In June 2008, the Human Rights Law Resource Centre made a Submission regarding Australia’s accession to the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (Optional Protocol).
Australia has been a party to CEDAW since 1983. CEDAW codifies women’s right to non-discrimination and equality with men.
The Optional Protocol to CEDAW establishes two procedures:
- a communication procedure; and
- an inquiry procedure.
The communication procedure allows individuals or groups of individuals or people acting on their behalf to submit a communication to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women alleging violations of the substantive rights protected under CEDAW. The inquiry procedure allows the Committee to initiate inquiries into reliable information indicating grave or systematic violations of CEDAW by a State Party.
The Centre unreservedly supports Australia’s accession to the Optional Protocol. In addition, the Centre emphasises that the Optional Protocol should be ratified in its entirety to ensure the full benefit of accession is realised.
The Centre considers that accession to the Optional Protocol would:
- complement and strengthen existing domestic anti-discrimination mechanisms;
- foster and promote analysis (and change where necessary) of discriminatory laws and practices;
- strengthen Australia’s role within the international community;
- be consistent with the Australian Government’s commitment to constructive engagement with the UN human rights system and to the harmonisation of domestic laws, policies and practices with international human rights standards;
- be consistent with the Australian Government’s commitment to the promotion of equality and the rights of women; and
- enhance public awareness and understanding of the particular rights and fundamental freedoms of women.
The Centre further considers that the Optional Protocol can be implemented with relative ease within Australia’s existing political and legal structures and is unlikely to subject the Australian Government to a flood of complaints and investigations.
