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Ratification of the OPCAT – what will it mean for Australia?
Yesterday at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s annual NGO Forum, the Foreign Minister and Attorney-General announced that Australia would ratify the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Forms of Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT). What is it all about? The OPCAT is a treaty which…
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Prisons, overcrowding and human rights
Radical changes to the parole regime in Victoria in 2013 led to a 96.2% increase in refusals of parole in one year.
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Open letter to the Attorney-General regarding the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture
The following is an open letter to the Commonwealth Attorney-General, The Hon. George Brandis QC, signed by 64 organisations including the Castan Centre for Human Rights Law. The letter is dated 15 September 2014. Dear Attorney, Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment We, the undersigned…
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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…
Castan Centre for Human Rights Law 