(MENAFN- The Conversation) From October 16 to 27, United Nations will pay a to look at some of the hidden corners of Australian society.
A UN torture prevention subcommittee will be making to various places of detention. These could include adult prisons, youth detention facilities, immigration detention centres, Police cells, mental health institutions, and secure welfare facilities.
It will be looking for opportunities to prevent abuse and improve conditions of detention.
The visit will place international pressure on Australia to finally move forward with its commitments under the , on which the country has been dragging its feet.
It's also a unique opportunity for Australians to see what's happening behind closed doors and to demand better transparency, accountability, and treatment of vulnerable citizens.
Preventing harm
The subcommittee is a that supports UN member states to prevent torture and mistreatment.
It has a right to unannounced visits to examine the treatment of people in prisons and other places of detention in countries that have signed the anti-torture protocol.
The subcommittee can .
The anti-torture protocol signifies a commitment to establish independent monitoring bodies, called“national preventive mechanisms”. The bodies can freely access all places of detention, make recommendations, and engage in constructive dialogue to facilitate changes that prevent harm, mistreatment, and human rights abuses. Each state and territory, as well as the federal government, is expected to have its own monitoring body.
Like the subcommittee, the Australian monitoring bodies can show up completely unannounced so they can see what conditions are like when facilities haven't been given advance notice.
These kinds of inspections are a powerful tool for transparency and accountability within sectors that typically operate behind closed doors.
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Australia dragging its feet
Unfortunately, Australia has not upheld its commitment.
Australia first signed the anti-torture protocol in 2009 and ratified it in 2017, joining .
After postponing the 2018 deadline to establish monitoring bodies and missing the latest deadline in January 2022, the UN reluctantly granted Australia another .
So far, the federal government and the governments of Western Australia, Tasmania and the ACT have identified who will comprise their monitoring bodies. But New South Wales, Queensland, and Victoria have resisted until federal funding is confirmed.
By January 23 2023, all states and territories are required to have a monitoring body that's fully compliant with the requirements laid out by the anti-torture protocol.
The apparent reason for the delay is a between the federal government and state and territory governments. The latter are responsible for nominating and coordinating their own jurisdictional monitoring bodies.
It's hoped the subcommittee visit will speed up the implementation of the anti-torture protocol.
People deprived of liberty are vulnerable
Australia's delay in establishing a monitoring body has been described as an .
Prisons and other places of detention house some of our most vulnerable citizens. According to the in 2018:
40% of people in Australian prisons had a pre-existing mental illness 65% had used illicit drugs in the past year 21% had a history of self-harm 30% had a chronic illness and 29% had a disability.
What's more, in Australian prisons in 2020-21 were self-inflicted.
The statistics are similar in and .
These vulnerabilities make people extremely susceptible to the physical and psychological harms of mistreatment.
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Human rights abuses
Australia has an abysmal reputation when it comes to protecting the health and human rights of those in detention. A few examples of the conditions people may be subjected to include:
including assault, unjustified use of force, bribery, solitary confinement, and inadequate and .
Despite from the 2017 Royal Commission into the Detention and Protection of Children in the Northern Territory, the following are still commonly reported in youth detention across Australia:
concerns over the the in police custody and extended periods of lockdown and .
Disproportionate harm
These conditions disproportionately affect . They are around than non-Indigenous people to be detained in prison and to be detained in the youth justice system. This is largely due to the ongoing impacts of colonisation, , and over-policing.
There have been Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander deaths in custody since the royal commission into the issue.
The anti-torture protocol ensures governments are accountable to the unique needs of all people deprived of liberty, including , , and .
A different future
Australia has a when it comes to human rights in places of detention. Our future can, and must, be better.
The subcommittee's visit should be a catalyst for establishing routine, independent monitoring that Australia has committed to under the anti-torture protocol.
It signals change towards collaborative, open discussion about the prevention of harm, mistreatment, and human rights abuses in all places where people are deprived of their liberty.
The authors would like to acknowledge the contributions of the following people who provided input on this article: Daphne Arapakis of Koorie Youth Council, Tiffany Overall of YouthLaw, and Fergus Peace of Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service.