Commission – General
International Human Rights Day falls on 10th December each year. It marks the occasion on 10th December 1948 when the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Commission – General
Thank you for the opportunity to speak here today. I would like to begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet, the Ngunnawal peoples, and pay my respects to their elders past and present.
Commission – General
I would like to acknowledge that we are meeting on the traditional country of the Gadigal people of the Eora nation and pay my respects to their elders past and present.
Commission – General
I would like to acknowledge that we are meeting on the traditional country of the Girringun people and pay my respects to their elders past and present.
Commission – General
I would like to acknowledge the Gadigal people of the Eora nation, the traditional owners of the land on which we meet today, and pay respect to their elders.
Commission – General
13 November 2006 Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Forum, Sydney I would like to acknowledge the Gadigal people of the Eora nation, the traditional owners and custodians of the land where we are meeting on today. I would also like to thank our distinguished guests, the Attorney General, the Honorable Philip Ruddock MP, and Professor George Williams for participating in this forum. BALANCING NATIONAL SECURITY AND HUMAN RIGHTS
Commission – General
Torture and various forms of terrorism have been practiced throughout history, though never on the scale we are now confronted with. The first visual records of police interrogation were discovered in a four thousand year old tomb in ancient Egypt. Since the pharaohs there have been many refinements in methods of inducing physical pain and gathering intelligence, most notably during the Spanish Inquisition, but more recently in the modern totalitarian state.
Commission – General
The following opinion pieces have been published by the President and Commissioners. Reproduction of the opinion pieces must include reference to where the opinion piece was originally published.
Commission – General
Debates about a charter of rights are often monopolised by the contentious issue of the proper role of the courts. While this is undoubtedly an important question, it overlooks the impact a charter would have on the role of Parliament as a guardian of rights of freedoms.
Commission – General
This paper addresses one of the Forum themes: ‘Security and Human Rights’. Since 11 September 2001 governments around the world have responded to the threat of terrorism with tough measures to protect the lives and security of their communities – to protect their fundamental human rights. New security measures give government authorities unprecedented powers, which can seriously infringe the basic human rights of those against whom the powers are exercised.
Commission – General
The first is that HREOC has been suggesting for a considerable time that there needs to be renewed public debate on whether Australia should have a charter of human rights of some sort. It seems that the launch of the New Matilda campaign will give momentum to such a debate. A lot has changed, both nationally and internationally since the unsuccessful attempts of the 1970s and the 1980s to interest Australians in a bill of rights. As is so often said, Australia has now become the only major Western democracy that does not have a bill of rights.
Commission – General
I would like to begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet, the Kaurna people, and pay my respects to their elders past and present.
Commission – General
Firstly, I must applaud Amnesty International Australia’s campaign to secure a fair trial for David Hicks. I hope you take some heart from the recent US Supreme Court ruling that the military commissions set up to try prisoners at Guantanamo Bay are illegal and must be abandoned.
Rights and Freedoms
It's great to be here today. I can't think of a better time to be taking stock of developments in human rights law and policy in Australia, or a better place to be doing this than Victoria. As a Sydney-sider I have to admit I haven't always been fully appreciative of the number plates down here, which proclaim: ‘Victoria: The Place to Be!’ But there's no doubt that Victoria is the place to be right now, when it comes to human rights developments.
Commission – General
HREOC is a statutory body independent of government. While our main function is to promote an understanding and acceptance of human rights in Australia, we are also charged with the responsibilities of investigating, and attempting to conciliate complaints of unlawful discrimination under the federal Racial Discrimination Act 1975, the Sex Discrimination Act 1984, the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and the Age Discrimination Act 2004.1 HREOC also has specific responsibilities to report annually to Parliament on the enjoyment of human rights of Indigenous Australians.
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