Indigenous International Rights
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
Indigenous peoples are among the most marginalised and vulnerable peoples in the world.
In recent years, significant steps have been made at the international level to better promote and protect the rights of indigenous peoples, including the landmark adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in 2007.
The Australian Government pledged its support to the Declaration in April 2009.
In addition, there are a number of United Nations bodies that have been established to promote awareness, recognition and implementation of the human rights of indigenous peoples, including the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of Indigenous people, and the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples.
The Commission engages with these and other international human rights mechanisms, such as the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, to share information, promote good practice and advocate for the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Our goal is to see the international human rights commitments made by the Australian Government reflected in our national laws, policies and programs.
We share our experiences at the international level with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities around the country and provide them with support to advocate for positive change.
This page includes detailed information about:
- International scrutiny of Indigenous rights in Australia: links to United Nations documents, Commission submissions to United Nations bodies and information about Australia’s performance in meeting its international human rights commitments.
- UN recognition of Indigenous rights: an overview of the United Nations system and the special bodies and mechanisms focused on Indigenous human rights.
- International reports, studies and conferences on Indigenous rights: organised by particular topics of interest.
- How to progress Indigenous rights at the international level: information on United Nations funds set up to help indigenous peoples participate in UN activities, including links to organisations representing Indigenous peoples outside Australia.
