Bronson Blessington and Matthew Elliott were 14 and 16 respectively when they participated in the 1988 rape and murder of Janine Balding, one of the most shocking and abhorrent crimes in NSW history.
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'Why build prisons when we can build communities?' asks Carol, grandmother of Julieka Dhu, in the HRLC's Ruth Barson's opinion piece about Aboriginal deaths in custody.
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Indonesia's incoming president presents a promising opportunity for Australia to recast both its military and human rights relationship with our northern neighbour, writes the HRLC's Tom Clarke.
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The high court case surrounding the detention of 157 Tamil asylum seekers this year shows how Australia’s refugee policies are failing us, writes the HRLC's Daniel Webb.
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Australia often promotes human rights at a diplomatic and economic level on the world stage, yet these calls will fail to ring true while we struggle to acknowledge or fully comprehend the meaning of rights at home, writes former Victorian AG Rob Hulls.
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In 1977, long time gay rights activist Jamie Gardiner wrote a brief seeking expungement of homosexual convictions. Last week, he sat in Victoria’s parliament and watched it happen. Here he reflects on his decades long journey from campaigning for the decriminalization of homosexuality in the 1970’s to the challenges that reamin today.
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Across the globe, civil society advocacy is increasingly being threatened by laws and practices that criminalise protest, prevent association, threaten funding and curtail independence, writes the HRLC's Hugh de Kretser.
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The HRLC’s Anna Brown reports on her recent advocacy work in Geneva and the passage of the crucially important resolution on sexual orientation and gender identity by the UN Human Rights Council.
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Scott Morrison's 'Cambodia deal' takes Australia further from the genuine regional solution that’s needed, writes the HRLC's Daniel Webb.
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HRLC's Ruth Barson discusses the loss of the preexisting global consensus that torture is unequivocally immoral and illegal Interview with Juan Mendez, the UN's Special Rapporteur on Torture.
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Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s comment that Australia was an ‘unsettled or scarcely settled great south land’ prior to colonisation, could hardly have come at a more inopportune time: on the eve of NAIDOC week.
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Writing in the Herald Sun, the HRLC's Daniel Webb outlines the case against sending asylum seekers to places where they risk torture or death.
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It's a violation of Sri Lanka's migration law to leave the country unofficially. Most of the asylum seekers Australia is returning to Sri Lanka's navy will be charged – or worse, writes the HRLC's Emily Howie.
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The HRLC's Daniel Webb provides an overview of Scott Morrison's proposed changes that will significantly increase the risk of people being returned to countries where they face torture or death.
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A conversation about Australia's involvement in the US’s program of deadly drone strikes is long overdue, writes the HRLC's Emily Howie.
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We can reduce prison populations, prison spending and the crime rate at the same time, writes the HRLC's Hugh de Kretser.
Read MoreFor survivors of child sexual abuse seeking justice, the process of civil litigation can be re-traumatising, and present complex barriers, explains Knowmore's Executive Officer, Jenny Hardy.
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Appeals to freedom are essentially calls to prioritise a right to discriminate over fair and equal access to employment, education and services, writes Rachel Ball.
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The Human Rights Law Centre's Emily Howie writes that Australia has been silent on a United Nations push for an inquiry into war crimes in Sri Lanka because the Coalition is more concerned about "stopping the boats" .
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The Australian Human Rights Commission’s Race Discrimination Commissioner, Dr Tim Soutphommasane, asks whether scrapping section 18C of the RDA will unleash a wave of humiliation of the vulnerable.
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Proposed voter ID laws will cause more problems than they will solve writes University of Queensland’s Graeme Orr and the HRLC’s Emily Howie.
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The reckless disclosure of the personal details of 10,000 asylum seekers adds another layer to the risk they may face – they could be further persecuted on return to their countries, writes the HRLC's Daniel Webb.
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Australia needs to immediately reconsider its support for Sri Lanka’s interception of asylum seekers, writes the HRLC's Director of Advocacy & Research, Emily Howie.
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The NSW lower house has recently passed the Crimes Amendment (Zoe’s Law) Bill (No. 2) 2013 to amend the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW). This version of Zoe’s Law establishes a separate offence for actions that cause serious harm to or the destruction of a foetus. There are a wide range of legitimate criticisms of Zoe’s Law that need examination before the Bill comes before the NSW upper house early next year.
Read MoreOver 1,000 children are still locked up. They are more in need of the attention of the Australian Human Rights Commission than a powerful commentator, writes the HRLC's Rachel Ball.
Read MoreCommonwealth Attorney-General George Brandis's reform of Australia's racial vilification laws needs to tread carefully writes HRLC's Hugh de Kretser.
Read MorePublic housing eviction decisions must be both fair and transparent writes Benedict Bartl, a solicitor with the Tenants’ Union of Tasmania.
Read MoreRecently, the Public Order Management Bill was passed into law, requiring Ugandans to get the permission of the police prior to holding a public meeting. Although the new Act has improved from former drafts of the legislation, the Act still allows the police discretion to refuse public meetings if the location is deemed inappropriate.
Read MoreLegal aid is a key part of ensuring people are equal before the law. We need to make sure it is available for all people who need it, not just those charged with serious crimes, writes the HRLC's Hugh de Kretser.
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Four years after the civil war ended, many Tamils have no expectation of peace or safety in Sri Lanka’s Northern Province, writes Emily Howie, Director – Advocacy and Research at the Human Rights Law Centre.
Read MoreFirst visit to Jakarta presents the PM with an opportunity to show that he is a custodian of free speech writes the HRLC's Tom Clarke.
Read MoreHRLC Executive Director Hugh de Kretser say that we can cut the shocking Indigenous imprisonment rate, here's how...
Read MoreThe ‘Freedom Flotilla to West Papua’ is the latest example in a long tradition of Australians taking a stand for democracy and justice in Indonesia. It's time that our politicians followed suit writes the HRLC’s Tom Clarke.
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A stronger, better resourced and human rights compliant parole board would better for community safety, writes the HRLC's Executive Director Hugh de Kretser and Professor Arie Freiberg.
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Bob Carr has indicated that a tougher assessment regime for asylum seekers is on the way. Forget the rhetoric, what we need is a fair, thorough and objective process, writes Daniel Webb, a Senior Lawyer at the Human Rights Law Centre.
Read MoreA draconian bill passed by the Nigerian House of Representatives is yet another example of discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity that is widespread and invidious throughout the world. If enacted, the bill will criminalise same-sex relationships and the ‘aiding or abetting’ of same-sex relationships. It would also forbid the formation of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) groups, and even criticism against the bill itself.
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