The prevalence of racism against indigenous Australians is deeply disturbing, a senior United Nationals official has said after travelling the country to inspect the treatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
UN special rapporteur Victoria Tauli-Corpuz says Australia needs a more comprehensive human rights framework to protect the rights of indigenous peoples.
"This (racism) manifests itself in different ways, ranging from public stereotyped portrayals of them as violent criminals, welfare profiteers and poor parents to discrimination in the administration of justice," she said in Canberra on Monday.
Ms Tauli-Corpuz said Aboriginal doctors and patients had opened up about experiencing racism within the medical sector during her 15-day visit to Australia and the issue had been identified in a national health plan.
The special rapporteur also struck out at the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in youth justice detention.
"I found meeting young children, some only 12 years old, in detention the most disturbing element of my visit," she said.
"Much more should be done to ensure that the detention of children remains the exception, rather than the norm."
More broadly, Ms Tauli-Corpuz said the number of indigenous people behind bars in Australian prisons was "simply astounding".
"The incredibly high rate of incarceration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, including women and children, is a major human rights concern," she said.
"While Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders make up only three per cent of the total population, they constitute 27 per cent of the prison population and much more in some prisons."
Ms Tauli-Corpuz called for a rethink of laws and policies not specifically targeted at indigenous people but which have a disproportionate impact on them, such as paperless arrest laws in the Northern Territory.
More should also be done to recruit Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prison staff and train workers in cultural sensitivity, she said.
Elsewhere, Ms Tauli-Corpuz said Australia's mainstream education system inadequately covered Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history and the impact of colonisation.
She urged the federal government to renew efforts to progress constitutional recognition of indigenous people and encouraged it to explore the possibility of a treaty with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
The special rapporteur also called on the government to develop a national strategy to eliminate the over-representation of indigenous children in out-of-home care and another on violence against indigenous women.
Ms Tauli-Corpuz will present a report of her findings and recommendations in September, just a month before Australia finds out whether it has secured a coveted seat on the UN's Human Rights Council.
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