UN's intervention report finds racial discrimination

ABC Online

Australia will face the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva in September accused of racially discriminating against Indigenous communities during the Northern Territory intervention.

The final report of the UN's special rapporteur on Indigenous rights, Professor James Anaya, found the intervention limits the rights and freedoms of Indigenous people in breach of Australia's international obligations. It follows similar preliminary findings during a visit to Australia last year.

The report does not discuss the Federal Government's planned changes to the intervention because they are not yet complete. Professor Anaya says there is little evidence that measures such as welfare quarantining actually work, and he welcomes planned changes.

"I have not in my report made a specific assessment of the reforms. I think that that would be inappropriate on my part since they're still being debated and still subject to ongoing revision," he said. "The Government itself, in presenting me with a summary of these reforms, has stated that there's a reform on the table and that it's being debated now."

He says he understands the need for specific measures in extreme situations, but they must not restrict Indigenous rights.

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