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2 Background and framework for promotion and protection of human rights

2.1 Scope of international obligations

  1. Australia prides itself on its commitment and ongoing support for human rights internationally as well as its involvement in the development of the international human rights system.[5] Australia is a party to seven of the core human rights treaties.[6] Countries raised concerns against Australia’s reservations to a number of treaties.[7] ACHRA expresses similar concern and welcomes the Government’s commitment to conduct a systematic review of these reservations as outlined in the Draft National Action Plan.[8]
  2. A number of countries expressed particular concern regarding Australia’s delay in ratifying the Optional Protocol on the Convention against Torture (OPCAT).[9] There have been significant developments to advance ratification in 2012, with the tabling in Parliament of a National Interest Analysis and recommendation by the parliamentary Joint Committee on Treaties that ratification proceed.[10] ACHRA welcomes these developments, and calls for the ratification and implementation of OPCAT to be expedited.
  3. ACHRA notes the report of the UN Secretary-General proposing reforms to the UN human rights system to make it more effective.[11] ACHRA looks forward to the Australian Government proactively engaging in this reform process, including by advancing recommendations made directly to countries. In particular, ACHRA urges the Government to develop a Standing National Reporting and Coordination Mechanism for human rights treaty engagement, including reporting and follow up, and to volunteer to be involved in any trial of a new Simplified Reporting Procedure in its upcoming engagement with the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

2.2 National framework

  1. On 21 April 2010, the Government launched Australia’s Human Rights Framework which outlines the key measures to guide the Governments human rights work. A number of UPR recommendations called for strengthening of the framework particularly through a greater integration of Australia’s international obligations.[12] The Australian Government accepted all of these recommendations in full or in part, stating that the Government incorporates obligations into domestic law to the extent necessary, and that some obligations are reflected in policy.
  2. Under the Human Rights Framework, the Government released the Draft National Action Plan on Human Rights in December 2011. The National Action Plan is an important step towards improving human rights standards and protections in Australia. ACHRA commends the Government for the level of consultation that has been utilised throughout the drafting process at the Commonwealth, State and Territory level and also with civil society. Although this lengthens the drafting process, ACHRA is confident that this will result in a stronger Action Plan. During the planning process the Australian Human Rights Commission urged the Government to include all accepted recommendations from the UPR process within the National Action Plan. The Government has publicly committed to do so, which should see a greater connection between international commitments and domestic systems for implementation.
  3. As part of its implementation of the National Human Rights Framework the Government has made efforts to consolidate all Commonwealth anti-discrimination laws into a single Act. The exposure draft of the new legislation was released in November 2012.[13] It is intended that this legislation will reduce unnecessary overlap, address inconsistencies and provide for a more user friendly system. ACHRA commends the Government for the level of stakeholder engagement that was employed in the drafting process, and encourages Parliament to ensure the Consolidation Bill is passed.
  4. The Commonwealth Parliament passed the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011 (the Scrutiny Act), which came into force on 4 January 2012. The Scrutiny Act provided for the establishment of a Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights. This Committee was established on 13 March 2012, and has been very active in its scrutiny of the compatibility of bills and legislative instruments with Australia’s human rights obligations. In the first seven months since its establishment, the Committee produced six reports to Parliament highlighting those bills which it considered raised human rights concerns, as well as an interim report concerning its inquiry into the human rights ramifications of a particular bill. The requirement that all bills and disallowable legislative instruments be accompanied by a statement assessing their compatibility has largely been complied with.[14] As the preparation of statements of compatibility is still a relatively new process, not all statements have adequately identified and analysed the human rights issues raised by the respective bills or legislative instruments.
  5. The Australian Government has invested over $12 million in a range of education initiatives to promote a greater understanding of human rights across the community. This has included an education and training program for the Australian Government public sector which has comprised of the development of resources and materials and the training of over 700 public sector employees on human rights principles. Tailored and targeted human rights training to specific sectors of the public service will also take place in 2013. ACHRA welcomes the above initiatives, however notes that such training needs to be comprehensive across agencies and embedded into public service practice.
  6. ACHRA believes that the Human Rights Framework would be significantly strengthened by a greater integration of human rights in primary and secondary education. The Australian Human Rights Commission has been working with the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) to ensure human rights are reflected in the national school curriculum.
  7. At the state level, the Victorian Government responded to a review of the Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 in March 2012. Over 4,000 submissions were received during the review, which were overwhelmingly supportive of continuing or strengthening human rights protections in state law. ACHRA welcomes the Victorian Government’s endorsement of the Charter, but also notes that a number of issues about the Charter’s operation are outstanding. ACHRA calls on the Victorian Government to ensure that any future amendments to the law do not reduce human rights protections.

[5] Human Rights Council, National report submitted in accordance with paragraph 15 (a) of the annex to Human Rights Council resolution 5/1: Australia, UN Doc A/HRC/WG.6/10/AUS/1 (2010). At http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/UPR/Pages/AUSession10.aspx (viewed 5 October, 2012).

[6] Australia is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR); International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT), and Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Australia is not a party to the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and members of their Families (MWC), International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, Optional Protocol to the ICESCR, or International Labour Organisation Convention 169 concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries (ILO 169).

[7] UPR Recs 13–16.

[8] Attorney General’s Department, Exposure Draft Action Plan 2012. At http://www.ag.gov.au/Humanrightsandantidiscrimination/Australiashumanrightsframework/Pages/NationalHumanRightsActionPlan.aspx (viewed 30 October 2012).

[9] UPR Recs 1–6.

[10] The Joint Standing Committee on Treaties recently recommended that the Australian Government ratify OPCAT. The Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia, Report 125: Treaties tabled on 7 and 28 February 2012. At http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/House_of_Representatives_Committees?url=jsct/28february2012/report.htm (viewed 23 October 2012).

[11] Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, United Nations Reform: measures and proposals, UN Doc A/66/860 (2012). At http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/HRTD/docs/HCReportTBStrengthening_en.doc (viewed 20 November 2012).

[12] UPR Recs 17–22. Treaties included the CRC, ICERD, CEDAW and the ICCPR.

[13] Attorney General’s Department, Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Bill 2012: Exposure Draft Legislation (2012). At http://www.ag.gov.au/Humanrightsandantidiscrimination/Australiashumanrightsframework/Pages/ConsolidationofCommonwealthantidiscriminationlaws.aspx (viewed 23 November 2012).

[14] The Australian Human Rights Commission has noted 6 bills introduced since 4 January 2012 which were not accompanied by any statement of compatibility.