Australia Again Misses Deadline on OPCAT, the UN Rights Treaty to Protect Detainees
Australia has again missed its deadline for implementing an international anti-torture protocol that the nation agreed to comply with in December 2017. The deadline, last Friday, 20 January 2023, was actually the third such deadline the country has missed in...
A ‘Pandemic Treaty’ May be On its Way
Just as ‘State of Emergency Powers’ enacted by Governments in Australia during the Covid-19 pandemic ease, there’s a push for emergency control occurring on a global scale, led by the World Health Organisation (WHO). Currently the WHO is seeking to...
Australian Police Continue to Apply Prone Restraint Despite Multiple Deaths
The prone position involves a person lying face down on the ground. Police and corrections officers the world over apply the prone restraint when they’re trying to subdue an individual. And the use of this position during such episodes, does result...
In an Age of Unprecedented Polycrisis, “Taxing the Rich is Vital”, Declares Oxfam
Humanity is living through an unprecedented moment of multiple crises: basic goods and energy prices are rising, extreme poverty is growing for the first time in 25 years, millions are still reeling from the impact of the pandemic and climate...
The Importance of Terminology: Paedophile vs Child Sex Offender vs Minor Attracted Person
Police in Scotland have come under fire for a recent report which referred to child sexual offenders as “minor-attracted people”, or MAPs. The term was used in the nation’s Chief Constable Iain Livingstone in his annual report, and has been met...
Robot Lawyer Set to Argue First Case
Welcome to 2023, a time when advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) have come so far that a robot lawyer is ready to argue its first cases in a real courtroom. Artificial intelligence developed by startup company DoNotPay, will defend two...
Offences of Failing to Care or Provide for a Child in New South Wales
A recent case exemplifies how decisions made on a single night can change the course of a person’s night. On 23 December 2022, 33-year old Veronica Tejera and her husband, 37-year old Amercan ABC U.S. news producer Dan Tejera left...
Offences Relating to Human Trafficking in Australia
Polarising social media personality Andrew Tate has been detained in Roman over allegations of rape, human trafficking and organised crime. Andrew Tate was arrested and detained with his brother as part of an investigation that began last year, following allegations...
United Nations Abandons Futile Objective of a Drug-Free World
The 55th meeting of the Third Committee at the 77th session of the UN General Assembly took place on 17 December. And those gathered deliberated upon resolution L.13/Rev.1, which is titled, Addressing and Countering the World Drug Problem Through a Comprehensive, Integrated...
The Dalai Lama and the Geopolitics of Reincarnation
The Dalai Lama is the spiritual leader of the Tibetan people. The man holding the position today is the 14th person to have reincarnated as the top spiritual leader, and questions are being raised as to how his successor is...
