The United Nations special rapporteur on torture has hit back at Tony Abbott's claim Australians are "tired of being lectured to by the United Nations", saying his organisation deserves respect.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
"I'm sorry that the Prime Minister believes that we lecture," Juan Mendez told Fairfax Media on Tuesday.
"We don't believe so. We try to treat all governments the same way and deal with specific obligations and standards in international law as objectively as we can."
Mr Mendez is a human rights lawyer who survived torture under Argentina's military junta in the 1970s.
In 1975 he was blindfolded and shoved in a car and taken for nearly three days of questioning by Argentinian intelligence officials. Interrogators gave him electric shocks and at one point put a gun in his mouth to try to force him to reveal information about his work and associates.
He presented his report examining cases of torture and mistreatment by governments to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva on Monday.
Of the 200 cases in the report involving 68 different countries, four refer to Australia and each of those examines claims of torture or cruel or degrading treatment in immigration detention.
Mr Abbott triggered a widespread outcry after he dismissed the report on Monday and attacked the UN for not giving his government credit for stopping boat arrivals.
"I think the UN's representatives would have a lot more credibility if they were to give some credit to the Australian government for what we've been able to achieve in this area," the Prime Minister said.
Among the concerns raised by the report was that escalating violence on Manus Island, and the "intimidation and ill-treatment of two asylum seekers" who gave statements about last year's violent clashes at the centre was in breach of the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
The report also found that recent changes to the Maritime Powers Act to give the government the power to detain asylum seekers at sea and return them violated the convention.
"I think people who are detained in the high seas and subject to prolonged detention on the basis of their status and not given a fair opportunity to make their case that they should not be sent back to a country where they might face torture," Mr Mendez said on Tuesday.
"I think it is my duty to tell Australia that, at least in that respect and in respect of keeping children in detention, that policy needs to be corrected."
He added that the government's response to concerns he had raised about the alleged mistreatment of two asylum seekers on Manus Island had been "insufficient".
"I called on the authorities to investigate and see if someone is being mistreated," Mr Mendez said.
"The government just said it's going through the courts. I think that is insufficient. What I want to know is if the investigation has singled anybody out for investigation or prosecution for torture."
Mr Mendez said the UN and the Abbott government disagreed about the extent to which Australia's asylum seeker policies complied with international law.
He described Mr Abbott's response as combative and invited Mr Abbott to have a constructive conversation.
"I appreciate the government has responded to the four cases I submitted, I just disagree that we are lecturing," Mr Mendez said.
"We are treating every government with a lot of respect.
"I think we in the United Nations also deserve respect and I wish the Prime Minister had taken my views on this more seriously and engaged with my rapporteurship more constructively.
"That is what I have always tried to do and I am still available for a constructive conversation."
Mr Mendez was appointed the UN special rapporteur on torture in 2010.
Prior to his appointment, he was a special advisor on crime prevention to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court and co-chair of the International Bar Association Human Rights Institute.
