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Nauru is a small island country in the South Pacific. With a population of 9,322 it is the world’s least populous independent republic. Nauru’s government is based around its constitution, part two of which contains ‘protection of fundamental rights and freedoms.' The Human Rights Council (UNHRC) carried out Nauru’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in January 2011. The review was generally favourable with only a few areas of concern.

Human Rights Treaties
Nauru became a member of the United Nations on 14 September 1999. Of the nine core human rights treaties Nauru has only acceded to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). The Convention Against Torture (CAT) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) along with the Optional Protocol were both signed on 12 November 2001 but are yet to be ratified. Nauru stated that the burden of reporting, specifically the financial cost, was a significant factor behind their low rate of participation in international human rights instruments.

Due to Australia’s use of the Nauru Detention Centre for housing asylum seekers many states recommended in the UPR that Nauru ratify the 1951 United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. The signing process was begun on 17 June 2011 and is expected to take around 90 days to complete. Nauru also accepted recommendations to ratify the ICCPR, CAT, and CEDAW but these have not yet been acted upon.

Proposed Constitutional Amendments
In 2009 the Nauruan Parliament passed a bill to amend part II of the Constitution. The amendment proposed extending the protection of the rights of disabled persons, the environment and children as well as recognising the right to receive healthcare, education and maternity leave in the Constitution. The amendment failed to gain the required two-thirds approval in a referendum held on 27 February 2010. The Constitutional Review Committee, a Standing Committee of Parliament, aims to explore alternative formats for a subsequent referendum.

National Human Rights Institution
Nauru has no national human rights institution. However, in November 2009 Nauru invited a delegation to visit the country and advise the government on the potential establishment of a national human rights mechanism. Delegates included representatives from the Asia Pacific Forum and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). Several states noted in the UPR that since the delegation Nauru had not taken further steps to establish a human rights institution and recommended that this be addressed. Nauru accepted these recommendations but cited resources and expertise as their ‘biggest obstacles’ in pursuit of this goal and stated that the funding of other institutions took precedence.