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ALHR welcomes early closure of Sydney exhibit
Australian Lawyers for Human Rights has thrown its support behind the early closure of a Sydney exhibition which is currently displaying 20 plastinated human bodies, as well as 200 plastinated human organs, human foetuses and body parts.
Emma Musgrave
Late last week the legal body, together with the NSW Bar Association, medical professionals, academics and civil society organisations, issued an open letter at NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian calling for an immediate investigation into Real Bodies - The Exhibition, which is currently showing at the Entertainment Quarter in Sydney.
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The exhibit was initially due to run until late October however it has been confirmed that it will now close on 16 September instead.
The closure follows mounting pressure placed on Ms Berejiklian and the NSW government at large, with concerns raised about the legal and ethical operations of the exhibition.
“The exhibition organisers have provided no documentation regarding the provenance and consent of the bodies and organs on display, and it remains unclear, without this documentation, whether the exhibition has complied with Australia’s laws, and internationally recognised legal and ethical standards,” said Madeleine Bridgett, co-chair of ALHR's Business and Human Rights Committee.
Ms Bridgett noted Tom Zaller, president and CEO of Imagine Exhibitions, the company responsible for the exhibition, has “publicly admitted there is no documentation verifying the provenance and identity of the deceased persons, and any certification of the deceased’s consent for display at the exhibition".
Credible evidence suggests that the exhibits may be the bodies and organs of executed prisoners of conscience in China, Ms Bridgett said.
“The extrajudicial killing of prisoners of conscience for their organs breaches fundamental human rights laws, and laws governing crimes against humanity, organ trafficking and organ transplant tourism,” she said.
“Australia should do all it can to ensure that the bodies and organs on display in the Exhibition have not been sourced from executed prisoners of conscience.”
In conclusion, while the ALHR welcomes the early closure of the Exhibition, Ms Bridgett noted it remains concerned about other current and future exhibitions permitted to operate in Australia without the necessary documentation to ensure the deceased’s human rights are protected.
“All exhibitions of this kind, before being permitted to operate in Australia, should provide Australian authorities with documentation regarding the provenance and consent of the bodies and organs on display," she said.
“Without such documentation these exhibitions should not be permitted to operate in Australia.”
