UN Finds Australia in Breach of the Torture Convention
On 14 January 2026, the UN Committee against Torture held that Australia breached its obligations under the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) by failing to protect an Iranian asylum seeker from torture and ill-treatment during prolonged offshore detention in Papua New Guinea and subsequent onshore detention in Australia.
Australia argued it lacked jurisdiction over the Manus Island Regional Processing Centre and that detention conditions and medical care were adequate. The Committee rejected these submissions, finding that Australia exercised effective control through funding, management, contracting, and its policy decision to transfer asylum seekers offshore. Jurisdiction under CAT was therefore established, consistent with prior UN Human Rights Committee jurisprudence on Nauru.
The Committee found Australia failed to prevent torture and ill-treatment offshore, noting the lack of protection from serious violence, absence of effective investigation or accountability, and failure to provide adequate rehabilitation and medical care. It concluded that the cumulative impact of harsh conditions, prolonged detention, and uncertainty amounted to torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, contrary to articles 2(1) and 16 CAT.
The Committee further held that the complainant’s prolonged, mandatory, administrative detention in Australia, without individualised assessment or compelling justification, also constituted cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, particularly given his prior offshore detention and documented medical vulnerability.
Australia was directed to provide full redress, including compensation and rehabilitation, ensure access to a proper assessment of the complainant’s protection claims, and adopt guarantees of non-repetition.
Read the media release issued by the United Nations here: https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2026/01/australia-offshore-and-prolonged-detention-exposed-iranian-asylum-seeker