Australia urged to make torture a Commonwealth offence

17/05/2008 13:12:45

The United Nations Committee Against Torture has urged the Australian Government to speed up the process of making torture a Commonwealth offence.

The committee has released a report praising the government on issues including the formal apology to the Stolen Generations and the end of the "Pacific Solution" to immigration detention.

But the committee criticised Australia over the lack of a specific torture offence in Commonwealth law, and the Australian Security and Intelligence Organisation's increased powers under the anti-terrorism laws.

The report was published in Geneva overnight.

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