I’m a member of the Australian OPCAT Network, and with permission, am posting a revised version of the contents of an email from the network here.
As people with dementia living in residential aged care which they are locked in, and segregated, they too are living in places of detention, hence my interest in OPCAT. In fact, my late father in law regularly asked us why we had locked him in jail and for people with dementia, it really is time to unlock the doors.
A revised OPCAT Network update:
The day has been and now passed, and what should have been a celebration of the advancement of human rights protections in Australia has become a day of deep disappointment, shame and even anger.
Despite the extended deadline for our OPCAT compliance, the Australian Human Rights Commissioner noted this morning ‘Australia has a long way to go to meet our minimum OPCAT obligations.’
Read the NPM-Network-Joint-Statement
Media covering the missed deadline:
Australia needs to deliver on our treaty promises.
Australia misses another deadline to implement international anti-torture treaty – ABC News
Australia fails to meet anti-torture deadline | Public Interest Advocacy Centre (piac.asn.au)
Australia’s human rights failures are in the global spotlight – Croakey Health Media
Australia falling behind on OPCAT obligations
Joint Statement from the Australian NPM on the missed deadline
“Australia’s NPM is firmly committed to our work. An NPM plays an important role in identifying risk of ill-treatment and making recommendations for improvements to tackle some of the most challenging detention-related issues facing Australia. This includes, the treatment of children, people with disability and First Nations people. Where they have not yet done so, we call on all Australian governments to appoint NPMs, to legislate their role and powers, and to resource them to fully discharge their mandate to carry out preventive visits to places of detention.”
While the joint statement is obviously welcome, there seems to be an emerging trend of not reaching full consensus within the Australian NPM on statements/submissions.
Looking back at the last four statements/submissions, here are the NPM bodies who chose note to co-endorse them:
20 January 2023 – WA Ombudsman, SA Principal Community Visitor, SA Official Visitors
11 January 2023 – WA Ombudsman, SA Principal Community Visitor
18 November 2022 – WA Ombudsman, SA Principal Community Visitor, NT Ombudsman, Tasmanian NPM
26 October 2022 – SA Principal Community Visitor, SA Official Visitors
The Commonwealth Ombudsman published a terms of reference for the work of the Australian NPM which notes that ‘participation (in joint statements) is on an ‘opt in’ basis.’
Monitor and publishing of joint statements will continue of those bodies who are not ‘opting in’, hopefully they will reconsider their position or choose to clarify why they are not opting in.
In the words of Chris Field (WA Ombudsman and President of the International Ombudsman Institute) “OPCAT is an incredibly powerful mechanism to prevent human rights violations. It is truly a system of human rights ennobled and enabled.” The full Australian NPM is encouraged to embrace this sentiment in action (not just word) if it is to establish a singular identity as the Australian NPM.
First Annual Report of the Commonwealth NPM
The Commonwealth Ombudsman has today published its first Annual Report as the Commonwealth NPM. I encourage you to read the report and in particular the introduction from Ben Buckland of the APT.
Some points of interest from the report:
- Unauthorised use of fire extinguishers against detainees on Christmas Island (p22)
- 5 reported uses of spit hoods (unfortunately no recommendation to discontinue their use) (p23)
- Confirmation of ‘maggots’ in food at Park Hotel APOD and noted indifference from Serco staff (p25-26)
- Drug infiltration and substance misuse in immigration detention (particularly Villawood IDC) (p27-28)
- Notable funding issues for Commonwealth NPM (p43)
Commonwealth National Preventive Mechanism Report 2021-22 (ombudsman.gov.au)
Where to from here?
As the media report from the ABC suggests, funding still remains the sticking point especially for NSW, QLD and Victoria:
In a statement, New South Wales Attorney-General Mark Speakman said the state had provided the Commonwealth with a breakdown of anticipated costings. “The NSW government has consistently indicated that it supports OPCAT in principle, subject to the resolution of ongoing operational (including security) and funding issues with the Commonwealth,” a spokesperson said.
The Victorian government echoed those sentiments. “We and other jurisdictions have been clear that the Commonwealth’s ratification of OPCAT imposes additional separate obligations on states and territories, and that a sufficient and ongoing funding commitment from the Commonwealth is essential to deliver on these obligations,” a spokesperson said.
Queensland Attorney-General Shannon Fentiman’s office said the matter was “subject to discussions with the Commonwealth government which are ongoing”.
The UN SPT will now meet for its next session between 6-10 February 2023 and will consider both the resumption/termination of the visit to Australia as well as our overall compliance and whether to take actions to place Australia on the Article 17 non-compliance list.
You must be logged in to post a comment.