Joint NGO Report: Shining a light on Australia’s youth detention crisis.
Katelyn Prins
Last week, a coalition of over 150 NGOs across Australia submitted a joint report to the United Nations Human Rights Council detailing Australia’s human rights failures in anticipation of the 2026 Universal Periodic Review. This review by the UN requires Australia to appear before the Council every 4 years to assess their record of and commitment to upholding human rights. In light of this upcoming review, NGOs in Australia are determined that Australia’s human rights abuses will not be swept under the rug.
Australia has previously come under scrutiny by the international community for its failure to uphold global standards of human rights. The UN has found Australia to be in breach of international law obligations for the cruel arbitrary detention of asylum seekers, and has further criticised Australia’s abysmally low age of criminal responsibility. The Australian Government has failed to address these issues and others that appear in the joint report. The report not only sets out Australia’s shortcomings when it comes to upholding its human rights obligations, but also provides clear recommendations to correct these failures.
In the report to the UN, the treatment and rights of children are among the issues highlighted, with calls for Australia to incorporate the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) (CRC) into Australian law as part of a Federal Human Rights Act. Article 37 of the CRC mandates that children should never be subjected to cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment, and that detention be used as a last resort. As such, the use of solitary confinement on children in detention is incompatible with the principles of this Article and should unequivocally be eliminated as a punitive measure towards children.
Leading from this, it comes as no surprise that another notable recommendation from the report is for the Federal Government to implement nationally coordinated and enforced standards of treatment of young people in detention. A significant concern in the treatment of children in detention is the absence of a national framework to ensure consistent protections across jurisdictions. While youth justice is administered by state governments, it is the responsibility of the federal government to ensure that Australia is compliant with international human rights treaties. Federal leadership is therefore essential to drive national compliance and upholds the rights of children in custody.
Australia’s youth justice system continued to reflect a punitive approach that prioritises detention over rehabilitation or care. The persistence of a ‘tough on crime’ rhetoric in politics and the media has resulted in the shaping of policies that often fail to meet the real developmental and psychological needs of children. The ongoing use of solitary confinement in youth detention highlights systemic shortcomings in the protection of children’s rights and wellbeing. This practice is incompatible with Australia’s international legal obligations and must be addressed through sustained, evidence-based reform.
The No Child in Solitary campaign welcomes this report to the UN, and hopes that its recommendations be acknowledged and well-received by the Australian government. It is clear that human rights, and particularly the rights of children, are not being upheld to appropriate standards, and it is imperative that this be remedied.
We invite organisations who share our concern to reach out and explore how they can support the No Child in Solitary campaign.