The Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture – OPCAT – sends a clear message: the risk of torture and other ill-treatment exists in all situations where persons are deprived of their liberty . The OPCAT is a UN treaty that Australia has signed up to that would ensure national and international monitoring of people in these vulnerable situations. The transparency this creates acts as a deterrent to violating human rights in the first place. The OPCAT has bipartisan support, but has not been put into effect. Australia has sat on it since 2009. We call on the Australian government to ratify OPCAT as a matter of urgency as we believe this treaty is fundamental to ensuring the human rights and dignity of people in places of detention are protected.
Find out more about OPCAT here:
https://www.humanrights.gov.au/our-work/rights-and-freedoms/projects/optional-protocol-convention-against-torture-opcat