gender identity, removing the stigma of mental disorder from same-sex sexual orientation, and countering other forms of homophobic discourse. RIGHT TO A HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT In February, authorities announced that production at the Almusar gold mine would resume despite outstanding concerns about potential environmental damage. Activists opposing the project continued to be harassed, including through lawsuits seeking excessive financial compensation for their environmental criticism. DEATH PENALTY In October, Armenia ratified Protocol No. 13 of the European Convention on Human Rights, thereby completing abolition of the death penalty in all circumstances, including for crimes committed in times of war and imminent threat of war. AUSTRALIA Australia Discrimination against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples remained entrenched. Children as young as 10 were imprisoned. Thousands of refugees were able to apply for permanent residency, and indefinite detention of asylum seekers was found unlawful. New laws were adopted restricting the right to peaceful protest. New fossil fuel projects were approved. BACKGROUND In February, the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture cancelled plans to resume a visit to Australia, suspended in 2022, after failing to secure guarantees of unrestricted access to all detention facilities. INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ RIGHTS On 14 October, Australians voted in a referendum against a constitutional amendment to establish the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander “Voice”, a body that 84 would have been mandated to make representations directly to the parliament on issues affecting First Nations peoples.1 Twenty Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people reportedly died in custody. Rates of detention of First Nations children declined, but they still represented over 50% of youth detainees. Rates of incarceration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults increased despite the target to reduce it by at least 15% by 2031. CHILDREN’S RIGHTS Children as young as 10 years old continued to be detained. In December, the Tasmanian government announced that the age of criminal responsibility in the state would be raised from 10 to 14 but not until 2029.2 The Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory raised the age of criminal responsibility to 12 years old, but this was still inconsistent with international standards that recommend a minimum age of at least 14 years. The Queensland government overrode protections under the state’s Human Rights Act by adopting legislation making breach of bail of children a criminal offence and allowing children to be detained in adult police facilities. A report of an official inspection into Banksia Hill Detention Centre in Western Australia found that “every element” of the youth detention facility was failing, putting the health and safety of detainees at risk. Boys transferred from Banksia Hill continued to be held in the maximum-security adult Casuarina Prison. On 19 October, a 16-yearold Aboriginal boy detained there died following a suicide attempt. REFUGEES’ AND MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS In February, in a move affecting approximately 19,000 people, the immigration minister announced that people who arrived by boat before 2013 and were granted temporary protection visas would be eligible to apply for permanent residency. In July, the Federal Court ruled in a case brought by Iranian-Kurdish refugee Mostafa The State of the World’s Human Rights