Economy
Australia under the spotlight in Human Rights Watch World Report 2015
AUSTRALIA has been named and shamed on a list of the world’s worst human rights offenders — but it’s not just our treatment of indigenous people and asylum seekers that has landed us there.
Sharing the dubious honours with the likes of Syria, Nigeria and Egypt, we have made the cut for reasons you might not expect.
According to Human Rights Watch’s World Report 2015, our counterterrorism laws — hastily introduced by the Abbott government last year — have been slammed as “vague” and “over-broad” in the damning report, infringing on the basic rights of all Australians.
In response to the threat of home-grown terrorism, new laws extend to the use of control orders and preventive detention and also make it a criminal offence to travel to “declared areas’’ abroad, which overly restricts people’s freedom of movement, the report states.
The controversial proposal that would force telecommunications companies to retain metadata for use by intelligence organisations has also been slammed.
The laws would essentially give Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) unprecedented power to monitor the entire Australian web with only one warrant.
“Draconian counterterrorism laws undermining free speech are causing incalculable damage to Australia’s international standing as a rights-respecting country,” warns Australian director of HRW Elaine Pearson.
“The government rammed these measures through parliament despite their having lasting consequences on Australians’ civil liberties.”
“These are excessive restrictions on freedom of speech, so a whole range of peaceful conduct can be prosecuted under these laws — something that affects the civil liberties of all Australians.”
The 656-page report, its 25th edition, reviews human rights practices in more than 90 countries ranging from so-called democratic nations such as the United States, France and Australia to trouble spots including Iraq and Syria.
Last year, the Abbott government rushed through several new counterterrorism offences imposing criminal penalties for “advocating terrorism” and travelling to “declared areas” abroad, as well as making unauthorised disclosures of information related to “special intelligence operations.”
The reforms also contained tough penalties for journalists and whistleblowers, who could be jailed for up to 10 years for “recklessly” disclosing information related to a “special intelligence operation”.
“Australia’s new counterterrorism laws mean journalists, whistleblowers, and activists will risk prison for certain disclosures — even if it’s in the public interest,” Ms Pearson said.
But our counterterrorism laws aren’t the only thing to have landed us on the shame list.