The UN announced on Monday, October 24, that it had suspended its anti-torture mission in Australia, after its inspectors were prevented from visiting several prisons and detention centers on the island continent.
UN inspectors - who have visited prisons under a voluntary agreement to prevent cruelty to detainees - said they took the "
drastic decision
" after being denied access to "
several places where people are detained
" as well as "
adequate information and documents
", despite their requests.
'No excuses'
Chief Inspector Aisha Muhammad, Supreme Court Justice in the Maldives, said Australia was "
in clear breach
" of its international obligations.
“
Despite our many efforts to explain our preventive mission, it was clearly not understood
,” she lamented.
Only three other countries - Rwanda, Azerbaijan and Ukraine - have seen UN anti-torture missions suspended or postponed.
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Australia ratified the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture (OPCAT) in 2017, committing the country to reforms protecting detainees and subjecting facilities to inspections.
"
There is no excuse really
" to explain "
why the delegation was obstructed
," Steven Caruana, who coordinated Australia's compliance monitoring body, told AFP.
“
Australia has had almost five years to prepare for this visit.
Australia will now have to answer for this embarrassing debacle before the UN Committee Against Torture
,” he said.
This refusal is explained by a disagreement between the federal government and the Australian states responsible for applying the Convention.
Human rights violations
New South Wales and Queensland, two states in eastern Australia, have called for more federal government funding.
The first, the most populous in the country, refused UN inspectors access to a small prison, according to the UN delegation.
The second banned them from visiting inpatient units inside mental health facilities, according to the Queensland Department of Health.
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Australian prisons, youth detention centers and immigration complexes are regularly accused of human rights abuses, particularly against Aboriginal communities.
Australia has until January 2023 to meet its obligations.
There are no penalties for missing that deadline, but the country could be placed on a list of non-compliant nations that raise significant human rights concerns.