Evidence 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.
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Credible 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.
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Australia’s human rights performance was in the spotlight tonight as the Australian Government appeared before the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva for its major human rights review that happens every four to five years.
Australia’s human rights performance will be in the spotlight tonight as the Australian Government appears before the Human Rights Council in Geneva for its major human rights review that happens every four to five years.
The Australian Government has used its voice at the UN Human Rights Council to raise concerns of serious human rights abuses committed by Saudi authorities.
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The decision from Australia’s Foreign Minister, Marise Payne, to impose targeted financial sanctions and travel bans against five Myanmar military officers responsible for human rights violations committed by units under their command has been welcomed by the Australian Council for International Development and the Human Rights Law Centre.
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The Trump administration has announced that it will quit the UN Human Rights Council, effective immediately. Daniel Webb, Director of Legal Advocacy at the Human Rights Law Centre, who is in Geneva for the current session of the Human Rights Council, said the move was widely expected by advocates and diplomats and is the latest step in the United States’ retreat from human rights and multilateralism.
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"Time and time again we see our Government getting all mealy-mouthed about global humanitarian emergencies when the country in question has some connection with its own refugee policies" - Our Daniel Webb reports from last night's important session of the UN Human Rights Council focusing on the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Myanmar.
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In a statement to the United Nations, Human Rights Law Centre has called on the Turnbull Government to hold companies to account for human rights violations overseas.
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Overnight the Australian Government delivered a major 'incoming members pledge' to the UN Human Rights Council, promising to approach it’s three year term on the Council "in a spirit of self-reflection with a view to improving our own human rights situation" and to "make progress in the promotion, protection and realisation of human rights", "including through implementation of [UN] recommendations and resolutions."
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Hot on the heels of its appointment to the UN Human Rights Council, the Australian Government faced a grilling from UN experts about its own human rights performance. Our lawyers were in Geneva to help brief the Committee and present a report endorsed by 56 Australian organisations highlighting how Australia was failing to meet the standards it promised to uphold.
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“This is the most significant UN position Australia has sought since the Security Council. Relatively speaking Australia is likely to be a positive force for reform on the Council, but if it wants to have the credibility required to be a true human rights leader it can't continue to blatantly breach international law itself. There's no doubt that it's cruel treatment of refugees will hamstring Australia's efforts on Council," said Emily Howie.
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In a submission filed with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade consultation on a new Foreign Policy White Paper, the Human Rights Law Centre has urged Australia to raise the bar on its foreign policy and aim to be a principled and consistent leader in human rights and a staunch defender of international law.
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Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull should make the most of his seemingly close relationship with Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo to push for unfettered media access and human rights monitoring in Papua.
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Australia is a multicultural success story and the contribution of refugees are a key part of that success. Australia has successfully accepted over 7 million migrants since 1945 including around 800,000 refugees and humanitarian entrants.
Read MoreA joint parliamentary committee has today urged the Australian Government to do more to abolish the death penalty worldwide including prohibiting the Australian Federal Police from sharing information about drug crimes that could lead to imposition of the death penalty.
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.
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