang region, mainly Uighurs and other Muslim minorities, in a vast system. of fields.
China described the camps as vocational centers designed to combat extremism.
“We urge Australia to immediately close all offshore detention centers and take concrete measures to protect the rights of immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers, especially children,” said China in its statement, presented on behalf of a group of non-member countries. identified.
He also urged Australia to carry out “comprehensive and fair investigations” in reported cases of “serious war crimes” committed by Australian soldiers abroad.
An Australian inquiry published in November said Australian special forces were suspected of killing 39 unarmed prisoners and civilians in Afghanistan between 2005 and 2016, drawing criticism from China’s Foreign Ministry.