Submission to Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory (Commonwealth Royal Commission into Incidents at the Don Dale Youth Detention Centre, Darwin, Northern Territory)

This submission focuses upon four distinct areas or themes relevant to the work of the Royal Commission and within its terms of reference: • The Subcommittee on the Prevention of Torture and Cruel Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the National Preventive Mechanism under the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture; • The desirability of introducing a Northern Territory Statutory Charter of Human Rights from the perspective of creating a legislated human rights cultural change agent in the delivery of Northern Territory government functions in youth detention; • Expansion of the criminal offences relating to torture in Division 274 of the Criminal Code (Cth) to include an offence relating to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; • Issues relating to the paramountcy of Commonwealth legislative power in relation to the Northern Territory.