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Submissions – International Human Rights Mechanisms
A coalition of leading human rights NGOs, coordinated by the Human Rights Law Centre, the Mental Disability Advocacy Center and the Open Society Justice Initiative, has prepared a major statement for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on strengthening access to remedies for violations of international human rights. The Joint NGO [...]
On 27 August 2010 the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (Committee) adopted its Concluding Observations on Australia. The Committee asked Australia to follow up within 12 months with detailed information on three of the recommendations, concerning: the role and functions of the Race Discrimination Commissioner and the powers of the Australian Human [...]
A coalition of leading international and domestic NGOs has presented a major paper to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on strengthening the UN human rights treaty bodies. The Pretoria Statement – which was prepared by NGOs including Amnesty International, the International Service for Human Rights, the Centre for Human Rights (South [...]
UN human rights bodies are an essential component of the international system for the promotion and protection of human rights, complementing the work of regional and domestic non-government organisations and national human rights institutions. At its 102nd session in Geneva, the UN Human Rights Committee held a dialogue with NGOs and NHRIs as to how [...]
Australia was reviewed under the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) on 27 January 2011. The UPR is a mechanism of the UN Human Rights Council which reviews the human rights records of all 192 United Nations Member States. The UPR provides a significant opportunity for the Australian Government to improve the protection and promotion of human rights and to [...]
The Australian Government has a legal obligation to implement key human rights reforms, according to a new submission from the Human Rights Law Centre [submission and annexure]. The submission to the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department considers each of 145 recommendations made to Australia by the international community during Australia’s Universal Periodic Review before the UN Human [...]
On 24 March 2011, an NGO delegation comprising the Human Rights Law Centre, Amnesty International Australia, the Australian Council for International Development, the Australian Forum of Human Rights Organisations and the Foundation for Aboriginal and Islander Research Action, met with the Foreign Minister, the Hon Kevin Rudd MP, to discuss human rights and Australian foreign policy. [...]
In December 2010, the UN Committee against Torture issued a ‘List of Issues Prior to Reporting’ for Australia. The purpose of this List is to outline those issues which the Committee would like Australia to address and respond to in its next periodic report to the Committee, due in 2012. The issues on which the [...]
The Australian Government is currently considering a draft text of a third optional protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child which has been circulated by the UN Open-ended Working Group on an optional protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The draft third OP seeks to establish an individual [...]
Australia is due to be reviewed under the Universal Periodic Review on 27 January 2011. In July 2010, a coalition of non-government organisations (NGOs) from across Australia prepared a joint NGO submission to the Universal Periodic Review of Australia. The submission was prepared with substantial input and guidance from a high-level NGO Working Group and [...]
The work, functioning and status of the UN Human Rights Council will be reviewed in 2011. An open-ended working group established by the Council to discuss this review is scheduled for 25 to 29 October 2010. On 20 October 2010, the HRLRC made a Submission to the Working Group on the Review of the UN Human Council [...]
The work, functioning and status of the UN Human Rights Council will be reviewed in 2011. An open-ended working group established by the Council to discuss this review is scheduled for 25 to 29 October 2010. Coincidentally, Australia will participate in the Council’s Universal Periodic Review process from early- to mid-2011. Both the Council review and [...]
On Tuesday 10 August 2010 and Wednesday 11 August 2010 in Geneva, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination will review Australia’s compliance with its international legal obligations to respect, protect and promote the human right to equality and freedom from racial discrimination. The issues to be considered by the Committee include the [...]
On 3 August 2010, the Human Rights Law Resource Centre provided an oral briefing and short Briefing Paper to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination regarding the enhancement of NGO engagement with UN human rights treaty bodies and strategies to promote the use and implementation of treaty body recommendations on the ground.
Australia is to be reviewed by the UN Human Rights Council through the Universal Periodic Review process in January 2011. A coalition of 68 NGOs - coordinated by the Human Rights Law Resource Centre, Kingsford Legal Centre and the National Association of Community Legal Centres - has submitted a 5 page Report to the UN Human Rights Council [...]
Australia is scheduled to be reviewed by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in relation to its compliance with the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination in Geneva in August 2010. In July 2010, the Human Rights Law Resource Centre, together with the National Association of Community [...]
On 2 April 2009, the UN Human Rights Committee adopted Concluding Observations in respect of Australia’s compliance with its obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. On 6 July 2010, the Human Rights Law Resource Centre made a Follow-Up Submission on Implementation of the Human Rights Committee’s Concluding Observations on Australia. The submission [...]
Australia is to be reviewed by the UN Human Rights Council through the Universal Periodic Review process in January 2011. A coalition of NGOs has prepared a 5 page report on human rights in Australia, setting out key issues and concrete recommendations. The principal authors of the report are the Human Rights Law Resource Centre, [...]
On 28 May 2010, the Centre made a Submission to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade regarding implementation of the 2009 Concluding Observations on Australia by the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The Centre’s submission outlines practical steps and measures, including legislative, administrative and financial measures, for the Australian Government to improve [...]
The HRLRC has made a submission to the Attorney-General’s Department on information to be included in the Australian Government’s report to the Universal Periodic Review. The Australian Government has requested two-page submissions from the public to be provided by 16 April 2010. The HRLRC’s submission: addresses positive developments that should be included in the Australian [...]
The legal obligation to respect, protect and fulfil human rights applies to all arms of government – legislative, executive and judicial – and directly engages the parliament. Notwithstanding Australia’s international legal obligations, however, the Commonwealth has not established formal domestic mechanisms to ensure comprehensive parliamentary scrutiny of human rights. On 5 March 2010, therefore, the [...]
In 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 [...]
On 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 [...]
On 20 November 2009, the HRLRC made a submission in relation to implementation of the Human Rights Committee’s Concluding Observations on Australia’s compliance with the ICCPR. The Attorney-General’s Department sought input from civil society on the implementation of the Committee’s recommendations made in March this year. The HRLRC’s submission provides a number of recommendations on [...]
In September 2009 the Optional Protocol to the ICSECR opens for signature. The Optional Protocol to the ICESCR establishes three important mechanisms for bringing violations of economic, social and cultural rights before the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, namely an individual communication mechanism, an inter-state complaint mechanism and an inquiry procedure. On [...]
On 1 July 2009, the Centre made a submission to the Standing Committee on Procedure Inquiry into the effectiveness of House Committees, entitled Human Rights and Parliamentary Scrutiny. The submission focuses on the second and fourth of the Committee’s Terms of Reference namely, ‘the type of work being undertaken by committees’ and ‘the powers and [...]
The 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 [...]
On 24 April 2009, the Human Rights Law Resource Centre made a submission to the National Human Rights Consultation entitled Engage, Educate, Empower: Measures to Promote and Protect Human Rights [PDF] [Word]. The Engage, Educate, Empower submission considers a range of measures to strengthen the protection and promotion of human rights in Australia and responds primarily to [...]
Compliance with obligations arising under both international and domestic human rights laws requires effective monitoring systems. Currently, Australia is subject to periodic review by UN treaty bodies established under each of the ICCPR, ICESCR, CAT, CRPD, CEDAW and CERD. These reviews provide an opportunity for a comprehensive analysis of the state of human rights in [...]
The 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. [...]
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