Human rights oversight of correctional institutions in Australia

2020 ◽  
pp. 147737082095823
Author(s):  
Bronwyn Naylor
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Human Rights Violations ◽  
Correctional Institutions ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Optional Protocol ◽  
Australian Context ◽  
Convention Against Torture ◽  
International Human ◽  
The Impact

Australia has recently ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OPCAT) in order to improve the oversight of Australia’s prisons and detention centres, following major human rights violations exposed in them in 2016. Ratification offers an opportunity to appraise the effectiveness of monitoring and oversight in Australia, and the limitations of human rights protections in the Australian context. Australia’s prisons and youth detention centres are to be monitored by a network of independent inspecting bodies, which are likely to include existing Ombudsman and human rights bodies. The Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman has the task of coordinating the new inspection bodies. This article reviews the existing protections of rights in Australia and considers the implications of ratification of OPCAT. The article concludes that implementation will require consideration of the effectiveness of the current bodies monitoring prisons and youth detention and their capacity to take on the role of preventing human rights violations, including their independence from government, as the states and territories decide on the establishment of their National Preventive Mechanisms. Implementation will also require an understanding of Australia’s historical ambivalence towards international human rights engagement and the impact of its federated system.

The role of international human rights organisations in the context of the conflict in Eastern Ukraine

2021 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-31
Author(s):  
Nina I. Karpachova
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Human Rights Violations ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Quantitative And Qualitative Research ◽  
Human Rights Organizations ◽  
High Commissioner ◽  
Protection Of Human Rights ◽  
International Human

The task of this paper is to study the role of international human rights organizations in response to the conflict taking place in eastern Ukraine. The study is based on recent reports from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the OSCE on Ukraine. The relevance of the stated topic is determined by the situation with human rights violations in the armed conflict in Ukraine and the significant role of international human rights organizations, making active efforts to resolve it. The purpose of this study is to determine the main aspects of the role that international organizations play in resolving this range of issues. This will help to identify potential opportunities to tackle the problem with human rights violations in the Ukrainian territories. The study combines quantitative and qualitative research of the entire spectrum of issues brought into the subject. The main results obtained are: analysis of the role and place of international human rights organizations in assessing the situation with the conflict in the Ukrainian territories and obtaining statistical information on the current status of human rights violations in these territories. The value of this paper lies in obtaining practical recommendations for finding ways to peacefully resolve the conflict in the East of Ukraine and implementing comprehensive measures to create conditions for the protection of human rights in this region

Part III Organs Monitoring Treaty Compliance, 13 The Committee against Torture and the Subcommittee for the Prevention of Torture

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Byrnes Andrew
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Human Rights Violations ◽  
Optional Protocol ◽  
Treaty Compliance ◽  
Convention Against Torture ◽  
Degrading Treatment

This chapter focuses on the Committee against Torture and the Subcommittee for the Prevention of Torture. The role of the Committee is to monitor the implementation by States parties of their obligations under the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (the Torture Convention). The goal of the Torture Convention is to eradicate torture, often seen as one of the gravest human rights violations, through a mix of prevention and repression. The Convention was supplemented in 2002 by the adoption of an Optional Protocol to the Convention, which established an additional supervisory body—the Subcommittee for the Prevention of Torture, which commenced its work in 2007. The chapter then considers the work of the Committee over the last thirty years and provides an overview of the evolution and functions of the Subcommittee.

Human Rights for and against Empire – Legal and Public Discourses in the Age of Decolonisation

2016 ◽  
Vol 18 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 317-338 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabian Klose
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Human Rights Violations ◽  
Genocide Convention ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Ongoing Debate ◽  
Paradoxical Situation ◽  
Geneva Conventions ◽  
International Human

Against the background of an ongoing debate about the role of human rights in the age of decolonisation this essay approaches the issue from two different angles. It concentrates on the paradoxical situation that anti-colonial movements as well as colonial powers instrumentalised international human rights documents such as the Genocide Convention, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Geneva Conventions, and the European Conventions on Human Rights for achieving their political goals. In combining legal and public discourses in a significant way both sides accused each other of gross human rights violations while at the same time presenting themselves as respecting and even guaranteeing fundamental human rights. Especially during the course of the wars of decolonisation after 1945 this phenomenon became obvious in various diplomatic debates at the United Nations and made universal rights a diplomatic pawn in international debates.

The Fallacy of Effective Human Rights Protection under Relevant Treaty Law when Armed Groups Commit Violations

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tilman Rodenhäuser
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Human Rights Violations ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
Armed Groups ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Human Rights Protection ◽  
Rights Protection ◽  
Human Rights Treaties ◽  
International Human

Chapter 5 adds to the contemporary discourse on human rights obligations of non-state armed groups by showing that in many situations, there is a clear legal need for these obligations. This chapter first engages in the debate on whether and to what extent certain human rights treaties address armed groups directly. Second, it shows that under the law of state responsibility, states are generally not responsible for human rights violations committed by non-state entities. Third, it recalls that under international human rights law, states have an obligation to protect human rights against violations committed by armed groups. However, it argues that because this cannot be a strict obligation but is one that depends on states’ capacities and the particular circumstances, often this framework cannot adequately protect individuals against human rights violations by armed groups. The result is a legal and practical need for human rights obligations of non-state armed groups.

The Influence of the Two Covenants on States Parties Across Regions

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samantha Besson
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Domestic Institutions ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
The Third ◽  
International Human ◽  
Domestic Influence ◽  
Domestic Law

As a companion to the five regional reports in this volume, this chapter’s aim is a double one: first, to bring the comparison up to the regional level, and second, to analyse the international and domestic institutions, procedures, and mechanisms that affect how international human rights instruments influence domestic law. The chapter is therefore both a study in comparative international human rights law and a contribution to its methodology. Its structure is four-pronged. The first section clarifies the aim, object, and method of the comparison. The second section presents a comparative assessment of the Covenants’ domestic influence across regions and develops a grid of comparative analysis. The third section addresses the authority of the Committees’ interpretations of the Covenants, relying on a bottom-up comparative law argument. The fourth section discusses the role of human rights comparison and of regional human rights law in enhancing the legitimacy of the Committees’ future interpretations.

Influence of the ICCPR in Asia

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yogesh Tyagi
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Political Rights ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Judicial Discourse ◽  
International Human ◽  
Golden Jubilee ◽  
Civil And Political Rights ◽  
The Impact

The golden jubilee of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) coincides with the emergence of Asia as a centre of global attention. However, greater attention to Asia has been accompanied by some scepticism over its attitude towards human rights. The chapter provides an overall assessment of the impact of the ICCPR on the major Asian States, with an analysis of the factors affecting such influence. The chapter considers the involvement in, observance of, and compliance with the provisions of the ICCPR by these States. It further delves into the academic and judicial discourse on the ICCPR within these States, recording the domestic disposition towards judgments of foreign courts, the output of the Human Rights Committee, and the work of other international human rights bodies. It makes suggestions for developing mechanisms to improve the effectiveness of the ICCPR and for creating databases to perform further research in the area.

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