Australia and Torture

Torture Shadow Report

Australia’s Third Report under the Convention against Torture ('CAT') was sent to the United Nations on 25 May 2005. The report details how Australia is complying with its international obligations under the Convention.

The UN Committee against Torture published its Concluding Observations at its 40th Session in April/May 2008 in Geneva. The Torture Committee recommended:

a full review of Australia's supermax prisons
the abolition of Australia's policy of mandatory immigration detention
a review of terrorism laws
a referendum to enshrine a Bill of Rights into the Australian Constitution.

Read CCL's media release "UN Torture Committee Blasts Australia" (17 May 2008).

Members of CCL attended the 39th session (November 2007), which Australia failed to attend. That meeting was also attended by delegates from other Australian NGOs, including Amnesty International Australia, Australian Lawyers for Human Rights and Human Rights Law Resource Centre.

Australia's Third Report fails to mention:

Australia’s involvement in the abuse in coalition-run Iraqi prisons (like Abu Ghraib)
the serious allegations of torture made by David Hicks & Mamdouh Habib
the extent of human rights abuses and mental health issues in immigration detention centres.

In July 2007, the NSW Council for Civil Liberties sent a ‘Shadow Report’ to the UN Committee against Torture. In September 2007, CCL also released an Addendum to the Shadow Report about conditions in the Supermax prison at Goulburn. The Shadow Report gives the UN Committee an alternative view of Australia's compliance under the Torture Convention.

In our Shadow Report, CCL calls for:

a full Royal Commission into the actions of Australian officials with respect to Mamdouh Habib and David Hicks
a separate independent inquiry into what Australian officials knew about Abu Ghraib and what they did to protect the victims
a referendum to enshrine in our Constitution the absolute prohibition on torture.

CCL is also critical that Australia has not ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture.

You can also read CCL's media release (3 August 2007).

Other Shadow Reports

The National Association of Community Legal Centres and the Human Rights Law Resource Centre have prepared two shadow reports:

Factsheets

The delegation of Australian NGOs attending the 39th session of the Committee Against Torture, have prepared a series of short 'factsheets'. The factsheets are brief summaries of the major issues to be raised with the Committee.