Pritchard, Sarah --- "Breaking the National Sound Barrier: Communicating With the CERD and CAT Committees" [1999] AUJlHRights 23; (1999) 5(2) Australian Journal of Human Rights 67
[*] Sarah Pritchard is a Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Law at the University of New South Wales. She is also Director of the Human Rights Centre at the University of New South Wales.
[1] See United Nations, Official Records of the General Assembly, Forty-Eighth Session, Supplement No 18 (UN Doc A/48/18), Annex III (1993).
[2] Ibid.
[3] See O'Flaherty M, `Individual Communications: the Convention Against Torture and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination', in Pritchard S (ed), Indigenous Peoples, the United Nations and Human Rights (Zed Books/Federation Books, 1997) p 128.
[4] CERD Committee Decision 1 (53) A/53/18 para 22. Please see the Postscript, p 85 of this journal, for the final decision of the CERD Committee.
[5] See Articles 20-22 CAT.
[6] Mutombo v Switzerland CAT Communication 13/1993; Kahn v Canada CAT Communication 15/1994. See Report of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination UN Doc A/50/44 (1995), \tAnnex V and O'Flaherty, above, note 3, pp 124-5.
[7] Report of the Human Rights Committee UN Doc A/44/40 (1989) at 179.
[8] ICCPR Communication 167/1984, Report of the Human Rights Committee UN Doc A/45/40 (1990).
[9] Ibid para 33.
[10] Article 20 CAT.
[11] Article 20(3) CAT.
[12] Report of the Committee Against Torture UN Doc A/51/44 (1996) paras 180-222.
[13] Report of the Committee Against Torture UN Doc A/48/44/Add 1 (1993).
[14] CERD Communication 1/1984 (August 1988, 36th session).
[15] CERD Communication 2/1989 (March 1991, 39th session).
[16] CERD Communication 4/1991 (March 1993, 42nd session).
[17] CERD Communication 3/1991 (March 1994, 44th session).
[18] CERD Communication 5/1994 (March 1995, 46th session).
[19] CERD Communication 7/1995. See Report of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination UN Doc A/23/18 (1997) Annex III.
[20] Ibid paras 10.4-10.5.
[21] CERD Communication 9/1997. See Report of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination UN Doc A/53/18 (1998) Annex III.
[22] Communication 6/1995 (Australia -- discrimination in employment); Communication 8/1996 (Australia -- quota on overseas trained doctors); Communication 10/1997. See Report of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination UN Doc A/53/18 (1998) para 484.
[23] O'Flaherty M `Substantive Provisions of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination' in Pritchard S (ed) Indigenous Peoples, the United Nations and Human Rights (Zed Books/Federation Books, 1997) pp 181 and 179.
[24] CAT Communication 15/1994 Khan v Canada (views adopted 15 November 1994); CAT Communication 21/1995 Alan v Switzerland (views adopted 8 May 1996); CAT Communication 41/1996 Kisoki v Sweden (views adopted 8 May 1996) and CAT Communication 43/1996 Tala v Sweden (views adopted 15 November 1996). See also the series of complaints against Argentina's Due Obedience Act of 1987: Report of the Committee Against Torture UN Doc A/45/44 (1990) Annex V.
[25] CERD Communication 6/1995.
[26] CERD Communication 8/1996.
[27] CERD Communication 7/1995; UN Doc CERD/C/51/D/7/1995 (1997).
[28] Ibid, paras 10.4-10.5.
[29] CAT Communication 102/1998; CAT Communication 106/1998.
[30] Thanks to Jane Hearn of the Public International Law Branch in the Attorney-General's Department for this information. See Hearn J `Communications to Human Rights Treaty Bodies -- the Australian Government's Perspective' in this collection.
[31] Rule 107(1)(f).
[32] Rule 108(7).
[33] O'Flaherty, above, note 3, p 127.
[34] CAT Communication 8/1991; Report of the Committee Against Torture UN Doc A/49/44 (1994) at Annex V.
[35] CAT Communication 4/1990; Report of the Committee Against Torture UN Doc A/46/44 (1991) at Annex V.
[36] CAT Communication 24/1995; Report of the Committee Against Torture UN Doc A/50/44 (1995) at Annex V.
[37] See also the decision on admissibility in the case of B M/B v Tunisia (CAT Communication 14/1994), adopted on 5 May 1994, para 4.
[38] CAT Communication 6/1990; Report of the Committee Against Torture UN Doc A/50/44 (1995) at Annex V. See also O'Flaherty, above, note 3, pp 121-2.
[39] Rule 110.
[40] CAT Communication 13/1993; Report of the Committee Against Torture UN Doc A/49/44 (1994) at Annex V.
[41] See also Khan v Canada (date of communication 4 July 1994; adoption of views 15 November 1994); Kisoki v Sweden (date of communication 12 February 1996; adoption of views 8 May 1996); Tala v Sweden (date of communication 7 March 1996; adoption of views 15 November 1996).
[42] Date of communication 13 January 1994; adoption of views 15 March 1995.
[43] See text at note 27.
[44] ICCPR Communication 488/1992. Date of communication 25 December 1991; adoption of views 8 April 1994.
[45] ICCPR Communication 560/1993. Date of communication 20 June 1993; adoption of views 3 April 1997.
[46] UN Doc CCPR/C/3/Rev 5, new rule 91(2).
[47] ICCPR Communication 692/1996; UN Doc CCPR/C/60/692/1996. Date of communication 6 February 1996; adoption of views 28 July 1997.
[48] ICCPR Communication 706/1996. Date of communication 10 May 1996; adoption of views 4 November 1997.
[49] ICCPR Communication 706/1996; Report of the Human Rights Committee UN Doc A/53/40 (1998) at Annex XI, p 193.
[50] See Compilation of General Comments and General Recommendations adopted by Human Rights Treaty Bodies UN Doc/HRI/GEN/1/Rev 3 (15 August 1997). See also Rodriguez LV, `The International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination' in United Nations, Manual on Human Rights Reporting (United Nations, 1997).
[51] See Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, First Report 1993 (AGPS, 1993); Second Report 1994 (AGPS, 1994); Third Report 1995 (AGPS, 1995); Fourth Report 1996 (AGPS, 1996); Fifth Report 1997 (Commonwealth of Australia, 1997).
[52] Report of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, UN Doc A/49/18 (1995) paras 45-6.
[53] O'Flaherty M, above, note 23, p 171.
[54] O'Flaherty, above, note 23, p 171.
[55] See Report of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination UN Doc A/51/18 (1996) at 125-6.
[56] UN Doc CERD/C/51/Misc 13/Rev 4 (1997).
[57] Ibid para 3.
[58] Ibid para 4.
[61] See Pritchard S, `Native Title from the Perspective of International Standards' [1997] AUYrBkIntLaw 4; (1998) 18 Australian Yearbook of International Law 127.
[62] Human Rights Committee General Comment 23 (50).
[63] See Pritchard S `The United Nations and the Making of a Declaration on Indigenous Rights' (1997) 2 Aboriginal Law Bulletin 4.
[64] See Pritchard S, above, note 61.
[65] See Compilation of General Comments and General Recommendations adopted by Human Rights Treaty Bodies UN Doc/HRI/GEN/1/Rev 3 (15 August 1997).
[66] General Comment 7, para 1; General Comment 20, para 6.
[67] General Comment 7, para 2.
[68] General Comment 7, para 1; General Comment 20, para 11.
[69] General Comment 20, para 11.
[70] See Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, National Report (AGPS, 1991) Vol 5.
[71] Cuneen C and McDonald D, Keeping Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People out of Custody: An Evaluation of the Implementation of the Recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (ATSIC, 1996).
[72] The former Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner monitored developments in the juvenile justice system and published findings in annual reports in 1995, 1996 and 1997: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, Third Report 1995 (AGPS, 1995); Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, Fourth Report 1996 (AGPS, 1996); Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, Fifth Report 1997 (Commonwealth of Australia, 1997).
[73] On indigenous criminal justice issues see Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, `Diversion from Custody' in Fourth Report 1996 (AGPS, 1996) pp 19-68; `Juvenile Justice' in Third Report 1995 (AGPS, 1995) pp 13-41; `The Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody: Commonwealth Implementation of Recommendations' in Second Report 1994 (AGPS, 1994) pp 75-98.
[74] Amnesty International Australia: A Criminal Justice System Weighted Against Aboriginal People \t(Amnesty International, 1993) pp 5-6.
[75] Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, Human Rights and Mental Illness: Report of the National Inquiry into the Human Rights of People with Mental Illness (AGPS, 1993) 2 volumes.
[76] Gallagher A, `Ending the Marginalisation: Strategies for Incorporating Women into the United Nations Human Rights System' (1997) 19 Human Rights Quarterly 283 at 303-4.
[77] See cases documented in Human Rights Watch Global Report on Women's Human Rights (Human Rights Watch, 1995). On the prosecution of rape by the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia see Niarchos C `Women, War and Rape: Challenges Facing the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia' (1995) 17 Human Rights Quarterly 649. On refugee women see United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees, General Recommendation 73, 1993, Refugee Protection and Sexual Violence; reproduced in Center for the Study of Human Rights, Women and Human Rights: The Basic Documents (Colombia University, 1996) p 221.
[78] Amnesty International Rape and Sexual Abuse: Torture and Ill-Treatment of Women in Detention \t(Amnesty International, 1992) p 1.
[79] Ibid p 156.
[80] See text at note 4.
[81] UN Doc CERD/C/347.
[82] UN Doc CERD/C/54/Misc.40/Rev.2.
[83] Ibid para 6.
[84] `Native title laws breach UN race rules' The Weekend Australian March 20-21 1999, p 3.