25 Sep 2014

Attempt to hold G4S accountable for alleged PNG violations

8:41 pm on 25 September 2014

A rights group says the G4S security company needs to be held accountable for alleged human rights violations in the Manus Island detention centre in Papua New Guinea.

The Melbourne-based Human Rights Law Centre joined a British NGO in lodging a complaint under the OECD's Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.

The complaint alleges G4S participated in violence against asylum seekers when riots broke out at the centre in February and an asylum seeker was killed.

It also says detention on Manus is a violation of international human rights law and conditions under G4S' watch were cruel and inhumane.

G4S says the complaints refer largely to matters over which they had no direct control.

However the HRLC's Rachel Ball says G4S remains complicit.

"The fact that the Australian government also bears responsibility for the detention, for conditions and for the violence that took place on Manus Islands, doesn't excuse G4S from it's own obligations. The fact is that companies shouldn't be entering into contracts that will inevitably lead to serious human rights violations."