Australia’s government today defended a programme aimed at stamping out child sex abuse among Aborigines after a United Nations expert said the radical restrictions it imposed on minority communities amounted to human rights violations.

A United Nations representative is visiting Australia to investigate complaints that a government crackdown on child abuse in Outback settlements is violating Aborigines’ human rights.

Australia will issue its first formal apology for past policies that forcibly removed generations of Aboriginal children from their families, a senior minister said today.

A UN declaration on indigenous rights would have split Australia by giving Aborigines special privileges if the government accepted it, the Indigenous Affairs Minister said today.

AUSTRALIA’S Aborigines renewed calls for official recognition of past injustices yesterday after a court awarded an Aboriginal man A$525,000 (€329,500) for being taken from his family 50 years ago.