Australia’s failure to meet international anti-torture obligations has been labelled a “national disgrace” by First Nations organisations.
The Australian government ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT) in 2017.
By January 20, 2022, they were required to establish a National Preventive Mechanism (NPM), which provide independent oversight of places of detention, for each state and territory.
As it stands, the Australian government has not met the obligations, despite committing to enforcing the convention in the 2021 Closing the Gap Implementation Plan.
“Today is the deadline, they had four years to do it, and still have not delivered on it,” said Change the Record Co-Chair, Cheryl Axleby.
The Attorney-General’s Department (AGD) told NITV News that Australia’s NPM would be established through a network of Commonwealth, state and territory inspectorates with the Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman, with states and territories having “responsibility and authority for the oversight of places of detention in their jurisdiction”.
Currently, Western Australia, the ACT and the Northern Territory have nominated their NPM bodies. Whilst, South Australia, Tasmania and Queensland have introduced legislation to support OPCAT implementation.
Despite this, Ms Axleby said the main issue lies with a lack of consistent legislation across the country.
Change the Record Co-Chair Cheryl Axleby. Source: Supplied
“If we don’t have consistency and if we have different models, there will be a lack of independent monitoring,” she explained.
“There will be some models where there are government agencies, who are supposed to be independently reviewed through this mechanism, sitting at this table.”
Coordinator of the Australian OPCAT Network Steven Caruana told NITV News that the implementation of the convention is key to preventing situations of abuse.
"You have prominent people in this space that are making statements on how OPCAT could have prevented instances of mistreatment from happening. In the very same sentence, we know that it would stop things from happening in the future,” he explained.
"The sooner we get this in place the better. We will see less deaths in custody because issues leading up to those tragic events will likely be picked up before it gets to that point.”
AGD acknowledged that the implementation of OPCAT would directly contribute to achieving “Justice Targets 10 and 11” of Closing the Gap.
Targets that aim to see the reduction of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults held in incarceration by at least 15 per cent by 2031 and the reduction of young people incarcerated by 30 per cent.
Ms Axleby emphasised the importance of OPCAT in relation to the safety of those currently in custody.
“We have had over 500 Aboriginal deaths in custody since the Royal Commission. We still have no answers by government, we still have no one held accountable,” she said.
“This mechanism can make a whole lot difference for our mob, particularly in regard to their wellbeing while they’re incarcerated. I’m talking about our children, our women and our men who are incarcerated across this country.”
Implementation would see independent oversight of all places of detention.
“We will be able to have some independent transparency outside of government looking into what is actually going on in custody, in police stations and in youth detention centres,” said Ms Axleby.
“We’ve had the Royal Commission into Don Dale but we still see those recommendations not being implemented. The OPCAT in its full context, if implemented properly, means that government can be held more accountable.”
At its core, the OPCAT, according to Mr Caruana, is “about protecting the human rights of those most vulnerable”.
"The point is that regardless of the circumstances in which someone is deprived of their liberty, they are still human. They do have those basic rights," he said.
"It's said time and time again, that as a society, how we treat our most vulnerable is the greatest reflection of who we are."
