'Unacceptable to routinely reject committee's views': Australia grilled on human rights record by UN

The Abbott government's treatment of the Human Rights Commission has been questioned by a UN committee as Australia's rights record is examined.

Australia delegation at the United Nations

Australia's delegation at the United Nations Source: AAP

Former prime minister Tony Abbott's attack on a 2015 report into children in immigration detention has been raised during a United Nations examination of Australia's human rights record.

Australia is being grilled by the Human Rights Committee in Geneva early on Thursday (AEDT) following its election to the UN's Human Rights Council.

Vice chair of the Committee Yuval Shany noted Australia's "generally strong record" on human rights, however he questioned Mr Abbott's 2015 comments on the Australian Human Rights Commission's The Forgotten Children report.

The report found detention centres were a "dangerous place for children" and called for a royal commission into the practice of putting asylum seeker children into mandatory detention.
The then prime minister labelled the report "a blatantly partisan politicised exercise", something Mr Shany labelled an "odd statement".

Mr Shany also remarked he was "perplexed" that Attorney-General George Brandis asked Commissioner Gillian Triggs to resign before the critical report was published.

The Australian delegation responded that the relationship between the government and the commission was "in a very good place at the moment".

Australia's implementation of the human rights committee's decisions was also criticised.



Mr Shany said it's "unacceptable" for Australia to "routinely reject" the committee's views, or "self-judge" UN human rights treaties compliance, saying the country can't "pick and choose" its compliance with human rights law.

The lack of implementation was "completely off the charts for the committee", Mr Shany said. "It's incredible for a country that claims to have a leading role in global human rights."

The Australian delegation responded that the implementation of views would have to be an area where the committee and government "respectfully disagree" as Australia does not see the views of the committee and other treaty bodies as legally binding.
The same-sex marriage plebiscite was also criticised by the committee, with member Sarah Cleveland remarking: "Human rights are not to be determined by opinion poll or a popular vote".

Other issues raised by the committee included, transgender and intersex rights, domestic violence, the sterilisation of intellectually disabled women and girls, and the balance between anti-terrorism laws and personal liberty.

Australia was elected unopposed to the council, for the first time on Tuesday, as a Western European and other States representative for a three-year term.

John Quinn, Australian Ambassador and permanent representative to the UN in Geneva, said Australia "was not complacent" and acknowledged there were things the country "could do better".

He said violence against women and improving the lives of Indigenous and Torres Strait Islanders as well as constitutional recognition were particular issues for Australia.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop nominated the empowerment of women globally, indigenous rights, abolition of the death penalty and crises in North Korea and Syria as the issues Australia would pursue during its tenure.

It will also push for reforms to the council.

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Published 19 October 2017 3:44am
Updated 19 October 2017 7:06am


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