Monday, 5 March 2018
The Turnbull Government’s anti-democratic slide has been noted by UN
Human
Rights Law Centre,
1 March 2018:
The Turnbull
Government’s anti-democratic slide has been criticised at the United Nations
Human Rights Council tonight, with the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation
of human rights defenders delivering a major report on Australian democracy.
In an at times scathing
report, the Special Rapporteur told the Human Rights Council that:
*
he is “astonished” to observe “mounting evidence of regressive measures” being
pursued by the Government;
*
he was “astounded to observe frequent public vilification by senior public
officials” of charities, community groups and democratic institutions who hold
the Government to account “in what appears to be an attempt to discredit,
intimidate and discourage them from their legitimate work”; and
*
that there is an “increasing discrepancy and incoherence” between the Turnbull
Government’s statements on the world stage and its actions at home.
Dr Aruna Sathanapally, a
Director of Legal Advocacy at the Human Rights Law Centre, said it was
deeply disappointing that the pressure being placed on Australia’s democratic
institutions and freedoms had reached this point.
“The Special
Rapporteur’s report is careful, but unflinching, in his scrutiny of our
democracy in recent years. The picture is one of sustained pressure on the
people and institutions that hold our government accountable here, in
Australia.”
“To get a seat on the UN
Human Rights Council the Turnbull Government promised the world to “promote
good governance and stronger democratic institutions” and “protect freedom of
expression”. But scrutiny and criticism of government are vital to a
healthy democracy, even if governments find it inconvenient or annoying” said
Dr Sathanapally.
“Right now, our
government is pushing for new laws that would make it much harder for community
groups, charities, academics if they want to speak publicly about government
policies, let alone criticise government. The Prime Minister is doing so
even though these laws may well be struck down as unconstitutional on the
grounds of the freedom of political communication,” said Dr Sathanapally.
“At the same time, the
government is proposing sweeping new laws to keep government information
secret, and punish whistle-blowers, that have been widely recognised as going
too far in a democratic country. The government must move quickly to withdraw
or fix these Bills if it is genuinely committed to democracy, and being
accountable to the people,” said Dr Sathanapally.
Daniel Webb, a Director
of Legal Advocacy at the Human Rights Law Centre, who is in Geneva for the
Council session, will deliver a statement to the Council in response to the
Special Rapporteur's report. Mr Webb will advise the Council that the
regressive and undemocratic trend was continuing and urge the Turnbull
Government to accept the UN’s recommendations in full.
Mr Webb said that the
report showed that the Turnbull Government needed to dramatically improve its
own human rights performance if it wanted to have strong influence on the
Council, especially on democratic freedoms and its treatment of refugees and
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
“Victims of cruelty and
injustice all over the world desperately need Governments like ours to be part
of the UN’s principled spine, not to gnaw away at the foundations of human
rights with hollow words and unprincipled actions,” said Mr Webb.
“But while our
Government can blow its own trumpet on the world stage all it likes, its
credibility and moral authority on human rights will be limited until it stops
violating them,” said Mr Webb.
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