International advocacy group Human Rights Watch (HRW) released its , and the findings aren't good for Australia.
The report, which looked at the state of human rights in Australia and abroad over the past year, found that there remained 'serious unresolved' problems in the country.
"Undeterred by repeated calls by the United Nations to end offshore processing, Australia continued in 2017 to hold asylum seekers who arrived by boat on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea and on the island nation of Nauru, where conditions are abysmal," the report stated.
"Indigenous Australians are over-represented in the criminal justice system. Half the prison population has a disability, and inmates face violence, neglect, and extended periods of isolation. Abuses in juvenile detention centers and overbroad counter-terrorism laws persist."
The findings came one year after Australia was panned by HRW, mainly due to its
Despite the report, the organisation's Australia director Elaine Pearson said the country had made 'progress' in 2017.
Ms Pearson cited the legalisation of same-sex marriage, and a Royal Commission into the systematic abuse of children in detention in the Northern Territory as steps in the direct direction.
For same-sex couples and their supporters, the legalisation of same-sex marriage marked a turning point for the LGBTQI community in this country.
Mr Pearson said the move towards marriage equality was a major step forward for LGBTQI rights in this country, but similar action needs to happen in other areas.
"I think Australia has made important progress in 2017," she said.
"However there is still a long way to go. This year we will be entering the fifth year that asylum seekers and refugees remain in limbo in Nauru and Manus Island. And of course there has been little progress for Indigenous people in the last year either."
Supplied image obtained Saturday, November 18, 2017, of asylum seekers and refugees protesting at the Manus Island immigration detention centre Source: Refugee Action Coalition
The Royal Commission into the systematic abuse of children in detention in the Northern Territory was established after media reports emerged of physical and mental abuse of young inmates at the Don Dale Detention Centre in the Northern Territory.
Ms Pearson said she would like to see the recommendations implemented as soon as possible.
"I think if the recommendations are implemented then it will provide an excellent road to end the abuses that we witnessed on television last year," she said.
"We know that this problem is not unique to the Northern Territory, there have been issues in Victoria. And in recent days there have been new allegations in WA. So this is a nationwide problem which requires a nationwide solution."
The Don Dale youth detention centre in the Northern Territory. Source: AAP
The report also raised concerns about counter-terrorism laws in response to the threat of incidents of home-grown terrorism in Australia.
In late 2016, the government passed legislation allowing for the further detention of offenders who had served sentences for terror-related offences, if they were deemed to be at risk of offending again.
Human Rights Watch said the government had the right to protect the security of Australian citizens.
But Ms Pearson said there were still "concerning" aspects of these laws.
"There are proposals at least on the books from last year that are saying children as young as ten can be held in pre-trial detention without charge for lengthy periods of time. We are also concerned about provisions that now allow for people convicted of charges relating to terrorism to be held after they are sentenced has finished," she said.
"We really we think that this is a concern for rule of law in Australia. Because usually, you do the crime, you go to trial, you serve your sentence and then you're released. But if we are holding people in indefinite detention I think that sends a terrible message for our criminal justice system and rule of law in Australia."
Global outlook
The global report reviews human rights practices in more than 90 countries.
It raised concerns about the impact of populist leaders who it says are using economic inequality and technology to fuel a culture of xenophobia.
Also noted in the report were what it labeled as atrocities in Yemen, Syria, Burma and South Sudan which it says continue to happen unchecked because countries with the power to instigate change are doing little to affect change.
On a positive note, the report welcomes the repealing of laws in Tunisia, Jordan, and Lebanon which allowed rapists to escape punishment by marrying their victim - a move it says is indicative of the changing status of women in some parts of the world.
"Obviously there was the 'MeToo' movement which gained momentum throughout the year and brought attention to the issue of sexual harassment," Ms Pearson said.
"But also in countries in the Middle East, we saw the repeal of these laws, the 'marry your rapist' laws as they were known. So I think this is really positive. We also saw the repeal of the ban on women driving cars in Saudi Arabia but obviously there is still a long way to go for women rights in the Middle East, but at least we saw some progress in 2017."
