The Age Discrimination Commissioner, Susan Ryan, has told the Parliamentary Friends of Seniors and Ageing that she believes there needs to be more protection of older people around the world. Reporting on her recent presentation at the UN’s Open Ended Working Group on Older People, Commissioner Ryan told MP’s at parliament House in Canberra that she has been convinced by the case put forward by those UN member States calling for the drafting of a new convention.
Read MoreA project to upgrade and connect Cambodia’s debilitated railways – which received $26 million of funding from AusAID – has caused significant harm to many of the 4000 families it is displacing. The Human Rights Law Centre has assisted a Cambodian NGO, Equitable Cambodia, and the New York-based, Inclusive Development International to submit a complaint with the Australian Human Rights Commission.
Read MoreWhen Mohamad Hassan Sultan and four other boys were innocently watching rubble being removed from a house destroyed in a cluster bomb strike, a truck bumped a tree, dislodging a cluster bomb. It detonated by Mohamad’s feet and blew up into him. He was killed and all his friends were injured. His shoes were blown off with parts of his feet and ankles still in them.
Read MoreThe Attorney-General and Minister for Foreign Affairs recently launched Australia’s Framework for Law and Justice in the Pacific. The Framework is a high-level statement of priorities intended to guide Australia’s work in the Pacific law and justice sector. The Framework commits Australia to help Pacific countries strengthen the rule of law and protect human rights.
Read MoreOn 3 May 2010, the Australian Parliament’s Human Rights Sub-Committee published a much anticipated report on Australia’s role in promoting and protecting human rights in the Asia-Pacific region, entitled Human Rights in the Asia-Pacific: Challenges and Opportunities. The Committee identified that the ‘Asia-Pacific is a diverse and complex region with a mosaic of human rights challenges’ and found that there is a ‘clear need to enhance mechanisms to protect human rights and to monitor and redress human rights violations’.
Read More10 December 2008 marks the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The UDHR recognises that respect for human rights and the rule of law is the foundation of peace, justice, security and human development.
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