Aboriginal leaders are calling on the United Nations to take urgent action to address Australia's "discriminatory and punitive youth justice policies", due to "serious violations of the human rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children".

The complaint has been submitted to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination by Associate Professor Hannah McGlade with the support of the Human Rights Law Centre.

It documents Australian federal, state and territory governments' "significant, persistent and escalating" racial discrimination and human rights violations against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children including:

- Draconian laws and policies in all states and territories, including a dramatic and significant escalation in these policies, which is fuelling a mass incarceration crisis;

- Ongoing cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of children by criminal legal systems, such as the use of spit hoods, solitary confinement and strip searching; and

- Persistent government inaction on independent recommendations for reform, including on the 1991 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody and the National Children's Commissioner's landmark 'Help Way Earlier!' report in August 2024.

The complaint calls on the UN Committee to find that the Australian government is in violation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and must urgently address this crisis.

The complaint has been endorsed by Aboriginal, legal and human rights organisations and experts and peak bodies including Professor Eddie Cubillo, the National Children's Commissioner, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, the Australian Human Rights Commission, National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services, and SNAICC – National Voice for our Children.

Dr McGlade, an expert member of the UN Permanent Forum for Indigenous Issues and complaint author, said on Tuesday: "We have made this urgent complaint because Aboriginal children's lives are on the line."

"Governments have refused to engage respectfully with Aboriginal people or respect the binding international human rights laws and standards we've agreed to," she said.

"These flagrant breaches of UN treaty law have been underlined by racism and neglect in Australian politics. We're calling on the United Nations Committee to find that Australia's laws, policies, and government inaction are fuelling a mass incarceration crisis, seriously violate Australia's human rights obligations and must urgently be addressed."

Dr McGlade said "there must be accountability and reform, we cannot keep going on this path of destruction, violence and racism towards Indigenous children".

"Our kids deserve better and our people deserve better," she said.

Human Rights Law Centre First Nations Justice Director Maggie Munn said Australia's "punitive laws and policies are fuelling a mass incarceration crisis and violating the human rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children".

"Instead of taking action to stop these human rights violations, governments across Australia are introducing and doubling down on deeply punitive laws that will exacerbate the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in police and prison cells.

"Our communities have the solutions. For decades, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities have implored governments to take real action on reducing the number of our children behind bars. Governments must urgently invest in self-determined supports that address children's unmet needs, not prisons."

A spokesperson for federal Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus told National Indigenous Times that while "state and territory governments have primary responsibility for child protection, justice and detention", the federal government "remains committed to improving youth justice outcomes, particularly for First Nations youth and works with state and territory governments on the justice targets under Closing The Gap".

"The Commonwealth funded National Justice Reinvestment Program enables First Nations communities to establish locally tailored initiatives that address the underlying causes of incarceration, including to reduce the contact of First Nations children with the criminal justice system. The total investment for justice reinvestment includes $79 million to support up to 30 community-led initiatives in First Nations communities across Australia, with ongoing funding of $20 million per annum from 2026-27. Of the 27 justice reinvestment initiatives, 12 have a specific focus on youth," he said.

"The Australian government has also committed $41.9 million for youth engagement and intervention activities for young people aged 10 to 25 that are involved in, or at risk of being involved in, the criminal justice system. These programs support young people to positively connect with family and community, improve their life skills, and target the root causes of youth crime and anti-social behaviour."