Earlier this year, the UN Sub committee on the prevention of torture announced a visit to Australian, to inspect detention centres. For those who may not have heard of this committee, I have added the following information about their work available on their website:
“The Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (SPT) is a new kind of treaty body in the United Nations human rights system. It has a preventive mandate focused on a proactive approach to preventing torture and ill treatment.
States that ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture (OPCAT) give the SPT the right to visit their places of detention and examine the treatment of people held there.
The Protocol also obliges States to set up independent National Preventive Mechanisms (NPMs) to examine the treatment of people in detention, make recommendations to government authorities to strengthen protection against torture and comment on existing or proposed legislation. The SPT assists and advises NPMs in their work.”
The highlighted text above is notable, as the UN delegation who are currently in Australia, and who had given Australia significant notice of their intention to visit, the need for the visit, and to inspect detention centres in Australia, means that Australia is in breach of its State obligations. In the context above, the use of the word State (sometimes also referred to as State Party), refers to a country.
The UN Committee are visiting Australia right now, and so far, some Australian states have blocked them from visiting any detention centres.
As Australia is a country that has ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT), and the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, this is clearly a major breach of their obligations.
To have ratified a UN convention, means a country has given the SPT the right to visit their places of detention and examine the treatment of people held there, and to to examine the treatment of people in detention, make recommendations to government authorities to strengthen protection against torture and comment on existing or proposed legislation.
For anyone unsure about what is considered a place of detention, they include institutions or facilities such as jails, juvenile detention facilities, locked aged care facilities, locked dementia units, refugee detention centres, and so on. New Zealand are way ahead f Austrlia, as they nove not only ratified the OPCAT, they began monitoring places of detention, including secure demwntua faciities in NZ, some yers ago.
Come on Aussie, come on, come on. Come on Aussie come on…
Sorry for such a long blog today, but I felt sure anyone interested in t his, would also be interested to read a number of recent media stories about this current travesty of justice:
UN SPT Visit – NSW – It appears NSW opposition to the SPT delegation has still not shifted. As noted in my last email, should the SPT not be granted access they have the option of suspending their visit and making a public statement. Australia’s OPCAT compliance is looked at in totality, even if all the other jurisdictions comply, if NSW fails, we as a State party fail in our obligations.
Let the UN’s light of scrutiny shine on Australia’s prisons and detention regimes
“Prior to the UN delegation’s arrival, some pundits have posted trite comments disparaging the purpose of the inspection, claiming the inspectors were coming to tell us our prison mattresses are too hard and our prison toast is too thin. These are claims often made by people opposed to OPCAT, but they are simply not true.
What these opponents are trying to create is a narrative around Australia somehow ceding sovereignty to unelected nit-picking UN bureaucrats. This line may play well in certain circles, but it is not what is actually happening.
Sadly, the UN visit has also been met with resistance by the NSW government. Already lagging in detention compliance, it has bought into the “anti-UN” narrative by blocking the delegation from inspecting any NSW prisons, arguing that unannounced visits present safety concerns, that the federal government hasn’t agreed to fund the cost of the visit or any upgrades the UN may recommend, and that UN inspections are redundant because there is already local scrutiny in NSW.
The NSW response is disappointing. First, the UN visit is self-funded. Second, no other state government has raised any objections. And third, if existing prison scrutiny in NSW means the UN inspections is redundant, why not let them in and show the rest of Australia how NSW is leading the way?
What compliance with OPCAT actually represents for NSW and other Australian governments is an opportunity for all of us to feel more secure about how we protect the human rights of detainees by agreeing to greater oversight and accountability in our detention regimes.”
UN calls for unlimited access for team inspecting detention facilities
“I would encourage those states, Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland to see this as a way they can really improve their systems. If they had National Preventive Mechanisms, I’m pretty sure the Subcommittee would have delayed their visit, they would have come another time. If you’ve got functioning National Preventive Mechanisms, the need for international oversight is still there, but it’s lessened.” – Alice Edwards
UN calls for unlimited access for team inspecting detention facilities – ABC Radio National
NSW’s refusal to allow UN inspectors in prisons ‘raises questions’, human rights commissioner says
Australia’s human rights commissioner, Lorraine Finlay, has questioned why the New South Wales government was blocking officials from the UN inspecting its jails if it was confident about meeting minimum standards.
She said the NSW move could jeopardise promises made by Australia as part of the UN’s Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture (Opcat) that was ratified by the federal government under former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull in 2017.
“Blocking their visit not only raises questions about whether places of detention in NSW meet the minimum Opcat standards, but also means that Australia is failing to live up to the promises it made to the world when it signed and ratified Opcat,” Finlay said.
“If states are confident that they are meeting minimum standards, they should have no hesitation in cooperation with the UN delegation.
“It means Australia will not be meeting the promises that we made when we signed Opcat. When we make promises to the world, it is important that we keep our word.”
Finlay said all levels of government needed to comply with the visits to ensure the UN could “assess first-hand the conditions of detention in Australia and get an accurate understanding of the extent to which people deprived of their liberty in Australia are treated with dignity”.
UN blocked from unannounced prison inspections
The New South Wales Government is coming under fire for refusing to allow UN inspectors to conduct unannounced prison visits.
The visits are being conducted under the UN’s Optional Protocol on the Prevention of Torture, which Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull signed Australia up to in 2017.
Guest: Lorraine Finlay, Human Rights Commissioner
UN blocked from unannounced prison inspections – ABC Radio National
UN SPT Visit – NSW and QLD Block SPT from visits
- NSW turns visiting UN inspectors away from Queanbeyan detention facility
The New South Wales premier, Dominic Perrottet, has backed the Queensland government’s move to limit United Nations officials from accessing inpatient units as part of their visit under Australia’s commitment to the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture (Opcat).
It comes after NSW blocked access to inspectors at a Queanbeyan facility earlier this week – in line with the state’s stance to prohibit the officials from entering any detention complex across the state.
Perrottet said it was a “great decision”, after Guardian Australia revealed the position of Queensland Health.
On Tuesday night, the inspectors arrived at a facility in Queanbeyan, NSW, and were denied access, the state corrections minister, Geoff Lee, said.
Queensland Health will also prevent the officials from visiting mental health wards where people ordered to undergo treatment or charged with crimes are held, the state health service confirmed to Guardian Australia.
“The officers did the right thing and refused them entry,” he told 2GB.
“The whole role of our our jail system is to keep people safe, protect us from the criminals that we lock up every day. It’s not to allow people just to wander through at their leisure.
“They should be off to Iran looking for human rights violations there.”
A Queensland Health spokesperson said while it supported the subcommittee’s visit, it was bound by the Mental Health Act 2016 to limit inpatient unit access to “certain categories of visitors” for the safety of patients.
“We are supporting the United Nations’ subcommittee’s upcoming visit by facilitating interviews with patients and staff and providing access to documents about our mental health facilities, in line with our legislative and privacy obligations,” the spokesperson said.
“While Queensland Health respects the UNSPT’s remit and will support the visit as far as lawfully permissible, these requirements mean that Queensland Health is not able to lawfully permit physical access to inpatient units.”
Queensland has known for five years that the inspections would occur and changed some laws to provide for access, as other jurisdictions around Australia have done.
Queensland Corrective Services said it was “committed to the humane containment, supervision and rehabilitation of prisoners and offenders” and had issued authority for “unrestricted access of the UNSPT delegation to all corrective services facilities managed by QCS”.
NSW turns visiting UN inspectors away from Queanbeyan detention facility | Prisons | The Guardian
- Legislative Assembly Hansard – 19 October 2022 (NSW)
Ms JENNY LEONG (Newtown) (14:48): My question is directed to the Premier. Why is New South Wales the only jurisdiction in Australia blocking the United Nations Subcommittee on the Prevention of Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment access to prisons in the State. What is the Premier hiding and what does he not want the subcommittee to see?
The SPEAKER: Order! I call the member for Baulkham Hills to order for the second time.
Mr DOMINIC PERROTTET (Epping—Premier) (14:49): I thank the member for Newtown for her question. I assure her that the New South Wales prison system is the strongest in the country. Our prison system is there ultimately to do one thing, and that is to keep the great people of New South Wales safe. That is what our prison system is there to achieve. I thank our corrections officers for the work they have done and do every day. In addition, I thank them for what they have done during COVID, where they have dealt with more challenging situations and conditions within prisons. They have done an outstanding job. It is an area of the public service that does not get the credit they deserve.
Legislative Assembly Hansard – 19 October 2022 – Proof (nsw.gov.au)
- Corrections Minister slams UN officials’ surprise visit to NSW jail cells [note, I have added some personal comments in some areas below!)
Corrections Minister Geoff Lee has slammed the United Nations prison inspectors for turning up to a NSW courthouse.
Seven UN representatives were turned away from accessing the jail cells at the Queanbeyan Courthouse because they didn’t have prior approval.
Government sources have told The Daily Telegraph the inspectors said there will be “grave consequences” for the NSW Government.
When asked if the government is concerned Minister Lee told Ben Fordham “absolutely not”.
“We’ve got nothing to hide.” [they must have something to hide, or they would have allowed visitation.]
“It’s really unnecessary for the UN to demand to come and demand to get into our jails.” [wrong, as many human rights are beign denied to people in detention]
“Why should our taxpayers foot the bill for the UN to come to Australia?” [Australia has not footed the bill!]
Corrections Minister slams UN officials’ surprise visit to NSW jail cells – 2GB
- Statement of concern: NSW not facilitating prison inspections by UN Committee
A statement of concern from the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC), Community Legal Centres NSW, Human Rights Law Centre (HRLC), Amnesty International Australia, Aboriginal Legal Service (NSW/ACT), First People’s Disability Network Australia (FPDNA) and Change the Record.
We are concerned about reports that the NSW Government is refusing to allow the visiting United Nations Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment to access NSW prisons and youth detention centres.
The UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture is visiting Australia as part of Australia’s commitment to the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
We encourage the NSW Government to cooperate with the UN Subcommittee in line with Australia’s commitment to the Protocol. NSW is reportedly the only State or Territory not cooperatively facilitating inspections of its prisons by the UN Subcommittee.
Our clients have been subjected to solitary confinement in circumstances that have impacted upon their mental health, and have been denied access to medical care in NSW’s youth detention centres and prisons. The UN Subcommittee must be provided access to these places of detention to be able to assess the conditions and treatment of prisoners.
We call on the NSW Government to fully cooperate with the UN OPCAT delegation.
South Australia – No OPCAT Bill without Commonwealth Funding
- Tuesday, 18 October 2022 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
OPTIONAL PROTOCOL TO THE CONVENTION AGAINST TORTURE
The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK (15:03): My questions are to the Attorney-General regarding the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Can the Attorney advise whether the government supports and will be reintroducing the lapsed bill and, if so, when; and has he been briefed about this matter?
The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (15:03): I thank the honourable member for her question and her interest in this area and, as the former minister that I think was responsible for the youth detention centre, she would be aware of some of the issues around OPCAT and the protocols. We are examining the bill that the former government introduced. The problem with the bill that the former government introduced wasn’t in the bill itself, it was that there wasn’t any funding to see it implemented at all.
At the most recent meeting of attorneys-general a couple of months ago, all, I think from memory, Attorneys from around Australia were united in their view that it is a worthwhile thing to introduce changes to implement the OPCAT protocols, but that as it was a federal government who signed the convention the federal government ought to provide funding.
OPTIONAL PROTOCOL TO THE CONVENTION AGAINST TORTURE
The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK (15:04): Supplementary question: is the implementation or reintroduction of legislation contingent on funding from the federal government?
The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (15:05): I thank the honourable member for her supplementary question. We can’t bring into force operational issues that are not funded. I think that’s the almost unanimous position of other states, that there is funding required from the federal government before states can operationalise what is required under OPCAT.
Certainly, there is a body of work that the commonwealth is leading to have a look at the existing measures that various states have in terms of visiting schemes and how far they go to satisfy the OPCAT protocols, but it would be disingenuous to introduce and pass legislation without having the necessary funding that the states and territories are awaiting from the commonwealth.
OPTIONAL PROTOCOL TO THE CONVENTION AGAINST TORTURE
The Hon. L.A. CURRAN (15:05): Supplementary question: has the minister undertaken steps to obtain that funding from his federal counterpart?
The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (15:06): Yes.
https://hansardsearch.parliament.sa.gov.au/daily/uh/2022-10-18/pdf/download (Page 1095)
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