Yahoo – AFP,
April 3, 2017
Sydney (AFP) - Racism against Aborigines in Australia is widespread and "deeply disturbing", a United Nations envoy said Monday, urging the government to work more closely with indigenous people.
UN blasts
'disturbing' racism against Aborigines in Australia
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Sydney (AFP) - Racism against Aborigines in Australia is widespread and "deeply disturbing", a United Nations envoy said Monday, urging the government to work more closely with indigenous people.
UN special
rapporteur Victoria Tauli-Corpuz has been on a 15-day visit at Canberra's
invitation to check on progress made since the last such trip in 2009.
She said
she found racism against the indigenous population widespread.
"As I
have travelled across the country, I have found the prevalence of racism
against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples deeply disturbing,"
she said.
"This
manifests itself in different ways, ranging from public stereotyped portrayals
of them as violent criminals, welfare profiteers and poor parents and to
discrimination in the administration of justice."
During her
tour, Tauli-Corpuz examined measures aimed at reducing indigenous disadvantage,
jail conditions, land rights issues and violence against women.
Aborigines
-- who make up about three percent of the population of 24 million -- are among
the most disadvantaged Australians.
In February
an annual government report entitled "Closing the Gap" found that
Australia was failing in its efforts to improve Aboriginal lives, with targets
-- including cutting child mortality and raising life expectancy -- not being
met.
Prime
Minister Malcolm Turnbull admitted at the time not enough progress had been
made and committed more money to improve research and evaluate policies to
improve the situation.
The UN
rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples said in a statement there was a
lack of government consultation with indigenous bodies working to support their
own communities in public health, housing, education, and child protection.
She said
the national representative body for the indigenous population -- the National
Congress of Australia's First Peoples -- was "dismally disregarded by the
government".
"While
Australia has adopted numerous policies aiming to address Aboriginal and Torres
Strait socio-economic disadvantage, the failure to respect the right to
self-determination and the right to full and effective participation in these
is alarming," she said.
"The
compounded effect of these policies has contributed to the failure to deliver
on the targets in the areas of health, education and employment in the Closing
the Gap strategy."
Tauli-Corpuz
said indigenous organisations "remain unfunded or have had funding
radically cut" and urged Canberra to do more.
She
highlighted escalating rates of youth suicide, and denounced as "simply
astounding" the high levels of indigenous incarceration.
Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islanders make up 27 percent of the prison population,
despite accounting for just three percent of the total population.
"Imprisonment
is the end result of years of dispossession, discrimination and trauma faced by
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders populations over the generations,"
said the envoy.
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