‘After 10 months of listening to the people of Australia, the Committee was left in no doubt that the protection and promotion of human rights is a matter of national importance.’ The National Human Rights Consultation Committee delivered its report to the Attorney-General on 30 September. The report was publicly released on 8 October.
The Committee recommended that Australia adopt a federal Human Rights Act.
Read MoreAs intractable as the situation in Burma may seem, Australia has policy options for making a positive impact on human rights there. Burma remains one of the most repressive countries in the world. There are strict limits on basic freedoms of expression, association and assembly. The intelligence and security services are omnipresent. Censorship is draconian. More than 2,100 political prisoners suffer in Burma’s squalid prisons, including many members of the political opposition, courageous protestors who peacefully took to the streets in August and September 2007, and individuals who criticised the government for its poor response to Cyclone Nargis in May 2008. All have been sentenced after sham trials that often take place in the prisons themselves.
Read MoreLast year a group which aims to raise awareness about the needs of same sex attracted young people planned a weekend forum. Their request to book facilities was refused by an organisation affiliated with a Christian association on the basis that they were unable to accommodate ‘a group such as yours’. This event should not be surprising; it is lawful in Victoria to discriminate on the basis of sexuality, disability, marital status, race, sex and other attributes as long as the discrimination conforms to religious doctrines or is necessary to avoid injury to religious sensitivities.
Read MoreThe discussion around the reform of UN human rights mechanisms in recent years has focused overwhelmingly on the creation of the UN Human Rights Council. In this shadow, the UN human rights treaty bodies also enhanced their efforts to review disparate working methods following a 2006 proposal by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights for a unified single standing treaty body. Then High Commissioner, Louise Arbour, identified many challenges, including that ‘limited coordination and collaboration among treaty bodies, and different approaches, in particular with respect to the role of NGOs, NHRIs and the wider United Nations system, increase duplication and impede interaction with stakeholders, who find the system obscure.’
Read MoreAbout 4 years ago, I was involved in consultations with more than 100 homeless or formerly homeless people across Melbourne about whether a Charter of Rights could make Victoria a more inclusive and rights-respecting community. The terms of reference for that consultation were limited to considering civil and political rights and not economic and social rights. While this may have made some (limited) sense to me as a lawyer, I was struck by how little sense it made to the homeless, to the rights-holders.
Read MoreIt is often the case that discussions about racism are heated and controversial; the recent Durban Review Conference and my participation in it was no exception. In reflecting on this Conference, I would like to convey some important context for my attendance as Race Discrimination Commissioner and highlight some of the key outcomes.
Read MoreEqual access to quality education is a human right. It is also a global imperative if we all are to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. But worldwide, minority and Indigenous children are disproportionately denied this right with drastic consequences for us all. This is as true in Australia as in other countries. According to Australian government statistics, over 50% of Indigenous children drop-out of secondary school before completion. For girls, the figure jumps to 80%. More than twice as many Indigenous adult women than non-Indigenous women never attended school at all.
Read MoreAustralia has an opportunity and obligation to regain its reputation as a ‘AAA’ country when it comes to human rights, a high level government delegation from Australia has been told by the United Nations Human Rights Committee. The delegation appeared before the UN Committee in New York on 23 and 24 MarchThe Committee, which comprises 18 independent human rights experts from across the world, commended Australia on a range of human rights advances, including the historic apology to the Stolen Generations, the abolition of the Pacific Solution and the current national human rights consultation.
Read MoreWho is most frightening to the average citizen of Papua New Guinea: sorcerers, the people who murder accused sorcerers, or the police who are supposed to protect the public from the other two? The sad fact is that police in PNG, who should be part of the solution to a recent wave of sorcery-related attacks, are in fact a part of the problem. A violent and abusive police force cannot fight crime effectively. Australia, as the major international donor to the PNG police, should use its influence to help clean up the force.
Read MoreLate last year the Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs released a major report on the Sex Discrimination Act 1984. The Report recommends a transformation in the way our laws deal with discrimination and promote gender equality. We are surrounded by evidence of the need for change. Australia lags behind the United States, United Kingdom, South Africa, Canada and New Zealand in the representation of women in executive management positions. A quarter of all Australian teenagers are aware of domestic violence being committed against their mothers or step mothers. We are one of only two OECD countries without a national paid parental leave scheme. These are not indicators of a country that can afford to be complacent about discrimination against women.
Read MoreWhile we celebrated the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights on 10 December 2008, another important milestone passed a day earlier with little fanfare: the 10th anniversary of the UN Human Rights Defenders Declaration. After ten years, it is an appropriate time to review the interesting history of the Declaration, as well as its shortcomings and vulnerabilities to attack from unsympathetic governments.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Resource Centre, in conjunction with leading Australian law firm Allens Arthur Robinson, has produced a comprehensive report to enable individuals and organisations to participate in the National Human Rights Consultation in an informed and evidence-based way. The report is not intended to be a position paper or submission, but rather to provide information, evidence and background material. The report, entitled The National Human Rights Consultation: Engaging in the Debate, begins by outlining the arguments for and against a Federal Charter of Rights (or Human Rights Act).
Read MoreImagine if we could get all of Australia to start a slow hand clap. And then, over the top of it, comes a plaintive chant ‘Why are we waiting?’. It probably wouldn’t be long before it collapsed into a national Mexican wave (clockwise?), but before the nation, inevitably, turned to mindless entertainment they would have made a point: stop procrastinating and just do it. Enact a charter of rights.
Read MoreFive years ago I began my term as the President of the Australian Human Rights Commission, confident in the ability of the common law and a robust democracy to protect human rights. I leave convinced we need a major legal and cultural overhaul in order to deal with the human rights challenges of the 21st century.
Read More10 December 2008 is the 60th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the UN General Assembly, the first general catalogue of the rights of individuals to be made the explicit subject of international standards. A 60th birthday is usually the moment to celebrate a life well-lived, success in public and private life, and perhaps to anticipate a comfortable retirement. But these are not apt measures for the UDHR. It was and remains a controversial document.
Read MoreDoctors don't hold a trump card when it comes to human rights - women's rights are human rights and must be present in the abortion law debate, write Phoebe Knowles and Rachel Ball in the Herald Sun.
Read MoreAlmost a year ago to the day, on 13 September 2007, the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly. The Declaration enshrines a body of core minimum principles and common sense values, including the rights of Indigenous peoples to non-discrimination, freedom from genocide, forced assimilation and destruction of culture, intended to ensure Indigenous peoples can live with dignity and participate in and contribute to the broader community. 143 UN member nations voted for it. 4 voted against it – Canada, New Zealand, the United States and Australia. Australia’s opposition was vehement. Regrettably, this and subsequent commentary have had more to do with perpetuating myths than debunking them, however honestly those views are held.
Read MoreIn September 2008, the Human Rights Law Resource Centre, together with the National Association of Community Legal Centres and Kingsford Legal Centre, submitted a major NGO report to the Human Rights Committee regarding Australia. The report, Freedom, Respect, Equality, Dignity: Action - NGO Submission to the Human Rights Committee [PDF], was compiled with the assistance of substantial contributions from over 50 NGOs across Australia. It is endorsed, in whole or in part, by over 200 NGOs
Read MoreWhen the Sex Discrimination Act was introduced into parliament in 1983 it was derided as the brainchild of radical feminists and a death knell to functioning society. A quarter of a century later much of the smoke blown on the debate has cleared and the SDA has emerged a constructive, but flawed document. In its current form, the SDA is only capable of addressing some forms of discrimination, some of the time. It employs a narrow definition of discrimination, applies to limited areas of public life and fails to provide the tools necessary to address systemic discrimination and promote substantive equality.
Read MoreDespite the dire humanitarian conditions, on 4 June this year the operations of all aid and development NGOs in Zimbabwe were suspended by the Government. As was widely reported, it is reasonably clear that this action was taken to mimimise witnesses to the acts of intimidation and violence that the Government used to influence the outcome of the election. Since that time, limited operations have re-commenced; however, the future for NGOs operating in Zimbabwe remains very uncertain.
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