THE CONVENTION AGAINST

TORTURE AND OTHER

CRUEL, INHUMAN OR
DEGRADING TREATMENT
OR PUNISHMENT
 ROLE OF THE UN
The United Nations (UN) is a worldwide organisation aimed to maintain world peace and uphold human rights.

The UN was founded immediately after WWII to try and form a more successful worldwide
peace organisation than the League of Nations that was formed after WWI.
Mainly involved with peacekeeping support, international treaties and foreign aid.
Peacekeeping operations involve missions to warring countries to try and force ceasefires, as
well as to oversee elections in unstable countries
The UN institutes international treaties that all signatories agree to follow within their respective
countries and to make legislation supporting the treaties created.

UN assists with foreign aid, which involves more developed countries transferring resources to
developing, warring or unstable countries.
AUSTRALIA’S ROLE AS A
MEMBER
Australia’s role as a member of the UN is to contribute to its various operations

This includes, but is not limited to:

• Giving supplies and trained personnel for peacekeeping operations
• Signing agreements and staying true to the agreements made within them
• Contributing resources to foreign aid
ORIGINS AND PURPOSE OF THE
AGREEMENT
The Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment was a
treaty formed in 1987. The name of the treaty is often abbreviated to CAT. This treaty followed the
Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Being Subjected to Torture treaty created in 1975. The
convention has 170 signatories.

The purpose of the CAT was to prohibit torture in as many countries as possible throughout the world, as
well as to prevent refugees being refouled or deported if they might be tortured.

In 2002 an ‘optional protocol’ to the Convention against Torture was created. This establishes of a system
of regular visits to places where people are deprived of their liberty in order to prevent torture in such
places. The optional protocol has 76 signatories.
WHEN DID
AUSTRALIA The CAT was signed by Australia on the 10th of
SIGN AND December 1985. It was ratified on the 8th of August
1989.

RATIFY THE
AGREEMENT
AUSTRALIA’S OBLIGATIONS AS
A SIGNATORY
Take measures to prevent torture, including:

• Ensure that torture is a criminal offence

• Ensure that torture is an extraditable offence
• Quickly investigate any torture allegations
• Victims of torture (or dependants in case of death) must have right to compensation
• Evidence obtained through torture must be banned in courts
• People cannot be deported or refouled if there is grounds to believe they may be tortured in the
country they will be sent to
• Train and educate personnel that are involved in custody or interrogation of anyone that has been
arrested or detained on the prohibition of torture
• Keep interrogation rules, instructions, methods, and practices under review to prevent torture
• Submit a report to the Committee Against Torture every four years
• Allow individuals to complain to the Committee if there are alleged violations by any party
AUSTRALIAN LAW CREATED
AS A RESULT
As a signatory to the agreement, Australia must ratify (validate) their agreement by creating laws covering
the areas involved in the treaty.

An example of Australian law created to ratify the agreement is the Crimes (Torture) Act
1988 and part of the Criminal Code Act 1995 which both classify torture as a criminal
offence in Australia.

The Crimes (Torture) Act 1988 was created exclusively to ratify the treaty
HOW AUSTRALIA HAS FULFILLED
ITS OBLIGATIONS
o Torture has been criminalised through various laws
o Behaviours that could constitute as torture are criminal offences (e.g. assault)
o By law those under arrest cannot be subjected to inhumane treatment
o By law questioning and interrogation may not involve any forms of torture
o Evidence obtained through torture is invalid in Australian courts
o Victims of torture have right to compensation in Australia
o A refugee to Australia cannot be refouled if evidence suggests they will be subjected to torture
if they return to their home country
o Australia submitted its sixth support to the Committee Against Torture in 2019
 AREAS All of Australia’s obligations are upheld
AUSTRALIA’S extremely well. Possibly the only area that may
be faulted is that Australia has still had rare
OBLIGATIONS complaints about and cases of torture, so some
HAVE NOT small areas of its’ obligations may not be
BEEN UPHELD completely upheld.