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Global watchdog slams Australia’s human rights record as “diabolical”

The National Justice Project says the latest Human Rights Watch World Report finding Australia’s “diabolical” treatment of asylum seekers and youth crime has worsened needs to be a wake-up call for governments around the country.

National Justice Project CEO Adjunct Professor George Newhouse calls the report a damning indictment of the way refugees and First Nations people, particularly children, have been used as a political football over too many years.

“The Human Rights Watch noted our country ‘continues to evade its international obligations to asylum seekers’ by transferring people who arrive by boat to Nauru, “Adjunct Professor George Newhouse said.

“The report also shows the disparities in Australia’s criminal justice system remains enormous with First Nations people hugely overrepresented.

“Our record on youth justice also comes under fire with most Australian states maintaining an age of criminal responsibility below the recommended minimum of at least 14 years.

“It is a sad fact that Australia continues to ignore international standards of basic human rights for the most vulnerable in our community.

“When do we stop using people’s lives and suffering as nothing more than election issues for media headlines and political soundbites?

“We urge all levels of government – state, territory and federal – to finally pay attention and take action on our appalling record on human rights.

“The Human Rights Watch also highlighted that Australia remains the only Western democracy without a national human rights act or charter. That might be a good starting place,” he said.

Read more in the Human Rights Watch World Report for 2025

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