Australia is violating UN torture convention

UN accuses Australia of systematically violating torture convention

Tony Abbott reacts angrily to report criticising Australia’s detention policies, saying Australians are ‘sick of being lectured to by the United Nations’

Nauru children asylum seekers protest on Australia Day. The UN has found that their detention breaches the Convention Against Torture. Photograph: Supplied

the Guardian,

9 March, 2015

Australia is systematically violating the international Convention Against Torture by detaining children in immigration detention, and holding asylum seekers in dangerous and violent conditions on Manus Island, a United Nations report has found.

But the prime minister, Tony Abbott, reacted angrily to the scathing findings, saying Australians were “sick of being lectured to by the United Nations”.

The United Nations special rapporteur on torture, Juan Mendez, has investigated allegations of torture and abuse of 68 countries, in a report to be delivered to the UN Human Rights Council on Monday.

The section on Australia is concerned entirely with the treatment of asylum seekers in immigration detention.

“The government of Australia, by failing to provide adequate detention conditions; end the practice of detention of children; and put a stop to the escalating violence and tension at the regional processing centre, has violated the right of the asylum seekers including children to be free from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment,” Mendez’s report said.

Two asylum seekers on Manus Island, referred to as Mr A and Mr B, allege they were tied to chairs by security staff and threatened with “physical violence, rape, and prosecution for ‘becoming aggressive’” if they refused to retract statements they had made to police about the murder of Reza Barati during detention centre riots.

Mendez’s report found those men’s rights were also breached.

“The rapporteur concludes that there is substance in the allegations presented in the initial communication, reiterated above, and thus, that the government of Australia, by failing to provide any additional information or details of the investigation into Mr A’s and Mr B’s allegations, has violated their right to be free from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.”

And Mendez found that two government amendments to immigration legislation both risk violating international law prohibiting torture.

“The Migration and Maritime Powers Legislation Amendment ... violates the Convention Against Torture because it allows for the arbitrary detention and refugee determination at sea, without access to lawyers. The Migration Amendment (Character and General Visa Cancellation Bill) violates the CAT because it tightens control on the issuance of visas on the basis of character and risk assessments.”

When asked about the report on Monday, Abbott said the UN’s representatives “would have a lot more credibility if they were to give some credit to the Australian government” for stopping dangerous boat journeys by asylum seekers.

“I really think Australians are sick of being lectured to by the United Nations, particularly given that we have stopped the boats, and by stopping the boats, we have ended the deaths at sea,” the prime minister said during a media conference in Western Australia.

“The most humanitarian, the most decent, the most compassionate thing you can do is stop these boats because hundreds, we think about 1,200 in fact, drowned at sea during the flourishing of the people smuggling trade under the former government.

“The best thing you can do to uphold the universal decencies of mankind, the best thing that you can do to ensure that the best values of our world are realised is to stop the boats and that’s exactly what we have done.”

Asked again whether he accepted the UN’s findings about Manus Island, Abbott said the conditions were “reasonable under all the circumstances” and “all of the basic needs of the people on Manus Island are being met”.

“Everyone’s needs for food, for clothing, for shelter, for safety are being more than met, thanks to the good work of the PNG government, the Australian government and the people who are running the centre,” he said.

Abbott’s criticism of the UN follows his claim the Australian Human Rights Commission, in particular its president, professor Gillian Triggs, acted in a “blatantly partisan” way with its inquiry into children in immigration detention.

The immigration minister, Peter Dutton, has also been contacted for comment on the UN report.

The 31-year-old United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment is one of the most widely-supported conventions in the world. Some 157 countries are parties to the convention.

Australia ratified the treaty in 1989, and is legally bound by it.

The director of legal advocacy with the Human Rights Law Centre, Daniel Webb, said the UN report confirmed that Australia’s offshore processing policy was failing to meet basic human rights standards, and that new legislation would risk further breaches of international law.

“Under international law, Australia can’t lock people up incommunicado on a boat somewhere in the middle of the ocean. Nor can we return people to a place where they face the risk of being tortured. Yet these are precisely the powers the government has sought to give itself through recent amendments to its maritime law.”

Australia relied on international law and to protect its own interests, Webb said.

“So it’s incredibly short-sighted for the government to start thumbing its nose at the UN system just because it doesn’t like what it’s being told.”

Ben Pynt from Humanitarian Research Partners said the government was simply attempting to sweep torture allegations “under the rug”.

“The prime minister has attempted to discredit the special rapporteur on torture in the same way as he attacked Professor Triggs, as biased and disreputable. What he did not do is counter the evidence provided or in any way attempt to disprove the allegations of torture, which the global authority on torture found to be substantiated.”

The special rapporteur’s report addresses allegations of torture and inhumane treatment in 68 countries. It criticises, as well, the United States for holding a mentally ill man on death row for 30 years, and raises concerns with the UK over several proposed deportations.

Papua New Guinea did not respond to inquiries from the UN over its handling of the Manus detention centre.

Australia is currently actively lobbying for a seat on the Human Rights Council, in the ballot to take place in 2017.

The foreign minister, Julie Bishop told Fairfax Australia’s bid was “consistent with our nation’s history of promoting and protecting human rights”.

“We abide by our international obligations and we are confident that our experience and our commitment to human rights protection and promotion makes us a strong contender for the UNHRC.”

Shadow minister for immigration Richard Marles described the prime minister’s attack as “absurd”.

“Instead of launching a cheap attack on the report’s author, Tony Abbott should be providing an assurance that all the processing facilities Australia funds are run in a safe, humane and proper manner.”

The last Labor government re-opened the Manus Island detention centre in November 2012.

Tony Abbott: Australians 'sick of being lectured to' by United Nations, after report finds anti-torture breach

SMH,

10 March, 2015

Australians are "sick of being lectured to by the United Nations", Prime Minister Tony Abbott has said after a report found Australia's treatment of asylum seekers breaches an international anti-torture convention.

Mr Abbott's criticism of the UN follows his attack last month of Australian Human Rights Commission President Gillian Triggs, in which he called the report she commissioned on children in detention a "political stitch-up". 

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has rejected a report from the UN that says Australia has breached its obligations on the anti-torture convention. Photo: Andrew Meares

The United Nations report, by the UN's special rapporteur on torture, finds Australia is violating the rights of asylum seekers on multiple fronts under the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

Special rapporteur on torture Juan Mendez found the detention of children, escalating violence in offshore processing centres, and the detention and proposed deportation of two groups of Sri Lankan and Tamil asylum seekers were in breach of Australia's international obligations.

The report, which will be tabled at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Monday, has been rejected outright by the government.

A picture drawn by children detained on Christmas Island: The UN has questioned whether Australia's treatment of children is in breach of the anti-torture convention. Photo: Australian Human Rights Commission Flickr Page, CC BY-ND

In extraordinary comments on Monday afternoon, Mr Abbott attacked the UN and said its representatives would "have a lot more credibility if they were to give some credit to the Australian government" for stopping boat arrivals.

"I really think Australians are sick of being lectured to by the United Nations, particularly, particularly given that we have stopped the boats, and by stopping the boats, we have ended the deaths at sea," Mr Abbott said.

"The most humanitarian, the most decent, the most compassionate thing you can do is stop these boats because hundreds, we think about 1200 in fact, drowned at sea during the flourishing of the people smuggling trade under the former government."

Two asylum seekers, one with an eye injury, leave Manus Island airport following the detention centre violence in which Reza Barati was killed in 2014. Photo: Nick Moir

Mr Abbott said the best thing the government could do to "uphold the universal decencies of mankind" was to stop boat arrivals.

"And that's exactly what we've done," he said.

"I think the UN's representatives would have a lot more credibility if they were to give some credit to the Australian government for what we've been able to achieve in this area." 

Tony Abbott at Houghton Wines in the Swan Valley, Perth, where he questioned the UN report. Photo: James Money

The comments escalate the Abbott government's assault on bodies that oversee human rights.

Last month, the government made a series of personal attacks on Professor Triggs, the President of the Australian Human Rights Commission – Australia's human rights watchdog.

Mr Abbott branded a commission report on children in detention that revealed alarmingly high rates of sexual and physical abuse a "transparent stitch-up" and Attorney-General George Brandis said he had asked Professor Triggs to resign.

Illustration: Ron Tandberg

Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said on Monday the government "rejects the views of the special rapporteur that the treatment of illegal maritime arrivals in detention breaches international conventions".

"Australia is meeting all its international obligations and with other regional nations provides a range of services to people who have attempted to enter Australia illegally," Mr Dutton said.

Mr Mendez says in his report that the Abbott government had failed to adequately address concerns raised under the convention about four specific incidents.

Among the concerns raised was that escalating violence on Manus Island, and the "intimidation and ill-treatment of two asylum seekers" who gave statements about last year's violent clash at the centre was in breach of the convention.

The report also finds that recent changes to the Maritime Powers Act to give the government the power to detain asylum seekers at sea and return them violated the convention.

Mr Abbott said on Monday that the needs of all asylum seekers on Manus Island "for food, for clothing, for shelter, for safety are being more than met".

"The conditions on Manus Island are reasonable under all the circumstances. All of the basic needs of the people on Manus Island are being met and, as I said, I think the UN would be much better served by giving credit to the Australian government for what has been achieved in terms of stopping the boats," Mr Abbott said.

As a result of the government's failure to "sufficiently" answer questions, Mr Mendez concludes in his report that "the government fails to fully and expeditiously cooperate" with the Human Rights Council's mandate.

He said Australia was not complying with its international legal obligations to promptly investigate and prosecute acts of torture or cruel or degrading treatment.

Labor said on Monday the Prime Minister was "absurd" for attacking a globally respected organisation for not giving more credit to his government.

"Instead of launching a cheap attack on the report's author – Tony Abbott should be providing an assurance that all the processing facilities Australia funds are run in a safe, humane and proper manner," Labor's immigration spokesman Richard Marles said.

"A critical part of that is ensuring Australian-funded facilities process people's refugee claims without delay."

Human Rights Law Centre director of legal advocacy Daniel Webb said the report made it clear Australia's policies and actions were in breach of international law.

"The government always assures the Australian people that it complies with its international human rights obligations. But here we have the United Nations once again, in very clear terms , telling the government that Australia's asylum seeker policies are in breach of international law," Mr Webb said.

"Australia signed up to the Convention Against Torture 30 years ago. We did so because as a nation we agreed with the important minimum standards of treatment it guaranteed. Yet here we are 30 years on, knowingly breaching those standards and causing serious damage to our reputation."

Human rights lawyer Greg Barns says he is working with Tasmanian independent MP Andrew Wilkie on seeking that the International Criminal Court launch an investigation into crimes against humanity by members of the Abbott government in relation to the treatment of asylum seekers.