CELIA DOWLING
IN CASE you have been living under a rock or simply hiding from the news these past couple of weeks, here is a quick run-down on what is now known as ‘The Bali 9 Execution’.
It was just two weeks ago when two Australian citizens faced the firing squad under a state-sanctioned execution, having been convicted ten years ago of organising the smuggling of heroin from Bali to Australia. In the lead-up to Wednesday April 29, Julie Bishop and multiple human rights activists pushed for the clemency of Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran through appealing to Indonesia’s humanitarian responsibilities and presenting the significant rehabilitation of the two. Each denounced the Indonesian government for their use of capital punishment, saying that it broke international law. However, their efforts came to no avail.
Now, the Abbott government is being encouraged to take action on its objection to the death penalty. And it certainly looks like they shall, with the PM withdrawing the Australian ambassador to Indonesia after Julie Bishop stated “there will be have to be consequences” directed at the Indonesian government.
HOWEVER, before jumping on the band wagon with the rest of the world to fight for the upholding of human dignity, we must stop and analyse what grounds AUSTRALIA has for calling out the faults of other countries.
Let’s face it, we don’t have the greatest track record when it comes to the treatment of humans.
In the late 1700s, European settlers used disease, massacre and kidnapping to shrink the Indigenous population in Australia by 90%. In the mid 1800s, wealthy citizens and governors condemned the labour force by implementing severe and exclusive gold mining taxes, culminating in fatal battle of the Eureka Stockade. In the early to mid 1900s, the Immigration Restriction Act (otherwise known as the White Australia Policy) impeded certain European and in particular Asian immigrants from entering into the Australian community.
And now, Australia’s asylum seeker policies are being challenged internationally through their breaching of multiple human rights conventions.
It is a tad awkward.
It is a tad awkward that Australian human rights barrister Geoffrey Robertson has called for the United Nations (UN) to intervene in Indonesia’s practice of the death penalty, when the same UN has recently expressed its concern to the Australian government on the indefinite and inhuman sentencing of asylum seekers to detention centres on Manus Island and Nauru. It is a tad awkward that post-executions, the government announced that “[w]e do deplore what’s been done and this cannot be simply business as usual”, when Australia’s own routine of locking away children and subjecting them to torture is in itself deplorable. It is a tad awkward that Tony Abbott replied to the accusations of breaching the UN Convention Against Torture saying “I really think Australians are sick of being lectured to by the United Nations,” despite clearly encouraging the UN’s distaste of Indonesia’s death penalty.
Just a tad awkward, I say, in a tone saturated with sarcasm.
In order to better visualise how Australia’s claim against the death penalty is thwarted by hypocrisy, let’s compare notes on how Indonesia’s capital punishment breaches differ from those of Australia’s asylum seeker policies.
| INDONESIA ~ capital punishment | AUSTRALIA ~ asylum seeker policy | |
| Breach of the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) to which both countries are signatories. | The initial covenant stated that capital punishment should only be used for “the most serious crimes, that is, those involving intentional killing, and only after a fair trial.” Not drug trafficking. | Arbitrary detention is prohibited. Australia’s “turn back” policy and the mandatory yet often indefinite onshore/offshore detention of asylum seekers are in violation of these principles. |
| Breach of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child to which both countries are signatories. | – | As of February 2014, there were 929 children held in onshore and offshore detention centres as complying with Australian law, for time periods averaging over 8 months. This is despite that Article 37 of the convention says that “no child shall be deprived of his or her liberty unlawfully or arbitrarily… The arrest, detention or imprisonment of a child shall be in conformity with the law and shall be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time.” |
| Breach of the UN Convention Against Torture to which both countries are signatories. | After a prolonged period of imprisonment on death row, it is improper to carry out execution as “the constant alternation of hope with despair [amounts] to mental torture, and [is] contrary to the convention on torture.” | “Torture, cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment is prohibited.” However asylum seekers held in detention centres particularly on Manus Island and Nauru are subject to harsh conditions and frequent outbreaks of violence. UN Committee says in a report that “the combination of … harsh conditions, the protracted periods of closed detention and uncertainty about the future reportedly creates serious physical and mental pain and suffering.” |
| Amnesty International’s response. | They do not approve of the executions, calling them “cruel, senseless and abhorrent”. | They are encouraging a “call on the Australian Government to release all children from immigration detention,” appalled by the physical and psychological damage done to children. |
| Human Rights Commission report ‘The Forgotten Children’ conducted by Human Rights Commission president Gillian Triggs | – | Children as young as 12 observe high levels of violence, partake in self-harming and are found to be experiencing substantial issues regarding mental health. |
| Other responses. |
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Clearly, each government perceives a different issue to be a threat to the nation’s security, with or without good reason. For Australia, it’s the trickle of immigrants who flee persecution and can only afford the services of leaky boats. And for Indonesia, it’s drug traffickers. Unfortunately, due to instilled fear and systematic tradition, these habits of disrespecting the dignity of human life are so ingrained into political proceedings, making them difficult to suddenly abolish.
This comparison gives us an insight into the complexity of diplomacy and the unfortunately multiple ways by which governments violate basic human rights to maintain control and public interest.
What is most important to understand is that the legitimacy of any humanitarian claim made by Australia is doomed to be heavily doubted until we start rolling up our sleeves and correcting our own faults. How is any international committee or foreign government supposed to thoroughly consider our objection to an issue such as capital punishment, when we condemn to live in discomfort helpless people yearning for security?
Terms and definitions:
Bali 9: 9 Australians with heroin strapped to their bodies were caught boarding an Australia-bound flight in Indonesian customs in Bali, October 23, 2004.
State-sanctioned: approved of by the government of an organised political nation.
Julie Bishop: Australia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs; deputy of the Liberal Party.
Clemency: mercy; pardon.
Humanitarian: concerned with human rights, human welfare.
Rehabilitation: the restoration of previous privileges and rights of a person, usually after spending time in prison.
Capital punishment: punishment for a crime by death.
Coalition: a temporary alliance of political parties (for example, Liberal and Labour) formed through combined action.
Tony Abbott: Australia’s Prime Minister, leader of the Liberal Party.
Ambassador: someone sent by a nation or territory to represent them in another country.
Convention: an agreement between states, similar to a treaty, on a specific issue.
Barrister: a type of lawyer, often an advocate for common law and often in the higher courts
United Nations (UN): International Human Rights Council.
Signatory: a party (especially a state) that has signed an agreement, obliging them to uphold the responsibilities of the said agreement.
Protocol: a procedure or system of rules agreed upon to govern affairs or action
Arbitrarily: basing on random choice or spontaneity as opposed to reason.
Diplomacy: managing international relations.
Resources 17.05.2015
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1. Indonesia’s Death Penalty Or Australia’s Asylum Policy.” 17 May. 2015 <http://www.buzzfeed.com/alexlee/indonesias-death-penalty-or-australias-asylum-policy>
2. “Hard line on refugees undermines principled opposition to …” 2015. 17 May. 2015 <http://theconversation.com/hard-line-on-refugees-undermines-principled-opposition-to-execution-40953>
3. “Geoffrey Robertson calls on Australian government to use …” 2015. 17 May. 2015 <http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/geoffrey-robertson-calls-on-australian-government-to-use-international-law-to-save-andrew-chan-and-myuran-sukumaran-20150428-1mvgxe.html>
4. “UN finds Australia’s treatment of asylum seekers violates the …” 2015. 17 May. 2015 <http://hrlc.org.au/un-finds-australias-treatment-of-asylum-seekers-violates-the-convention-against-torture/>
5. “The story of the Bali Nine: How two Australians … – Mashable.” 2015. 17 May. 2015 <http://mashable.com/2015/04/28/indonesia-bali-nine-australians/>
6.”Bali 9 duo’s execution ‘will have consequences’ says … – ABC.” 2015. 17 May. 2015 <http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2015/s4225605.htm>
7. “International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.” 2013. 17 May. 2015 <http://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/ccpr.aspx>
8. “Act now: Speak up for kids in detention – Amnesty …” 2015. 17 May. 2015 <http://www.amnesty.org.au/refugees/comments/36905/>
9. “From The United Nations | Death Penalty Information Center.” 2008. 17 May. 2015 <http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/united-nations>
10. “Children in detention: Is Australia breaching international law?.” 2014. 17 May. 2015 <http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-03-31/children-in-detention-is-australia-breaching-international-law/5344022>
11. “Australia’s detention of refugees is forbidden by …” 2014. 17 May. 2015 <http://www.smh.com.au/national/australias-detention-of-refugees-is-forbidden-by-international-law-un-committee-against-torture-20141128-11wjas.html>
Social Catalysts 
