The Endorsement Draft of the NGO Shadow Report to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is now available.
The report has been prepared over the last 5 months in consultation with a broad range of community organisations and NGOs in Australia and we hope that it will also be supported by even wider range of organisations and individuals. The more support the better. The report will be presented to the UN in August 2010, when Australia formally appears for review.
Read MoreOn 3 June 2010, the UN Special Rapportuer on the Right to the Highest Attainable Standard of Health, Anand Grover, released his final report following a mission to Australia in November and December 2009. The report focuses on the standard of living and quality of health care and health services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, people in prison and immigration detainees.
Read MoreOn 2 June 2010, the Attorney-General introduced the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Bill 2010, a key element of the Government’s new ‘Human Rights Framework’, in the House of Representatives.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Resource Centre has published a Joint Memorandum of Advice from three leading barristers (Debbie Mortimer SC, Chris Horan and Kathleen Foley) in relation to the lawfulness of the suspension of the processing of asylum claims made by Sri Lankan and Afghan nationals. The detailed opinion concludes that the Australian Government's policy is unlawful under international and Australian law. The policy – and persons acting under the policy – are susceptible to challenge in the Federal Court of Australia and the High Court of Australia. A complaint could also be lodged with the United Nations Human Rights Committee.
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 MoreOn 21 April 2010, the Attorney-General launched the Federal Government’s response to the National Human Rights Consultation, entitled ‘Australia’s Human Rights Framework. The Government’s Framework fails to implement the key recommendation of the National Human Rights Consultation Report – supported by over 87% of a record 35,000 submissions – that Australia enact a federal Human Rights Act.
Read MoreOn 9 March, the Equal Opportunity Bill 2010 was introduced into Victorian Parliament. The proposed legislative reforms include the establishment of new mechanisms designed to respond to systemic discrimination and promote substantive equality. The reforms respond to a major review of the Equal Opportunity Act 1995 conducted by Julian Gardner in 2007-2008 which found that Victoria’s anti-discrimination legislation is ineffective in addressing the systemic discrimination that is entrenched in our institutions and social structures. As the Attorney-General recognised in the Bill’s second reading speech, ‘Victorians are competing on uneven ground… we need to level the playing field’.
Read MoreThe United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights of Indigenous people has released a key report on the severe disadvantage suffered by Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Read MoreThe UK Equality and Human Rights Commission has just released a major research report on ‘Developing a Bill of Rights for the UK’. The report aims to ‘identify and explore best practice processes for developing a new Bill of Rights for the UK’. The report analyses evidence from related domestic and international experiences (including the ACT, Victoria and Australia) and identifies key principles to underpin the development of a Bill of Rights, regardless of which political party is in power.
Read MoreThe announcement that Victoria Police will conduct a trial to roll-out Tasers to all uniformed and traffic management police in Bendigo and Morwell leaves vulnerable groups at risk of greater harm. “This announcement reflects the race to the bottom in the Victorian Government’s pre-election law and order agenda. We are seeing good, evidence-based policy being discarded in favour of policies that won’t work and that will place Victorians at greater risk, particularly our most vulnerable groups,” said Emily Howie, a senior lawyer with the Human Rights Law Resource Centre.
Read MoreThe United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights of Indigenous peoples, James Anaya, has released an advance copy of his Observations on the Northern Territory Emergency Response. The report follows Mr Anaya's official visit to Australia in August last year. While the Special Rapporteur acknowledges Australia's efforts to address the conditions faced by many Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory, he expresses serious concerns about several problematic aspects of the Northern Territory Emergency Response that breach Australia’s international legal obligations.
Read MoreIn the course of the recent periodic review of Australia by the UN Human Rights Committee, one of the independent experts called on Australia to grasp its opportunity – and fulfil its obligation – to become a ‘AAA’ human rights state. This paper, entitled 'Australia, Human Rights and Foreign Policy' (2009) 34(4) Alternative Law Journal 218, responds to three issues raised by that call.
Read MoreOn 15 December 2009, the Victorian Government passed new Regulations that declare the Adult Parole Board, the Youth Residential Board, and the Youth Parole Board (the Parole Boards) not to be "public authorities" for the purposes of the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities (the Victorian Charter).
Read MoreOn 10 December 2009, the Centre released a paper entitled Human Rights Leadership: Initiatives to Promote Human Rights at Home and Abroad. The paper, which was provided to the Federal Government in September, proposes 20 initiatives which Australia could take to strengthen a range of normative, preventative and remedial mechanisms to protect human rights at the local, regional and international levels.
Read MoreOn 8 October 2009 the National Human Rights Consultation Committee recommended that Australia enact a Human Rights Act.
Read MoreA major report by the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Family, Community, Housing and Youth, tabled on 26 November 2009, recommends the enactment of new homelessness legislation which enshrines ‘the right of all Australians to adequate housing’.
Read MoreIn a letter to the Prime Minister, the Attorney General and Minister Macklin, more than 150non-government organisations have strongly urged the Rudd Government to immediately reinstate the operation of the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Cth) to apply to all measures of the Northern Territory Intervention.
Read MoreCentre Granted Leave to Appear as Amicus Curiae in Victorian Court of Appeal.
On 22 July, the Centre was granted leave to appear and was heard as amicus curiae in the Victorian Court of Appeal in the matter of Momcilovic v R.
The matter concerns the application of the Charter and the interpretation of s 5 of the Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Act 1981 (Vic), a ‘reverse onus’ provision.
Read MoreCentre Granted Leave to Appear as Amicus Curiae in Right to Life Test Case On 17 June, the Centre was granted leave to appear as amicus curiae in the Victorian Supreme Court in the matter of Chief Commissioner of Police v Bryant (in his capacity as Coroner).
The case concerned a coronial inquest into the death of a cyclist in December 2006 and, in particular, the Coroner's powers and the scope of matters into which the Coroner may inquire pursuant to s 19 of the Coroners Act 1985 (Vic). The Chief Commissioner of Police sought an order in the Supreme Court prohibiting the Coroner from inquiring into certain systems, policies and practices.
Read MoreThe UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has urged Australia to make human rights a priority at a time when the global financial crisis threatens the dignity, equality and freedom of many poor and vulnerable groups. In a landmark report, the Committee also called on Australia to take urgent action to address the human rights implications of climate change and to increase aid to developing countries; the fist time that a UN treaty body has included recommendations on these issues in a human rights report.
Read MoreThe UN Committee on Economic Social and Cultural Rights will review Australia’s compliance with the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in Geneva on 5 and 6 May 2009. On 4 May 2009, a non-government delegation, comprising representatives from the Human Rights Law Resource Centre, the National Association of Community Legal Centres and Kingsford Legal Centre, will brief the Committee on the state of human rights in Australia and measures to improve performance. The Committee will release its report on Australia on or around 22 May 2009.
Read MoreThe UN Human Rights Committee has released its Concluding Observations following a review of Australia's compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The Committee's recommendations on Australia are the first since 2000 and an important test for the Rudd Government in light of its Security Council bid and its stated commitment to 'human rights leadership'. The Committee comments on a number of positive human rights developments in Australia, including the National Human Rights Consultation and the Apology to the Stolen Generations. However, the Committee also raises a number of serious concerns and makes concrete recommendations for reform.
Read MoreThe UN Human Rights Committee will review the state of human rights in Australia in March 2009 in New York. On 16 and 23 March, the Committee will be briefed by a coalition of leading Australian human rights organisations, including the Human Rights Law Resource Centre, the National Association of Community Legal Centres and Amnesty International. On 23 and 24 March, the Committee will receive submissions from a high-level delegation from the Australian Government. It will release its report on Australia on or around 3 April.
Read MoreIn late 2008, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights called for submissions on its draft General Comment 20 on Non-Discrimination.
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.
Read MoreJust a few months after ratifying the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Australian Government has initiated a consultation on the Optional Protocol to the CRPD.
Read MoreThe UN Committee Against Torture has issued its Concluding Observations on Australia following a review of Australia’s compliance with the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment at its 40th Session in Geneva in May 2008. The Human Rights Law Resource Centre prepared a major Report on Australia's Compliance with the Convention against Torture (April 2008) [PDF] to assist the Committee to constructively review and make recommendations regarding Australia.
Read MoreIn February 2008, the HRLRC, together with the National Association of Community Legal Centres and Rights Australia, prepared a Briefing Paper on Key Human Rights Issues in Australia for Gay McDougall, UN Independent Expert on Minority Issues and Chair of the Coordinating Committee on UN Human Rights Council Special Procedures, in advance of her visit to Australia in April 2008.
Read MoreOn 6 February 2008, the Centre’s Director, Phil Lynch, gave evidence as an expert witness in support of a Freedom of Information application for access to a report prepared by the Corrections Inspectorate regarding separation orders and high security and management units in Victorian prisons. The matter is being heard in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, with the applicant, Western Suburbs Legal Service, being represented by Corrs Chambers Westgarth on a pro bono basis.
Read MoreIn conjunction with Brian Walters SC, Neil McAteer of Counsel and Allens Arthur Robinson, the Centre prepared a Note on the Relevance of International Human Rights to Control Order Conditions in the case of David Hicks. The Note was used by Counsel for Mr Hicks in submissions to the Federal Magistrates' Court on 18 February 2008, which resulted in an easing of the conditions and restrictions imposed on Mr Hicks.
Read MoreOn 25 July 2007, the Australian Government submitted a report to the United Nations on the performance of its human rights obligations under the two major international human rights treaties, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. A coalition of human rights organisations and community groups, including the Human Rights Law Resource Centre, have broadly condemned the report, criticising the Howard Government's failure to address how the rights contained in the treaties are reflected in the actual political, economic, social and cultural realities in Australia.
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The Australian Government should urgently reconsider key aspects of its counter-terrorism laws to bring them into conformity with international human rights standards, a UN report on human rights and counter-terrorism in Australia which was tabled before the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on 26 March 2007 has found.
Read MoreIn February 2007, the HRLRC, together with the National Association of Community Legal Centres and Rights Australia, prepared a Briefing Paper on Key Human Rights Issues for Sir Nigel Rodley of the UN Human Rights Committee. Sir Nigel visited Australia from 22 - 28 February 2007.
Read MoreReport to and Request for Action from UN Special Rapporteurs From 31 July to 16 August 2006, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing conducted an official country visit to Australia. In his Preliminary Observations regarding implementation of the right to adequate housing, the Special Rapporteur noted that there is a ‘serious, hidden national housing crisis in Australia’.
Read MoreIn November 2006, a group of eminent Australian lawyers prepared an Opinion about the continued detention of David Hicks in Guantanamo Bay and his proposed trial by a Military Commission. The Opinion has potentially alarming implications for the Federal Government and its Ministers.
Read MoreOn 19 October 2006, in conjunction with Victoria Legal Aid and Chris Boyce of Counsel, the Centre made submissions to the Victorian Court of Appeal in an appeal against sentence. The submissions pertained to the relevance of international human rights standards to the sentencing of a person with a mental illnedd. MDJ was diagnosed with chronic paranoid schizophrenia. In 2005, he was convicted on four counts of armed robbery, assault and kidnapping. In his decision, the sentencing judge, Chettle J, readily acknowledged the extent of the appellant's mental illness, finding a nexus between his mental condition and the commission of the offences. Nevertheless, MDJ was sentenced to an extended prison term of 6 years and 9 months, with a non-parole period of 4 years.
Read MoreOn 3 August 2006, the Human Rights Law Resource Centre wrote to various UN Special Rapporteurs in relation to the situation of Mr Amer Haddara, Mr Shane Kent, Mr Izzydeen Attik, Mr Fadal Sayadi, Mr Abdullah Merhi, Mr Ahmed Raad, Mr Ezzit Raad, Mr Hany Taha, Mr Aimen Joud, Mr Shoue Hammoud, Mr Majed Raad, Mr Bassam Raad and Mr Abdul Nacer Benbrika (collectively, ‘the Detainees’). The Detainees have been held as unconvicted remand prisoners in the maximum security Acacia Unit of Barwon Prison in Victoria since November 2005 in the case of nine Detainees and since March 2006 in the case of the remaining three Detainees.
The HRLRC is gravely concerned that the type, length, conditions and effects of the Detainees’ detention amount to serious ongoing human rights violations
Read MoreOn 3 July 2006, the HRLRC filed an affidavit and submissions in support of an application for leave to appear as amicus curiae in the Victorian Court of Appeal in case of Joseph Thomas v The Queen.
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