A/HRC/35/25/Add.3 80. The forced offshore confinement (although not necessarily detention anymore) in which asylum seekers and refugees are maintained constitutes cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment according to international human rights law standards. Australia would vehemently protest if such treatment were inflicted by any other State on Australian citizens, and in particular on Australian children. 81. Ultimately, Australia has the responsibility to settle or resettle refugees presently in the regional processing centres in Nauru and Papua New Guinea. Any agreement regarding third-country resettlement must be meaningful — in terms of numbers, timeliness and opportunities to rebuild lives — and must adhere to Australia’s international humanitarian and human rights obligations. The Government should take family linkages and individual vulnerabilities into account and provide appropriate protection to particular vulnerable migrants. 82. Terminating the offshore processing policy, quickly closing down the regional processing centres in Papua New Guinea and Nauru and repatriating all asylum seekers and refugees to the Australian mainland seems to be the only possible short-term solution if Australia is to remedy the systemic human rights violations that this policy creates. 2. Complaints against service providers in immigration detention centres and regional processing centres 83. The internal complaint mechanism within the regional processing centres concerning abusive behaviour by service providers and guards does not provide sufficient guarantees of a due and independent investigation. The Special Rapporteur was informed that, after a sexual assault is reported to a centre’s management, the perpetrators are often transferred to a different regional processing centre without investigation and prosecution. To his knowledge, none of the alleged perpetrators have been convicted so far. As a result, most of the single women marry or have a boyfriend in order to get themselves some sort of protection. 84. Australia must ensure that reports of abuse in the regional processing centres are investigated by an independent mechanism and that persons found guilty are held accountable. C. Human rights defenders 85. The Special Rapporteur was particularly impressed with the energy, imagination, dedication and commitment of civil society organizations working with migrants — with or without contracts with the Australian authorities — to deliver integration programmes and services to them. Their intimate knowledge of the migrants’ difficult journeys, complex life conditions and numerous aspirations for the future — coming from years of engaging with them — have allowed them to provide a refined analysis, very relevant conclusions and most welcome recommendations regarding changes in policy and practice. The Special Rapporteur urges the Australian authorities to increase funding and material support to such organizations. 86. Civil society organizations, whistleblowers, trade unionists, teachers, social workers and lawyers, among many others, may face criminal charges under the Australian Border Force Act for speaking out and denouncing the violations of the rights of migrants. The Special Rapporteur welcomes the fact that health professionals have recently been excluded from these provisions and hopes that this will also extend to other service providers who are working to defend the rights of migrants in a vulnerable situation. 16