(b) Closing the ‘implementation gap’ between international standards and domestic action Throughout this project the Commission has also noted the implementation gap between the longstanding international human rights standards which Australia has committed to and their domestic protection. Of particular concern is the lack of robust, cohesive processes to set national priorities, measure progress in the achievement of human rights and to monitor compliance with international standards.2 In a Discussion Paper for this project released in 2019 the Commission noted: The Commission has identified that there is an implementation gap in Australia between the international human rights standards that Australian governments have committed to uphold over many years, and the actual protections in our laws, policies and processes of government. Whenever Australia participates in UN periodic reviews of its performance under human rights treaties, the limitations of our domestic legal protections of human rights are always raised as a concern, as illustrated in Table 2. Table 2: Human rights treaty body committee observations on the ‘implementation gap’ in Australia Treaty title Concluding Observations by treaty committee Convention against Torture and In November 2022, the Committee against Torture recommended Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading that the federal government should ‘effectively ensure coherent Treatment or Punishment (CAT, 1984) and consistent implementation of the Convention across all state and territory jurisdictions’.3 Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC, 1989) In November 2019, the Child Rights Committee noted the need to enact ‘comprehensive national child rights legislation fully incorporating the Convention’.4 Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD, 2006) In October 2019, the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, noted the ‘insufficient harmonization of the domestic legal framework with the Convention’.5 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW, 1979) In July 2018, the Committee recommended that Australia, ‘fully incorporate the Convention into national law by adopting a Charter of human rights’.6 International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD, 1965) In December 2017, the Committee recommended that Australia ‘take appropriate measures, including through the adoption of a human rights act, to strengthen protection of human rights and give full legal effect to the provisions of the Convention’.7 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR, 1966) In December 2017, the Human Rights Committee recommended that ‘the State party should adopt comprehensive federal legislation giving full legal effect to all Covenant provisions across all state and territory jurisdictions’.8 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR, 1966) In July 2017, the Committee recommended that ‘the State party consider introducing a federal charter of rights guaranteeing the full range of economic, social and cultural rights’.9 18 FREE & EQUAL: Revitalising Australia’s Commitment to Human Rights