CARAD was deeply honoured to welcome the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention during their 12-day visit to Australia last week. Our discussions focused on critical concerns affecting clients in Western Australia's immigration detention facilities, including degrading treatment, inadequate healthcare, the use of physical and chemical restraints, deportations, and third-country transfers to Nauru. We affirmed our support for the recommendations in 'Immigration Detention in Australia: Civil Society Submission to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention', and our colleagues Associate Professor Mary Anne Kenny and Syaz Daud shared their valuable insights.
We were grateful to be joined by Associate Professor Hannah McGlade and Chloe Wood, who shared the harrowing experiences of Aboriginal children, women and men in police, detention and prison custody. We are grateful for this opportunity to amplify the voices of those seeking safety and advocate for the human rights and dignity of all people seeking asylum in Australia.
Thank you to Dr. Matthew Gillett, Vice Chair of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, and Clara Garcia Orozco, Human Rights Officer at the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, for their important work upholding human rights standards worldwide.