The United Nations Subcommitee on the prevention of torture (SPT) arrived on the 16th of October to investigate state prisons that are party to the obligations under the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture (OPCAT). When carried out, the inspections result in recommendations for action to improve the treatment of detainees and uphold Australia’s …
NSW Blocks SPT from Entering Detention Facilities Read More »
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 …
Media release: Friday October 14, 2022 The UN Convention Against Torture Inspection team arriving in Australia for the first time has not notified detainees of their arrival, even though protecting them from torture is their job. To ignore their voices it disempowers prisoners and erodes the effectiveness of the Treaty before their job even begins. …
International Torture Inspection Ignores Detainees Read More »
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. …
Royal Commission Into Victoria’s Mental Health System Read More »
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.
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 …
The Optional Protocol to the Conventional against Torture (OPCAT)Strip Searching in NSW PrisonsSolitary Confinement Freedom of ExpressionRight to Vote Freedom of Association
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 …
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