State Intervention

Torture considered

Is the incarceration of prisoners in itself a form of torture? It could be argued that while the State does have the legal right to deprive an individual of their liberty for wrongdoing, subject to meeting the requirements of the judicial process, it certainly does not have the right to ignore The Convention against Torture and …

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Royal Commission Into Victoria’s Mental Health System

Latest News Victorian Legal Aid’s Response to Implementation Proposal  (August 2021) Justice Action’s Response to Implementation Proposal  (July 2021) Department of Health’s Implementation Proposal  (June 2021) Justice Action’s Analysis of the Royal Commission Report  (March 2021) The Royal Commission Final Report  (February 2021) Overview The Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System delivered its final report on 3 February, 2021. …

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Justice Action’s Submission to the ACT Legislative Assembly Regarding the Parliamentary Inquiry on the Decriminalisation of Drug Use

As a member of the Australian Capital Territory Council of Social Services (ACTCOSS), as well as an ‘essential’ presence at the NSW Drug Summit and International Conference on Penal Abolition (ICOPA) (1997), Justice Action support the decriminalisation of drug use in Australia. Australian drug laws are regressive, punitive and harbour a very strict approach as they are influenced by the ‘war on drugs’ mentality. Instead, legislative change must be implemented to enable the introduction of a Needle and Syringe Program (NSP) in the Alexander Maconochie Centre (AMC) in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) for those who wish to use it. This is to ensure the prevention of disease transmission within prisons, as well as to secure detainees’ rights to an equivalent healthcare system.

Prisoner Community Acknowledgement

As a social structure, communities serve to enhance responsibility by and for individuals and enable groups to live in harmony. Prisoners should not be excluded from the democratic processes inherent in society, as they too, are bound by shared experiences, mutual concerns and shared living areas. Their right to group representation is formally acknowledged in …

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Related Issues

The Optional Protocol to the Conventional against Torture (OPCAT)Strip Searching in NSW PrisonsSolitary Confinement Freedom of ExpressionRight to Vote Freedom of Association

Overview

Human rights refer to the inherent rights and freedoms all human beings are entitled to.  The international framework for such values is encompassed by the United Nations, which has drafted vital documents setting out the standards for Government Action to ensure fundamental rights and freedoms are upheld.  The United Nations has identified that human rights …

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Latest News

Solitary Confinement – A Breach of Human RightsState-Sanctioned Sexual Assault: The Rally to Ban Strip Searches at Silverwater GaolBan Strip Search NSW Coalition – Protest on 19 November 2020Sign the Petition to Ban Strip Searches in NSW!Detainee Call: Advisory Group PositionOPCAT Implementation AnalysisAnalysis: OPCAT Progress in South Australia