Civil society groups and unions have welcomed proposed changes to strengthen Australia’s modern slavery law, including through the introduction of penalties, but are calling on the Albanese Government to also introduce a legal requirement for companies to take action to prevent modern slavery.
Read MoreCivil society groups have welcomed the Albanese Government’s appointment of Chris Evans as Australia’s first national, independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner.
Read MoreCommunities living with the ongoing devastation from Rio Tinto’s former Panguna mine in Bougainville are calling on the company to commit to funding remediation and long-term solutions, after the initial results of a major independent environmental and human rights impact assessment of the mine undertaken by Tetra Tech Coffey were presented back to communities.
Read MoreCivil society groups and unions have welcomed the Albanese Government’s establishment of an Anti-Slavery Commissioner, but urged the Government to strengthen the Commissioner’s powers and resourcing.
Read MoreCommunities affected by pollution from Rio Tinto’s former Panguna mine on Bougainville, represented by the Human Rights Law Centre are calling for the company to commit to funding long-term solutions so people can live safely on their land again.
Read MoreAustralian civil society organisations have welcomed the EU’s new corporate due diligence law as a significant step forward for the protection of people and the planet and called on the Albanese Government to follow Europe's lead.
Read MoreTen international civil society organisations with extensive experience in human rights and environmental issues warn that the lack of prior consultation of the 11 Indigenous Peoples of Jujuy in the approval process for the reform of the provincial constitution is incompatible with international human rights and environmental standards.
Read MoreA coalition of 41 human rights advocates, unions, faith groups and academics have called on the Albanese Government to address major issues with Australia’s Modern Slavery Act and the proposed new Anti-Slavery Commissioner role.
Read MoreA legislated duty of care to current and future Australian children would positively accelerate the Australian Government’s action to tackle climate change and create a fairer and more sustainable future, the Human Rights Law Centre will tell a Senate committee in evidence today.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre will today urge the Albanese Government to strengthen the powers of its new proposed Anti-Slavery Commissioner in evidence given to the Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre has called on the Albanese Government to strengthen the powers of its new proposed Anti-Slavery Commissioner to enable the role to more effectively tackle modern slavery.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre has called on the Australian Government to strengthen the powers of Australia’s principal corporate human rights watchdog, the Australian National Contact Point for Responsible Business Conduct.
Read MorePrivate security firm G4S and the Australian government have settled civil proceedings with the parents of Iranian asylum seeker Reza Berati who was killed during the 2014 Manus Island riots.
Read MoreLeaders in communities impacted by Rio Tinto’s former Panguna mine are growing increasingly concerned about the dangerous and volatile situation they are living in. In particular, recent heavy rainfall has seen rivers choked with mine tailings waste flood, swamping several communities.
Read MoreA coalition of human rights organisations and academics has today released a new research report revealing the results of a detailed survey of nearly 90 business groups on the impact of Australia’s Modern Slavery Act.
Read MoreA national coalition of over 40 legal service providers, unions, ethnic community peak bodies, churches, and national organisations is calling on Minister for Home Affairs Clare O’Neil to urgently bring widespread migrant worker exploitation out of the shadows.
Read MoreA historic independent environmental and human rights legacy impact assessment of Rio Tinto’s former Panguna mine will begin in Bougainville this week.
Read MoreA coalition of human rights organisations and academics are calling on the Federal Government to overhaul Australia's modern slavery laws after a major investigation has found, three years into the Act’s operation, companies are still failing to identify obvious modern slavery risks in their supply chains or take action to address them.
Read MoreA new report by the Melbourne Social Equity Institute and Human Rights Law Centre, Labour in Limbo: Bridging Visa E holders and Modern Slavery Risk in Australia, casts a new light on the continued suffering of people who sought safety in Australia by boat.
Read MoreA new independent report reviewing satellite images and other historical data on Rio Tinto's former Panguna mine has warned of serious risks to local communities posed by unstable mine infrastructure and flooding caused by the build-up of mine waste in the rivers.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre has welcomed the release of an Issues Paper this week as part of the three-year review of the Modern Slavery Act.
Read MoreLawyers acting for the parents of murdered Iranian asylum seeker Reza Berati have welcomed the settlement last week of civil proceedings brought by former Manus Island guard Chandra Osborne, and called on the Australian Government and G4S to now compensate Mr Berati's family.
Read MoreAs Rio Tinto shareholders gather in London this week for the company’s AGM, over in Bougainville, the initial steps on a comprehensive environmental and human rights assessment of the company’s former Panguna mine have commenced.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre has welcomed the Australian Government's ratification of the International Labour Organisation Forced Labour Protocol, which imposes legally-binding obligations on states to prevent and address forced labour.
Read MoreA coalition of human rights organisations, church groups and academics are calling on the federal government to strengthen Australia's modern slavery laws after releasing a major new investigative report which found that many companies are failing to identify obvious risks of forced labour in their supply chains or take action to address them.
Read MoreUyghur organisations, human rights groups and trade unions have welcomed the introduction of a Bill which would ban goods produced with forced labour, and called on the Morrison Government to support the legislation.
Read MoreBougainville community leader and MP Theonila Roka Matbob has received the Gwynne Skinner Human Rights Award in recognition of her outstanding work to hold mining giant Rio Tinto to account for the legacy of environmental devastation caused by its former Panguna mine.
Read MoreThe Australian Senate has voted to ban the importation of any goods made with forced labour into Australia.
Read MoreHuman rights, Uyghur organisations and trade unions are calling on the Australian Senate to back legislation banning the importation of goods made with forced labour.
Read MoreThe parents of Iranian asylum seeker Reza Berati, who died in 2014 after being brutally beaten in an Australian offshore detention centre, have commenced legal action over his death.
Read MoreRio Tinto has today publicly committed to fund an independent environmental and human rights impact assessment of its former Panguna mine in Bougainville in response to a human rights complaint filed by Bougainville communities.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre has welcomed a Senate Committee report recommending a ban on the importation of any goods produced with forced labour into Australia.
Read MoreEvidence of mass internments, widespread forced labour and other atrocities against Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims in Xinjiang provide an urgent case for action by the Australian Government to ensure businesses are not complicit in serious human rights abuses, the Human Rights Law Centre will tell a Senate inquiry today.
Read MoreAn Open Letter to the UN Security Council and Individual UN Member States
Read MoreCredible evidence of mass internments, forced labour and other atrocities against Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims in Xinjiang provide an urgent case for action by the Australian Government to ensure businesses are not profiting from these abuses, the Human Rights Law Centre said this week in a report to a parliamentary committee.
Read MoreCivil society groups have firmly denounced the military coup in Myanmar which has suspended civilian government and effectively returned full power to the military.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre has today welcomed an interim Senate report condemning Rio Tinto’s destruction of a 46,000 year-old Aboriginal site at Juukan Gorge in WA and recommending a suite of measures to improve protection of other significant sites across Australia.
Read MoreResidents of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea have welcomed a decision by the Australian Government to accept a human rights complaint against mining giant Rio Tinto for investigation and conciliation.
Read MoreToday 156 Bougainville community members have filed a complaint with the Australian Government against Rio Tinto for environmental and human rights violations caused by its former mine on Bougainville in Papua New Guinea.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre has welcomed the removal of Rio Tinto’s CEO, Jean-Sébastien Jacques, head of Corporate Relations Simone Niven and Head of Iron Ore Chris Salisbury following the company’s detonation of a 46,000 year old Aboriginal sacred site in the Pilbara region, Western Australia.
Read MoreHuman rights and legal organisations today welcomed proposals by the Australian Law Reform Commission to strengthen Australia’s corporate criminal laws in relation to human rights abuses committed by Australian companies overseas.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre has told the Senate Committee tasked with investigating the Federal Government's response to COVID-19 that human rights must be at the centre of the Government’s actions, both now and into the future.
Read MoreToday, 35 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and human rights organisations have called on the global Corporate Human Rights Benchmark (CHRB), based in the Netherlands, to strip Rio Tinto of its status as a global human rights leader, following the company’s blasting of a 46,000 year old Aboriginal sacred site in the Pilbara region, Western Australia.
Read MoreA coalition of civil society organisations, unions and academics has called on the Department of Home Affairs to include union and human rights experts in the newly established Modern Slavery Expert Advisory Group to ensure workers’ rights and not just the interests of business are at the centre of the Government’s plan to eradicate modern slavery.
Read MoreWe are proud to join leading human rights and corporate accountability organisations from around the world calling on governments, business and investors to ensure responsible business conduct and accountability during the COVID-19 crisis.
Read MoreAhead of Rio Tinto’s Australian annual general meeting (AGM) this Thursday, the Catholic Diocese of Bougainville and local landowners have called on the British-Australian mining giant to address the legacy of environmental destruction created by its former Panguna mine on the Pacific island.
Read MoreWe are proud to join the Migrant Workers Centre and more than 120 other civil society, faith, business, union and migrant organisations across Australia to call on the Morrison Government to urgently expand its wage subsidy JobKeeper scheme.
Read MoreMining giant Rio Tinto is responsible for multiple human rights violations caused by pollution from its former mine on the Pacific island of Bougainville, the Human Rights Law Centre concludes in a major new investigative report released this week.
Read MoreToday as we celebrate Human Rights Day, we are delighted to launch our Annual Report for 2019.
Read MoreToday, the Human Rights Law Centre welcomes the Federal Government’s appointment of Mr John Southalan as the first-ever Australian independent examiner charged with investigating reported instances of corporate misconduct by Australian multinationals.
Read MorePaying another company to run the Australian Government’s offshore detention centre on Manus Island will not end the suffering of the men still trapped on the remote island, the Human Rights Law Centre said today in response to reports the Morrison Government will terminate Paladin’s contract once another company is appointed.
Read MoreSerious human rights abuses in the overseas operations of some of Australia’s most prominent companies have been highlighted in a major report by the Human Rights Law Centre.
Read MoreAustralia’s national security and intelligence agencies must be more accountable and transparent, the Human Rights Law Centre has told an independent national review.
Read MoreAt ANZ’s annual general meeting in Perth this morning, questions will be asked of CEO Shayne Elliott about the bank’s failure to compensate Cambodian farmers pushed off their land to make way for an ANZ-funded sugar plantation.
Read MoreNew laws to address forced labour in the supply chains of Australian companies passed today in Parliament, but human rights advocates say they don’t go far enough. The Modern Slavery Act will require large Australian companies and organisations to report annually on steps they are taking to address forced labour.
Read MoreAt the same time as children and their families are being medically evacuated from Nauru, it’s been reported today that Canstruct, a Queensland company, is set to make in the order of $150 million in earnings from the Australian Government for running the Nauru detention centre.
Read MoreDespite reports today that all children and their families will finally be evacuated from Nauru and amidst mounting public pressure to end offshore detention, it’s also been reported that Canstruct has had its contract to run the Nauru detention centre renewed.
Read MoreThe Government’s new modern slavery legislation will not be effective in combating forced labour unless stronger compliance measures are implemented, the Human Rights Law Centre said today.
Read More“The Australian government’s refugee policies have been internationally condemned as putting lives at risk. Businesses, including airlines, that actively facilitate and profit from this system are complicit in abuse and risk exposing themselves to serious reputational liability.”
Read MoreStronger oversight and compliance measures are needed to ensure the Government’s new modern slavery legislation is effective in combating forced labour, the Human Rights Law Centre said today.
Read MoreThe Turnbull Government’s second session as a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council, the UN body responsible for protecting the rights and dignity of people all over the world, will begin in Geneva tomorrow.
Read MoreOn the eve of the fifth anniversary of the tragic Rana Plaza factory collapse, twelve prominent Australian organisations have united to call on Australian brands that are lagging behind the rest of the industry to sign the 2018 Bangladesh Fire and Safety Accord, developed in the wake of the building collapse that claimed the lives of more than 1100 workers in Bangladesh on 24 April 2013.
Read MoreAs the United Nations debates Eritrea’s troubled human rights record, an Australian mining company has taken the extraordinary step of appearing with the Eritrean regime to help it defend its actions.
Read MoreAustralian companies need to be held to account for human rights abuses they commit overseas, but Australia’s complaints system is woefully inadequate and in desperate need of reform.
Read MoreThe Department of Immigration revealed in Senate Estimates today that Australian engineering firm Canstruct was the only firm approached to tender for the contract to run Australia’s immigration detention centre on Nauru.
Australian engineering firm Canstruct will be complicit in serious human rights abuses if it takes over the contract to run the Australia’s immigration detention centre on Nauru. A leaked memo from Canstruct’s CEO overnight, shows the company will take over the contract to run the Nauru centre by the end of the month, and will be paid $8 million by the Australian Government.
Read MoreForeign Minister Julie Bishop has come under strong criticism from members of an advisory group that the Minister established just this year. Members of the Multi-Stakeholder Advisory Group on the Implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights were disappointed that their recommendations have been dismissed outright by the Foreign Minister.
Read More“I've met kids in Cambodia who had been compelled to work 14-hour days on plantations in blistering heat to supply produce that ends up on Western supermarket shelves. We clearly need a better system of regulation here to ensure that Australian companies are not turning a blind eye to these sorts of practices,” said Keren Adams.
Read MoreThe African Commission on Human and People's Rights has urged the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo to re-open the criminal investigation into the role an Australian company, Anvil Mining, played in a massacre of 70 people in 2004.
Read MoreAustralia should introduce strong laws to tackle modern slavery in the global supply chains of Australian businesses, the Human Rights Law Centre today told a parliamentary inquiry hearing.
Read MoreAustralia’s key complaints body for corporate human rights abuses is failing and in need of a major overhaul, the Human Rights Law Centre has told an independent review.
Read MoreThe Australian Government must evacuate every man, woman and child currently warehoused on Manus and Nauru and bring them to safety in Australia, the United Nations said overnight.
Read MoreThe Australian Government today confirmed it would pay $70 million to almost 2000 men, many of whom it has warehoused on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea for nearly 4 years.
Read MoreHuman rights abuses by companies involved in the detention of asylum seekers on Manus Island were once again under the spotlight at the United Nations.
Read MoreWith some of Australia’s biggest brands like Rip Curl, Quicksilver, Woolworths and Coles recently caught up in forced labour scandals, it is clear the Australian Government needs a better system to compel businesses to lift their game.
Read MoreThe offshore processing centres on Nauru and Manus Island continue to be the sites of ongoing human rights violations, including illegal detention, sexual assault and child abuse. Today, a new report by Amnesty exposes how Spanish multinational Ferrovial and its Australian subsidiary Broadspectrum are making vast profits operating Australia’s abusive offshore detention centres.
Read MoreThe Australian Government’s offshore detention regime edged closer to collapse today as Wilson Security committed not to retender for any further offshore detention services when its current contract expires in 2017.
Read MoreLeading Australian NGOs have provided the Government with a blueprint for action on business and human rights. A joint statement released today by the Australian Human Rights Commission sets out a suite of recommendations for Australia’s implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
Read MoreAustralia’s abusive offshore detention centres are sustained by a vast network of global banks and investment funds that are failing to meet their responsibility to respect human rights.
Read MoreEach year the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) hosts the Global Forum on Responsible Business Conduct where representatives from civil society, business, governments and trade unions meet to discuss and promote better business practices.
Read MoreBusiness can have a significant impact on the human rights of people in countries where they operate, particularly where those countries have weak regulatory and governance systems. Where Australian businesses are responsible for human rights abuses, it is vital that they are held accountable and that victims are able to access a remedy.
Read MoreThe Australian Government’s response overnight at the UN in Geneva to a major review of its human rights record has failed to address the serious concerns raised by the international community.
Read MoreThe HRLC has welcomed the announcement that the Australian Government will undertake a national consultation on the implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
Read MoreSpanish giant Ferrovial has been warned in a new investor alert that it will be exposed to serious legal, financial and reputation risks associated with the Australian offshore detention centres, if its takeover bid for Broadspectrum is successful.
Read MoreAustralia is lagging behind in the global movement to prevent and address corporate human rights abuses and a group of leading NGOs is urging the Government to do something about it.
Read MoreIn the lead up to Australia’s review by the UN Human Rights Council, the HRLC and other NGOs along with the Australian Human Rights Commission visited Geneva to brief UN member states on the human rights situation in Australia and key issues that should be considered as part of the review.
Read MoreAustralia’s regional processing centre in Nauru is not a safe or appropriate environment for asylum seekers, according to a damning Senate Committee report released today.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre and Rights and Accountability in Development (RAID) have written to the Australian National Contact Point (ANCP) expressing disappointment at the ANCP’s decision not to investigate our complaint concerning G4S Australia Pty Ltd relation to conditions and abuse of asylum seekers detained at the Manus Regional Processing Centre.
Read MoreA case has today been commenced in the High Court of Australia on behalf of a group of 10 asylum seekers and their families challenging the lawfulness of the Australian Government’s offshore detention arrangements.
Read MoreA formal OECD complaint has been lodged against multinational security contractor G4S for failing to meet international standards and committing serious human rights violations in relation to conditions and abuse of asylum seekers detained at the Manus Regional Processing Centre.
Read MoreThe UN Human Rights Council has adopted two new resolutions on business and human rights.
Read MoreAustralia’s new approach to development assistance focuses on private sector development and pays insufficient attention to the human rights goals and obligations that should be central to our aid program.
Read MoreJubilee Australia has a new campaign to stop the abuses of Australian companies overseas and to increase their accountability to people around the world.
Read MoreOn 4 September, the UK introduced a new national action plan entitled “Good Business: Implementing the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights”. The action plan is intended to help UK companies understand and manage human rights and to articulate the UK Government’s expectations about business behaviour, both in the UK and overseas.
Read MoreThe Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade has recommended greater transparency, accountability and focus on human rights and environmental consequences when the statutory Export Finance and Insurance Corporation (EFIC) makes decisions to finance local and international projects involving Australian companies.
Read MoreIn the first week of February, mining executives, government delegates, non-government organisation staff and consultants walked the halls together at the Mining Indaba in Cape Town, South Africa.
Read MoreOn 10 December 2012, the Australian Government released the final version of its National Human Rights Action Plan (NHRAP). The NHRAP represents a key plank of Australia’s Human Rights Framework and is intended to "outline future action for the promotion and protection of rights in Australia".
The HRLC’s Director of Advocacy, Anna Brown,welcomed the final version of the NHRAP, but said it should be strengthened to ensure more effective monitoring, implementation and measurement of human rights.
Read MoreIn 2011, the Australian Government co-sponsored the UN Human Rights Council resolution which unanimously endorsed the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
Read MoreOn International Human Rights Day, 10 December 2011, the Institute for Human Rights and Business released its list of the top 10 emerging business and human rights issues for 2012. Through its top 10 list, the IHRB seeks to address diverse aspects of how the 'Protect, Respect and Remedy' Framework and the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights can be implemented to achieve real change in corporate human rights performance over the coming year and beyond.
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