ABSTRACT
Increasingly a number of Western democratic countries appear to be turning away from their commitment to universal humanitarian principles. This is particularly evident following the events of September 11 and the associated introduction or attempted introduction of laws substantially infringing the rights and civil liberties of the general citizenry. The neglect of humanitarian principles is seen in the creation of extra-judicial detention zones, such as in the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, originally used to house Cuban and Haitian refugees, and in the refugee camps established by the Australian government on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea and the Island Republic of Nauru. A withdrawal from internationalism and associated commitment to international law is particularly evident in the United States and
Australia where there is a refusal to ratify or to translate into domestic law international human rights treaties and obligations.
