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About Children's Rights

Thursday 21 February, 2013

What are children’s rights?

Children as well as adults have human rights. Children also have the right to special protection because of their vulnerability to exploitation and abuse.

The main international human rights treaty on children’s rights is the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). The CRC is the most widely ratified human rights treaty in the world. Australia ratified the CRC in December 1990, which means that Australia has a duty to ensure that all children in Australia enjoy the rights set out in the treaty.

Get Involved

Monday 24 December, 2012

Discover how the Commission wants all Australians to get involved in human rights. You can learn more by signing up for our email list.

Human Rights Briefs (1999 - 2001)

Open Source Human Rights logo

The Human Rights Brief provides legal practitioners, community advocates and others with guidance on the content and scope of human rights and fundamental freedoms in Australia and their use in Australian law. Each number will cover a specific topic.

Youth Challenge Online - Teaching Human Rights and Responsibilities

May I begin by welcoming you all here today, including Senator Marise Payne who is representing the Commonwealth Attorney General, Professor Gordon Stanley, President of the NSW Board of Studies, Mr Duncan McGuiness from the NSW Parents Council and Mr Roger O'Sullivan from the Council of Catholic School Parents and Mr Kevin Bradburn from the NSW Department of Education. I also welcome the 30-odd students who have been selected to participate in this event and their teachers, and our guest speakers Mr Richard Shearman, Ms Sue Simpson and Ms Beverly Baker.

Bullying: Know Your Rights

Friday 14 December, 2012

Bullying is an abuse of your human rights. Learn how governments, schools, workplaces and individuals (including you) should ensure every human right is respected.

Bill of rights is essential to best serve human rights (2008)

Five years ago I began my term as the President of the Australian Human Rights Commission, confident in the ability of the common law and a robust democracy to protect human rights. I leave convinced we need a major legal and cultural overhaul in order to deal with the human rights challenges of the 21st century.

Stand on your rights, or see them trampled (2009)

Australia is a great country to live in — for most of us most of the time. We don’t suffer the terrible poverty witnessed in some parts of the world, our judicial system works well by international standards and most of us can vote in elections by secret ballot. Most of us can live pretty safely, say what we like most of the time and, if we are so inclined, practise our faith in peace. Most of us have access to decent education and health services.

The lives of far too many Australians are blighted by violence, harassment and bullying (2010)

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.

Human Rights Explained: Case Studies: Complaints about Australia to the Human Rights Committee

Friday 14 December, 2012

In 1991, Nicholas Toonen, a homosexual man from Tasmania, sent a communication to the Human Rights Committee. At that time homosexual sex was criminalized in Tasmania. Toonen argued that this violated his right to privacy under Article 17 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). He also argued that because the law discriminated against homosexuals on the basis of their sexuality, it violated Article 26.

Human Rights Explained: Fact sheet 8:Promoting and Protecting Human Rights in the UN System

Friday 14 December, 2012

Charter Bodies are established under the UN Charter in order to fulfil the UNs general purpose of promoting human rights. They have broad mandates that cover promoting human rights in all UN member states.