Asylum Seekers and Refugees
As recent reports allege asylum seekers are being removed from Manus Island and returned to their place of origin, Commission President, Professor Gillian Triggs, reflects on the nation's responsibilities.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
I was shocked but not surprised by the ABC’s Four Corners revelations last Monday night. Incontrovertible CCTV evidence of Aboriginal children subject to demeaning, debilitating and dehumanizing behaviour has galvanised the Australian community and prompted the creation of a Royal Commission with an...
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
[Check against delivery] Thank you for joining us today. Over a year ago, the Australian Human Rights Commission produced The Forgotten Children Report. This Report examined the impact of prolonged mandatory, indefinite immigration detention on the mental and physical heath of children. The findings...
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
The long running, if muted, struggle between the High Court of Australia and the Government over refugees recalls a bitter legal battle in the early 17th century. Sir Edward Coke, the first Lord Chief Justice of England, defied King James 1 by asserting the supremacy of the common law over the...
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
NEXT year is the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta, signed reluctantly by King John at the demand of his rebellious barons in 1215. Buried in the middle of this foundational document of English constitutional law — setting out the single measure for wine and ale and the rights of widows on the...
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
The former and current ministers for immigration and border security, Chris Bowen and Scott Morrison, agree on one thing: that asylum seeker children are not detained to deter people smuggling. Rather, it appears that patrol boats and naval frigates, commanded by a three star general, and a refusal...
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
I acknowledge the Gadagal People of the Aora nation on whose land we meet. I pay my respects to the elders past and present. I come here today as an ordinary citizen. I am not an academic, nor a lawyer. I am simply a concerned citizen. There are many nuances to the meaning of the word violence. It...
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
Events on Manus Island have graphically and tragically brought to the attention of the Australian public the inappropriateness of the current arrangements for the regional processing of asylum seekers. I have been troubled by the loss of life and the injury that has occurred on Manus Island over this...
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
A comment on the current human rights issues faced by Australia in the processing of refugees and asylum seekers
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
Explore a speech delivered by the former President of the Human Rights Commission, Professor Gillian Triggs, to the Refugee Advice and Casework Service.
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
Speech delivered to the United Nations Association of Australia (WA Division)
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
Learn about a security rethink to protect refugee rights.
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
Learn about the benefits of treating asylum seekers well.
Rights and Freedoms
The globalisation of the world economy, including much improved communication and transportation, has increased flows of people across borders. This includes the movement of children, both with their family and unaccompanied. Separated children crossing borders may be refugees, humanitarian asylum seekers, trafficked girls who will be forced to work as prostitutes, or simply children lost in the aftermath of war. So today, children can literally travel across the world undetected and unprotected. And Australia, as part of this global system, has its share of these children.
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