The UN Committee Against Torture has called on Australia to raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility and immediately end the practice of solitary confinement for children.
The committee highlighted Don Dale Youth Detention Centre in the Northern Territory, Ashley Youth Detention Centre in Tasmania and Banksia Hill Juvenile Detention Centre in Western Australia as being of serious concern for their practice of keeping children in solitary confinement.
The findings come after the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment last month suspended its tour of Australian detention facilities after the New South Wales government refused inspectors entry into any facilities in the state and Queensland blocked access to mental health wards.
The UN had accused Australia of a “clear breach” of its obligations under the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture, ratified under former Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull’s tenure in 2017.
In its findings published on Friday, the UN reviewed Australia’s implementation of the convention against torture alongside Chad, El Salvador, Malawi, Somalia and Uganda.
It said it was “seriously concerned” about Australia’s “very low” age of criminal responsibility being set at 10, as well as the “persistent overrepresentation” of indigenous children and children with disabilities in the juvenile justice system.
The findings also raised concerns about reports that children in detention are being “frequently” subjected to verbal abuse and racist remarks, and restrained in ways that are potentially dangerous.
The practice of keeping children in solitary confinement, in particular at the Banksia Hill, Don Dale and Ashley youth detention centers, contravened the UN convention and the Nelson Mandela Rules, the report said.
It was also critical of the high number of children in detention, on remand and after sentencing, as well as children not always being separated from adults.
It found that there was a lack of awareness among children about their rights and how to report abuses.
The report recommended that Australia raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility according to international standards, prohibit the use of physical restraints to discipline children and immediately end the practice of solitary confinement for children across all jurisdictions.
It encouraged Australia to “take all necessary measures” to reduce the incarceration rate of indigenous children, and to ensure children with disabilities were not detained indefinitely without conviction.
Australia should also “actively promote” non-judicial measures such as diversion, mediation and counseling for children accused of criminal offenses, along with non-custodial sentences such as probation or community service, it said.
It also called on Australia to ensure that detention was regularly and judicially reviewed, and for children in conflict with the law to be provided information about their rights, and have access to independent complaint mechanisms and protections from risk of reprisals.
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