Castan Centre for Human Rights Law

Author: Adam Fletcher

  • An Insatiable Appetite for National Security

    By Adam Fletcher Sometimes it seems that the relationship between policy advisors and the Government is a bit like that between parents and children, with the children constantly clamouring for a larger allowance (read: slice of the budget). As in many families, there is inevitably tension between siblings, and so it is between those advocating…

  • Why alleged police abuse must be investigated independently

    By Adam Fletcher There is currently a case before the Victorian Supreme Court (Bare v Small and Others) in which a young Ethiopian man claims he was abused by Victoria Police (an officer allegedly broke his teeth against a gutter, capsicum-sprayed him while he was handcuffed and racially abused him during the course of an…

  • Nystrom v Australia – Human Rights Umpire Snubbed Again

    By Adam Fletcher In September last year, the UN Human Rights Committee adopted its Views in the case of Nystrom v Australia, which said Australia had violated Mr Nystrom’s rights under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). You may have read about Stefan Nystrom in the papers – he was deported to Sweden in December…

  • Transparency and accountability – is the UN leading by example?

    By Adam Fletcher Last Friday (the 13th, appropriately enough given the bleak news), the Supreme Court of the Netherlands ruled that the Women (aka Mothers) of Srebrenica could not sue the United Nations (UN) for failing to protect their families during the well-documented 1995 massacre. There are at least two ways to look at this.…

  • Signs of Progress on Independent Detention Oversight

    Last October, I wrote about Australia’s need for more independent oversight of places where people are deprived of liberty – preferably under the framework of the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OPCAT). I am pleased to report that in the intervening months the Attorney-General’s Department has tabled a National Interest Analysis (NIA) for…

  • Serco and Asylum-seekers’ Rights in Detention

    By Adam Fletcher The government’s obligations to immigration detainees are very similar to those of prisoners. AAP/Dean Lewins A training manual instructing immigration detention centre guards to use force to incapacitate detainees was leaked this week. It included techniques to kick, punch and target pressure points on detainees. The Minister for Immigration, Chris Bowen said…