Australia ‘tarnished’ by its treatment of refugees and Indigenous people, says international human rights watchdog

An international human rights organization has highlighted the mistreatment of refugees and asylum seekers in Australia and the over-representation of Indigenous people in custody.

Human Rights Watch stated that Australia’s reputation is “tarnished by a number of significant human rights concerns”, despite being a vibrant democracy that largely protects civil and political rights.

“This includes the cruel treatment of refugees and asylum seekers, but also the failure to address systemic discrimination against First Nations people,” the group said in a global report released Friday.

The organization’s Australian researcher Annabelle Hennessy criticized the federal government for continuing its more than decade-long offshore detention regime.

At least 19 indigenous people died in custody in 2023, including a 16-year-old boy who self-harmed

In September 2023, Australian authorities sent a group of eleven asylum seekers to detention on Nauru and another twelve people in November.

The human rights organization – which was heavily funded by financier George Soros – noted that the government has allocated $1.5 billion over the next four years to detain asylum seekers outside its territory.

The report noted the defeat of the Indigenous Voice referendum, which would have enshrined a First Nations advisory body in the constitution.

“While this has not been successful in every state, Australia’s state and federal governments remain committed to upholding the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, which must remain a priority,” Human Rights Watch said.

Criticism was also leveled at the over-representation of Indigenous people in the adult prison system, who make up a third of prisoners despite making up just three percent of the population.

In 2023, at least 19 Indigenous people died in custody, including a 16-year-old who committed suicide after being held in prolonged solitary confinement in pre-trial detention.

Serious concerns about the treatment of children in custody and the use of chemical restraints in aged care have yet to be seriously addressed by the government, the group said.

Investigations into alleged war crimes committed by Australian troops in Afghanistan were described in the report as ‘important developments for justice’.

Serious concerns about the treatment of children in custody and the use of chemical restraints in aged care have yet to be seriously addressed by the government, the group said.

“The families of the victims have been waiting for more than a decade for prompt and adequate compensation,” the report said.

It also reported the suspension of human rights laws in Queensland, allowing police to detain children indefinitely, the royal commission’s findings into people with disabilities experiencing severe neglect and abuse, and a lack of concrete measures to address human rights violations in China.

The report noted that Australia remains the only Western country without a human rights law or constitutional charter.

The rights group praised Australia for securing the release of journalist Cheng Lei from detention in China, as well as democracy activist Chau Van Kham, who spent four years in a Vietnamese prison.

“The Australian government has had some successes in advocating for human rights on the international stage in 2023, but must do more, especially in the Asia-Pacific region,” the group said.

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