Secrecy provisions in Australian counter-terrorism policy: violating international human rights standards?

Abstract

This article considers the interplay between international human rights standards and the development of, and debate around, personal secrecy provisions in two areas of Australian counter-terrorism policy: ASIO questioning; and detention warrants and preventative detention.These secrecy provisions are shown to violate relevant international human rights standards in the International Covenant on Civil And Political Rights and the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. It is argued that, although international human rights standards have had some purchase in the formation of counter-terrorism policy in Australia, this has been insufficient to date to prevent the development of policies that violate these standards.