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 the third ‘key question’ raised in the Committee’s Terms of Reference, namely, ‘how could Australia better protect and promote human rights?’.

The submission considers and makes recommendations for reform in the following areas:

• the role, power and resourcing of the Australian Human Rights Commission;
• human rights education;
• access to justice;
• support for and engagement with human rights NGOs;
• international engagement;
• monitoring and compliance;
• equality legislation; and
• business and human rights.           

This submission does not consider the enactment of a Human Rights Act. 

The Centre has also prepared a major submission, A Human Rights Act for All Australians, which considers the current protection of human rights in Australia and legislative measures to strengthen the protection and promotion of human rights in Australia, including the enactment of a comprehensive Human Rights Act. 

The recommendations contained in the attached submission are necessary complements to human rights legislation.

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