A UN report published Monday found that Australia's detention policies regarding asylum seekers and children, were in breach of the UN's Convention Against Torture by violating the "rights of migrants and asylum seekers to be free from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment".
The UN's special rapporteur on torture, Juan Mendez, who investigated allegations of torture in 68 countries, also examined "allegations concerning the situation of two groups of Sri Lankan asylum seekers and migrants (203 in total), including a significant number of Tamils, and their incommunicado detention and imminent deportation to Sri Lanka by the Australian Government, in contravention of Australia’s non-refoulement obligations" the report said.
"The Rapporteur concludes that the Government of Australia, by failing to amend the provisions of the two bills to comply with the State’s obligations under international human rights law, particularly with regard to the rights of migrants, and asylum seekers, including children, has violated the rights of migrants and asylum seekers to be free from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, as provided by articles 1, 3, and 16 of the CAT."
See full report here.
The UN report has been rebuked by the Australian prime minister, Tony Abbott who was quoted by the Guardian as saying that "I really think Australians are sick of being lectured to by the United Nations, particularly given that we have stopped the boats, and by stopping the boats, we have ended the deaths at sea".
"The most humanitarian, the most decent, the most compassionate thing you can do is stop these boats because hundreds, we think about 1,200 in fact, drowned at sea during the flourishing of the people smuggling trade under the former government."
“The best thing you can do to uphold the universal decencies of mankind, the best thing that you can do to ensure that the best values of our world are realised is to stop the boats and that’s exactly what we have done.”
See more on this by the Guardian here.
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