Table 4 M.M.M v Australia [113, 114]

Decision by UN Human Rights Committee, established by the ICCPR; 20 August 2013

Facts: Nine claimants (two from Myanmar, six Sri Lankan, and one Kuwaiti citizen) arrived by boat between 2009 and 2010, and sought asylum. They were held in Australian immigration detention facilities. The duration of their detention seemed indefinite: although all claimants had been recognised by the Australian authorities as refugees as per the UN Convention on Refugees, they were denied visas for residence in Australia based on negative security assessments by the Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO). The justifications and evidence related to the negative assessments were not conveyed to the authors. The claimants alleged the detention caused irreversible psychological harm and that the detention centre provided inadequate physical and mental health services. These allegations were confirmed in medical reports in relation to some of the claimants, and breaches of Article 7 (right not to face torture, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment) and Article 10(1) (failure to treat the detainees humanely and with respect for human dignity) of the ICCPR were argued.

Findings: The UN Human Rights Committee did not address the conditions of detention under Article 10(1) ICCPR. Instead, the UN Human Rights Committee found that Article 7 ICCPR in respect to the claimants had been violated. While the Australian government had presented evidence that the detention facilities provided mental and physical health services, the Committee found such services could not offset the negative impacts of ongoing detention for an indefinite duration.