The Fremantle Declaration

Article

Julian Burnside

The Howard government has done nothing to help Hicks despite credible, repeated claims that he has been held in solitary confinement for years and has been repeatedly subjected to ill-treatment including sleep-deprivation.

At a meeting on 10 November, Australia’s state attorneys-general demanded immediate justice for Australian terrorism suspect David Hicks. Under what they are calling the Fremantle Declaration, the attorneys-general called on all Australian governments to uphold the right to a fair trial, the principle of habeas corpus, the prohibition on indefinite detention without trial, the prohibition of torture, access to rights under the Geneva Convention, the separation of powers and the prohibition of the death penalty. All the attorneys-general except the Philip Ruddock signed the declaration.

The Declaration reiterates Australia’s obligations under international human rights treaties. Australia is a party to those treaties. They set out the baseline measure of decent treatment of human beings. The Fremantle Declaration is a clear statement of values which are basic to Australian society.

Mr Ruddock is not a signatory to the Fremantle Declaration. He and the Howard government are in flagrant breach of its principles. The Howard government has done nothing to help Hicks despite credible, repeated claims that he has been held in solitary confinement for years and has been repeatedly subjected to ill-treatment including sleep-deprivation. The Howard government has done nothing to help Hicks even though he has not broken any Australian law, any American law or any Afghan law. The Howard government has abandoned David Hicks to his fate, despite overwhelming evidence that the “trial” to which Hicks will be subjected falls below the standard required in ordinary criminal trials.

Notoriously, the Howard government has held people in immigration detention, sometimes for many years, even though those people have committed no offence. This has involved gross traumatisation of refugee children and adults. This policy has repeatedly been criticised by international authorities as breaching Australia’s human rights obligations. The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission reported that the treatment of children in Australia’s detention centres was “cruel, inhumane and degrading.”

The Howard government’s anti-terror legislation, administered by Mr Ruddock, provides for people to be gaoled without trial and without the person being told the evidence against them. It provides for people to be placed under house arrest for up to 12 months, without knowing the evidence against them. It allows people who are not suspected of any offence to be ‘disappeared’ for up to a week.

The Fremantle Declaration sets out principles which should be embraced by all civilised people. We call on the federal government to sign it.

About Julian Burnside

Julian Burnside, QC is a barrister.

He acted for the Ok Tedi native people against BHP; for the Maritime Union of Australia in the 1998 waterfront dispute against Patrick Stevedores; for Liberty Victoria in the “Tampa” litigation; for the ABA in the “cash for comment” inquiry; and for Alan Bond in fraud trials.

Julian specialises in commercial litigation, but has acted pro bono in many human rights cases – in particular those concerning the treatment of refugees.

He is passionately involved in the arts, and has served on many arts and cultural organizations. He has written a children’s book, and is the author of Wordwatching, a book of essays about words and language. He was the architect of From Nothing to Zero, a collection of letters written by asylum seekers held in Australia’s detention camps, published by Lonely Planet.