By Angus Watson and Hilary Whiteman, CNN
The U. N. Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) on Sunday suspended its visit to Australian prisons, citing the lack of cooperation from officials who denied them to some detention centers.
In a statement, the SPT said it had been prevented from entering some posts where other people were detained and, in some cases, had not obtained “all applicable data and documents” they had requested.
“Since the OPCAT applies to all federal states without limitations or exceptions, it is considered that 4 years after ratifying the Optional Protocol, Australia appears to have done little for the consistent implementation of OPCAT obligations across the country,” said the head of the 4-person delegation, Aisha Shujune Muhammad.
Australia is one of 91 signatories to the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT), which targets the human rights of detainees.
The OPCAT had planned to make a stopover in the country’s services in 2020 to ensure compliance, but it was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Australia also postponed key needs of the agreement, adding the creation of an independent torture prevention monitoring body, officially known as the National Mechanism for the Prevention of Torture (NPM), according to the UN subcommittee.
Officials eventually arrived in the country for the start of the 12-day trip scheduled for Oct. 16, but encountered unrest in some places in Queensland and New South Wales (NSW).
Police officers were barred from entering a detention centre in Queanbeyan, New South Wales, said state prison minister Geoff Lee, who praised his paintings in an interview with local radio.
“We don’t torture people,” he told radio station 2GB. “Why do I help taxpayers. . . to pay the UN bill coming to Australia?Wouldn’t it be better if they went to places like Iran?
The factor is a long-standing dispute over who pays for innovations made in Australian services as a result of any advice made through the UN: states need the government to foot the bill.
On Monday, Australia’s attorney general Mark Dreyfus said the UN resolution was “disappointing” and the country remained committed to the deal.
“The suspension of the scale does not replace the Australian government’s commitment to publicity and human rights locally and internationally,” he said.
The Australian Centre for Human Rights on Monday issued a signature through 79 rights advocates and advocacy groups, calling on the state governments of New South Wales and Queensland to fully comply with the country’s external obligations to prevent torture.
New South Wales Premier Dominic Perrottet said state prisons meet “the world’s criteria” and that independent processes are in a position to monitor conditions.
In a statement, Queensland Health said officials have been denied some sets of hospitalized patients because of provisions in the state’s Mental Health Act aimed at “preserving the protection and privacy of others with serious intellectual illnesses. “
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaczszuk said the state hoped to run with the UN on whatever they needed “under the conditions”.
El-CNN-Wire™
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