Ignoring International Obligations: Blocking UN Human Rights Delegates in Australia

Photo by Mathias Reding

Bureaucracy, in a formulation by the great German sociologist Max Weber, fanatically defends secrecy, and is bound to confect any explanation in doing so.  When it comes to swatting away scrutiny by United Nations human rights delegates, local officials can be relied upon to obfuscate, blur and lie about a Member State’s observance of conventions and fundamental norms.  In October 2022, and again in December 2025, UN bodies have been trying to piece together various...