Human rights lawyers and Aboriginal leaders are calling on the United Nations to urgently address Australia’s “punitive” youth criminal and justice policies.

The complaint, submitted by Hannah McGlade and Megan Davis and backed by the Human Rights Law Centre, alleges Australia is in violation of the human rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in detention and the youth justice system.

Advocates say little has changed following a number of independent recommendations, including the 1991 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody and NT Royal Commission into Youth Detention and Child Protection sparked by video footage from Don Dale Youth Detention Centre.

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Produced By: Emma Wotzke

Featured In Story: Hannah McGlade – Associate Professor at Curtain University, member of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, and

First aired on The Wire, Friday 4 April 2025