Lindsay Pearce leads publication on UN torture prevention body’s Australian visit
Lindsay Pearce and Prof Stuart Kinner, have published a piece in The Conversation on 14 October 2022, available here, on the visit to Australia by the United Nations Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (“the subcommittee”). The visit is taking place from 16-27 October.
The subcommittee will be making unannounced visits to places of detention looking for opportunities to prevent abuse and improve conditions of detention. This is to support Australia to implement their overdue obligations under the UN anti-torture protocol, the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture (OPCAT).
As reported previously, Australia has postponed and missed deadlines to establish monitoring bodies, a requirement under OPCAT to which Australia is a signatory along with over 100 other countries.
It is hoped the subcommittee’s visit will speed up Australia’s implementation of OPCAT and hold governments accountable for the health and human rights of people deprived.
Lindsay was also featured on Melbourne’s 3CR radio station on 19th October to discuss this topic. A recording is available on their website.
Congratulations Lindsay and Stuart for this outstanding piece of work!
