Australia accused of ‘clear breach’ of human rights obligations

Australia has committed a “clear breach” of its obligations under a worldwide anti-torture protocol, according to a United Nations committee.

The country’s “human rights reputation is in jeopardy”, said The Guardian, after UN officials cut short their visit when they were denied access to prisons in New South Wales (NSW) and medical facilities in Queensland.

The UN’s Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) said its visit “had been compromised to such an extent that they had no other option but to suspend it”, adding that “this is not a decision that the SPT has taken lightly”.

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Some 91 nations have ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT) agreement. The SPT’s decision means Australia joins Azerbaijan, Ukraine and Rwanda as the only countries to fail to provide full and unconstrained access to facilities.

Human rights groups have called the development an “international embarrassment”, said ABC News, but an NSW Corrective Services spokesperson said the UN representatives were “refused entry without incident” to the jails and other institutions “as they did not have prior approval”.

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet was also “unapologetic”, said Reuters. At a press conference he said his state had the highest standards and an independent process that oversees its jail system. “We are a sovereign country in our own right and we have a high standard when it comes to correctional facilities,” he said.

However, said the Australia OPCAT Network, visits are supposed to be unannounced to provide a “distortion-free” picture “to help ascertain the real situation of persons deprived of their liberty”.

The protocol specifies that “states are under the obligation to allow the SPT unannounced and unhindered visits to all places where persons are deprived of their liberty”.