Australia s 43,000 prisoners are better fed than people in aged-care homes, with some allowed to plan and cook their own meals and order in ingredients.
To monitor compliance with OPCAT, UN independent inspection teams are permitted to conduct unannounced visits to any place where people are deprived of liberty. But on October 24, a Corrective Services NSW spokesperson announced that inspection teams were ‘refused entry without incident’ to the Mary Wade Correctional Centre. By Binoy Kampmark
The United Nations Sub-committee on the Prevention of Torture had only just begun its long-awaited visit to check on detainees in Australia when it suddenly cancelled the visit. Paul Gregoire reports on the obstruction it faced while attempting to carry out its mandate.