UPDATE 11.15am: AUSTRALIA has long been aware of the dangerous mental health consequences of mandatory immigration detention, a government health adviser says.

Head of the Department of Immigration's detention health advisory group Louise Newman said the psychological trauma of locking asylum seekers up became apparent 10 years ago.

"Government are aware that this is a damaging and very toxic system," she told ABC Radio.

"Yet the politics are such that it seems to be absolutely imperative."

Professor Newman agreed with the Australian Human Rights Commission's findings that there were high rates of self-harm and suicidal tendencies in detainees from Sydney's Villawood detention centre.

"Villawood certainly is serious in terms of the cluster of suicides (there)," she said.

"Whenever we have in close proximity people killing themselves then that raises very serious issues about the function of the system."

Her comments came as the United Nations' top human rights watchdog attacked Australia's tough refugee policies and accused politicians of "demonizing asylum-seekers".

UN Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay said mandatory detention in Australia had “cast a shadow” over its human rights record and breached international human rights obligations.

Ms Pillay, a former anti-apartheid campaigner and international criminal court judge, also said there was a strong undercurrent of racism in Australia.

“I come from South Africa and lived under this, and am every way attuned to seeing racial discrimination,” she said.

“There is a racial discriminatory element here which I see as rather inhumane treatment of people, judged by their differences, racial, colour or religions.”

The 69-year-old was speaking at the end of a six-day visit, and was due to hold talks with Prime Minister Julia Gillard before she left.

Ms Pillay criticised the “ingrained political habit of demonizing asylum-seekers”.

“The consequence of the constant political refrain that Australia is being “flooded” by people who are “queue jumpers” has resulted in a stigmatization of an entire group of people, irrespective of where they have come from or what dangers they may have fled,” she said.

“When detention is mandatory and does not take into account individual circumstances, it can be considered arbitrary, and therefore in breach of international law.”

Ms Pillay said she held concerns over the length of detention within centres, delays in processing security checks and in releasing children and families into the community.

A fundamental rethink of measures taken under the Northern Territory Emergency Response was also needed, Ms Pillay said, due to “inappropriate and inflexible policies” forced upon Aboriginals.

“I could sense the deep hurt and pain that they have suffered because of government policies that are imposed on them,” she said.

“I also saw Aboriginal people making great efforts to improve their communities, but noted that their efforts are often stifled by inappropriate and inflexible policies that fail to empower the most effective, local solutions.”



Originally published as Refugee detention a 'toxic system'