Australia

Despite a strong tradition of protecting civil and political rights, Australia has serious unresolved human rights problems. Undeterred by repeated calls by the United Nations to end offshore processing, Australia continues to hold asylum seekers who arrived by boat on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea and on the island nation of Nauru, where conditions are abysmal. Indigenous Australians are overrepresented in the criminal justice system. Half the prison population has a disability, and inmates face violence, neglect, and extended periods of isolation. Other human rights concerns include abuses in juvenile detention centers and overbroad counterterrorism laws.