Deathscapes

Ward 7c - Breaches of Rights

Deathscapes

A Fatal Zone of Indistinction: Breaches of Rights with Impunity vs the Law of the Land

‘I am satisfied that the deceased was subjected to degrading treatment and he was not treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person. There has been, therefore, a breach of the ICCPR. (International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights).’

Alastair Hope (State Coroner)

In the disjunction between the Coroners Act 1996 that precludes anything other than an  ‘open finding’ and Coroner Hope’s conclusion that Mr Ward was ‘subject to a breach of the ICCPR’ there lies a telling zone of indistinction, an unacknowledged gap between national and international law, between criminal conviction and breaches of civil and human rights. Justice for Mr Ward, as for many other casualties of state violence, remains consigned to this zone of indistinction and inaction.

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Daisy Ward sits in front of a memorial for John Pat at the Fremantle prison, holding a bunch of pink flowers. She is looking directly into the camera lens.

[imagecaption] Daisy Ward at John Pat Day Memorial Service, Fremantle, Western Australia, 2009. Photo: Desire Mallet. [/imagecaption]

 


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This research was primarily supported under the Australian Research Council’s Discovery Projects funding scheme.

Partial funding was received from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada’s Partnership Development Grants scheme.

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