Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment

The Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) and the Optional Protocol to the convention are the principal international legal instruments which enshrine the protection of persons against torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Australia became a signatory to the Convention in 1985 and ratified it in 1989.

The Committee against Torture (Committee) is a treaty body of 10 independent experts that monitors implementation of the Convention by its States parties.  The Committee meets twice a year.  It receives and examines regular reports by States parties, and addresses its concerns and recommendations to the State party in the form of Concluding Observations.  

The Committee also performs its monitoring functions through consideration of individual and interstate complaints, as well as undertaking inquiries into alleged grave violations of the CAT.  The Committee also publishes its interpretation of the context of the provisions of the Convention, in the form of General Comments, on thematic issues.

The Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) is a subsidiary body created by the Optional Protocol to the Convention, which entered into force in June 2006.  The SPT possesses a mandate to conduct visitations to places where persons are deprived of their liberty in the States parties.  

Australia has signed the Optional Protocol but not yet ratified it.   

Main Provisions of the Convention

Substantial rights and state party obligations contained in the Convention which are of relevance to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples include:

•  the prohibition against cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment

•  an obligation to conduct prompt and impartial investigation of allegations of ill-treatment

•  an obligation to ensure right to prompt and impartial legal redress, and enforceable right to fair and adequate compensation 

Concluding Observations on Australia

In May 2008, the Committee released its Concluding Observations on Australia’s compliance with CAT.  

While the Committee specifically welcomed the Australian Government’s formal apology to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples for past policies and practices relating to the Stolen Generation, the Committee also expressed concerns in relation to the:

•   continued operation of mandatory sentencing laws in Western Australia and the Northern Territory;

•   high proportion of Indigenous Australian in incarceration; and

•    continued high rates of Indigenous deaths in custody. 

A copy of the full Concluding Observations is available here.  

Australia’s next periodic report to the Committee is due by 30 June 2012. 

CAT General Comments

The Committee against Torture has issued the following General Comments that are of particular relevance to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples:

General Comments No 2: Implementation of Article 2 by States parties

This General Comments discusses the obligations of State parties to implement the protections against torture and other ill-treatment contained the Convention.  

Copies of the Committee’s General Comments are available at http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cat/comments.htm.  

Individual Complaints Mechanism

Any individual who claims that her or his rights have under the CAT have been violated may make an individual complaint to the Committee.   

Related Links

Click here for a copy of the CAT

Click here for a copy of the Optional Protocol to CAT

Click here for further information about the Committee against Torture