Amnesty International has found a toxic mix of uncertainty, unlawful detention and inhumane conditions creating an increasingly volatile situation on Nauru, with the Australian Government spectacularly failing in its duty of care to asylum seekers.

Following a three-day inspection of the facility, Amnesty International researchers found the facility totally inappropriate and ill-equipped, with 387 men cramped into 5 rows of leaking tents, suffering from physical and mental ailments-creating a climate of anguish as the repressively hot monsoon season begins.

Updated 8 November 2012, 12:13 AEST

The Australian Red Cross says it has sent a small team to Nauru to assess whether it needs to send humanitarian observers there.

The Australian Government has been sending asylum seekers to Nauru since September as part of its new offshore processing policy.

For the past week, about 300 people have reportedly been protesting at the detention centre and refusing food.

The Red Cross's Acting Chief Executive Michael Raper says no ongoing observer role has been determined or negotiated by the organisation.

Refugee advocates in Australia say asylum seekers on Nauru have told them there will be more protests on the island.

Listen: Ian Rintoul from the Refugee Action Coalition in Australia says asylum seekers on Nauru are planning more protests on the island. (Credit: ABC)

Last weekend, as many as 400 people took part in a demonstration demanding to be removed from what they referred to as their "island prison".

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