Effectiveness of Responses

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Working Group on Arbitrary Detention

The WGAD investigate individual complaints as well as considering what is happening in whole states. They aim to protect the rights of individuals by investigating possible violations of human rights. People can tell the Working Group about a possible case of arbitrary detention and they will determine whether the complaint is genuine by using their criteria. One part of these criteria is that an arrest or detainment becomes arbitrary when a person is being deprived of fundamental rights stated in the UDHR.

They try and bring justice to those in a practical way. They visit countries in order to carry out research into possible violations of human rights. Their power is limited because they do not have the power to get people out of detention but they can pressure governments into doing so if the detention is determined to be arbitrary.

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Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Article 9)

The UDHR has been the catalyst for much discussion about human rights issues like arbitrary detention. One drawback of the UDHR is that unless there exists in a country the political will to ratify it in their domestic legislation, the UDHR is ineffectual. The UDHR itself is thought of as an effective document because of its wide acceptance by the international community. Its wide acceptance also means that if a member state does not comply with the principles in the document, the international community puts an immense amount of pressure on that state. The UDHR covers most fundamental rights and is still applicable even after over sixty years. It was responsive to the issue of defining what the fundamental rights were that were referred to in the UN Charter. The UDHR does aim to protect the rights of both individuals and society. However, it can difficult to balance these two aspects. The need to protect human rights can sometimes limit the ability of the judicial system. For example, it can make it hard for courts to be independent and can make the application of judgements difficult. The purpose of the UDHR is to provide guidance on the protection of human rights for individuals and it does this effectively. One problem with article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is that it does not define what arbitrary detention is, so when a deprivation of liberty becomes arbitrary.

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The Australian Human Rights Commission

The AHRC is responsive in that it gave Australia a body which could independently investigate breaches of human rights in various areas such as immigration detention. It also gave Australia access to UN Committees to show findings about Australia’s compliance with its international human rights obligations. The Commission has much influence in Australia and even in the International community. They have the ability to bring recommendations before the government to improve the treatment of refugees in immigration detention. They are recognised as a national human rights institution globally.

The legislation aims to create an institution for Australia that deal with important human rights issues so it has society’s interests in mind. It also in a way aims to protect individuals in that they are trying to create a society free from discrimination. The Commission attempts to achieve justice by providing facts for the government and the public in order to expose violations and instigate change. The AHRC has been criticised in the past because it is mainly focused on anti-discrimination and often isn’t involved in other human rights issues.

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Amnesty International Australia

AIA are quite an effective non-governmental response because they are widely respected and originated from a well-established organisation. They are responsive in that they campaign to try and pressure those with the power to make changes. Their cause is accessible because they inform on their website through videos and articles. 

They aim to protect the rights of the individuals who leave their countries because they are in danger. Their whole organisation is based around the idea of protecting individual’s fundamental rights. They also aim to protect the needs of society, as it is stated on their website that donations help to protect human rights and security in Australia. Despite having a great influence of the public, AIA’s power is essentially limited to that. They can influence people’s opinions but they don’t have the power to get people out of arbitrary detention directly. The effectiveness of AIA depends on the donations given by the general public because they do not accept government funding.