HREOC - Annual Report 2001 - 2002: Chapter 7: Race Discrimination

Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission

Annual Report 2001-2002

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Chapter 7: Race Discrimination

Acting Race Discrimination Commissioner

Dr William Jonas commenced duty as acting Race Discrimination Commissioner in September 1999 in addition to his duties as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner.

Statement from the Commissioner

In my capacity as acting Race Discrimination Commissioner I was engaged for much of 2001 in preparing for and participating in the World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance which was held in Durban, South Africa, during late August and early September.

Combating the diverse and complex contemporary manifestations of racism and related intolerance is a challenging task. The difficulties were certainly reflected in the negotiation process for the World Conference as well as in the debates on the Conference outcomes at the Economic and Social Council and the General Assembly that followed.

While the World Conference was plagued by some well publicised problems, it did provide encouragement and direction for those engaged in the continuing battle against racism. Particularly pleasing was the way in which both the Conference and the Australian Government acknowledged the important role of national human rights institutions in this battle.

For the first time at such a World Conference the national institutions were allocated their own space at the plenary venue and those wishing to speak were granted sufficient time for meaningful interventions. A collective statement prepared by participating national institutions was one of the first universally accepted statements of the Conference. It was read on our behalf in the plenary session by the then President of the South African Human Rights Commission and was incorporated into the Conference documents.

The Australian Government also recognised the significance of national institutions and the importance of protecting their independence from government when Senator the Hon Dr Kay Paterson said in her statement on behalf of the nation:

… Australia would like to see the conference recognise that a positive vision for racial and cultural diversity needs to be backed by effective racial discrimination legislation, robust and independent national human rights institutions, and innovative human rights education to raise awareness of individual and collective rights.

The important role of national human rights institutions in education and public awareness-raising activities to combat racism was particularly emphasised. The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has also recently recognised the importance of this role for national human rights institutions in its latest General Recommendation, Number 28, on follow-up to the World Conference.

Among the activities which I conducted in preparation for the Conference were 28 community consultations on racism throughout the country. Unfortunately, these consultations led me to the conclusion that racial discrimination is still widespread in Australia and often institutional in nature. Every community consultation identified Indigenous people as most affected by racism and, as one Indigenous woman sadly told us:

We just live with racism every day. It is like getting up, washing your face and having a cup of tea.

A highly successful national conference on racism titled "Beyond tolerance", which I convened in Sydney in March 2002 as a follow-up to the World Conference and to the 2001 national consultations, came to similar conclusions. From all of these activities it has become clear that strategies to combat racism need to be highly calibrated to the subtleties of institutionalised and systemic discrimination and multi-faceted to confront racism head on in each sector, even each locality, where it is found.

Key opinion leaders must be encouraged to act responsibly and, if necessary, required to act in conformity with the law. The World Conference Against Racism recognised, for example, "that the media should represent the diversity of a multicultural society and play a role in fighting racism". While the Conference noted "with regret" that "certain media, by promoting false images and negative stereotypes of vulnerable individuals or groups of individuals, particularly of migrants and refugees, have contributed to the spread of xenophobic and racist sentiments among the public and in some cases have encouraged violence by racist individuals and groups", it also welcomed the positive contribution which could be made by the media and by new information and communications technologies such as the internet, drawing attention to its potential to create educational and awareness raising networks against racism.

Participants in our national consultations and the governments deliberating at the World Conference Against Racism concurred in calling for a media code of conduct with effective and transparent monitoring, complaint handling and enforcement mechanisms with participation by representatives from the general community.

Education, new media and the minorities most vulnerable to racism are the three principal focuses of my anti-racism work in the coming year.

I will continue to disseminate factual, accurate and easy to understand material about human rights and racism. One of the most successful educational projects that the Commission has undertaken in recent years is a booklet aimed largely at the media, school students and the community titled Face the Facts. This booklet, currently in its second edition, takes a number of common misconceptions relating to Indigenous people, migrants and refugees and provides factual information which shows how often the public perception or understanding is quite different from the actual situation.

I plan to consult experts in racial vilification and internet regulation on measures to improve the internet's compliance with Australian law on racial vilification and develop online anti-racism education modules for teachers and students. I am also working with Australian Arabic communities on strategies to enhance their security and to protect their members from racist violence provoked by events both at home and overseas, particularly in the Middle East.

Education and promotion

World Conference Against Racism

The United Nations World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance (WCAR), held in Durban, South Africa from 31 August to 8 September 2001, was the focus for the major activities of the Race Discrimination Commissioner in the past year.

Consultations with civil society in preparation for WCAR included seeking submissions and conducting community consultations. The consultations were supported by a discussion paper, Combating racism in Australia , of which more than 2 800 copies were distributed.

Australian activities

The Commission received 42 written submissions during the WCAR consultations from individuals and organisations in every state and territory in Australia, including the Broome Diocesan Office of Justice, Ecology and Peace, Western Australian Equal Opportunity Commission, Muslim Women's Welfare Association (Australian Capital Territory), Amnesty International Australia, Australian Macedonian Human Rights Committee, Morisset High School (New South Wales), National Ethnic Disability Alliance and Multicultural Affairs Queensland. Extracts from selected submissions were reproduced on the Commission's website in a moderated bulletin board at www.humanrights.gov.au/worldconference/wcar_bulletin.html.

Public meetings were convened in July 2001 in Hobart, Melbourne, Cairns, Brisbane, Parramatta, Orange, Newcastle and Canberra. Also in July, youth forums were convened in Perth and Sydney, a Victorian Indigenous community consultation was convened in Melbourne and the Commission's Sex Discrimination Unit held immigrant and refugee women's focus groups in Sydney and Indigenous women's focus groups in north west New South Wales.

Records of all consultations can be viewed on the Commission's website at www.humanrights.gov.au/racial_discrimination/national_consultations/regional.html .

"I want respect and equality": A Summary of Consultations with Civil Society on Racism in Australia was launched on 3 December 2001 and attracted considerable interest. Three thousand copies were distributed. Every Federal, state and territory parliamentarian received a copy. On its release, the Commissioner commented:

Everywhere we went, from the capital cities to rural and regional areas, I was struck by the sense of marginalisation felt by Indigenous people and people from non?English speaking backgrounds who do not fit the stereotype of the "typical" Australian. It is clear that racism is still 'alive and well' in Australian society. People spoke of the covert and systemic racism they experience in employment, education and the delivery of government services.

Among the 29 recommendations on which a substantial consensus emerged were the following:

• the need to build strategic partnerships between governments, the private sector and community representatives to develop practical anti-racism programs
• a media code of conduct to eliminate racial vilification in all media
• compulsory school subjects to recognise Indigenous history, the impact of colonisation and the contribution of migrants to the nation's development
• a formal Commonwealth government apology to Indigenous peoples.

The Commission's civil society consultations were made possible by a grant of $US 26 000 from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

International WCAR meetings

In addition to the national activities, the Commissioner also participated at two of the three Preparatory Committee meetings in Geneva. The third and last of these was held 31 July to 10 August 2001.

Commissioner Jonas, together with Sex Discrimination Commissioner Pru Goward and Commission staff, also attended two preparatory forums in South Africa in late August 2001. A pre-conference Strategic Planning Meeting of National Human Rights Institutions was hosted by the South African Human Rights Commission in Johannesburg from 26 to 28 August. This forum was attended by 52 national institutions and adopted a joint statement for presentation to the WCAR plenary session. In this statement, participating institutions committed themselves to:

• work to encourage their respective governments to develop, through consultation and cooperation with national institutions, national human rights plans of action, including those addressing racism, and to monitor their implementation
• work with civil society, including non-government organisations (NGOs), and, in particular, with groups and individuals who have experienced or continue to experience discrimination or threats of discrimination, when developing policies and programs to ensure their perspectives are reflected
• pay special attention to preventing racism and work with the appropriate institutions to ensure that educational authorities and other relevant institutions integrate human rights, anti-racism, tolerance, diversity and respect for others into their work and institutions.

Both Commissioners and staff also attended sessions of the NGO Forum held in Durban in preparation for the World Conference from 28 August to 1 September and the Race Discrimination Commissioner was the rapporteur for a panel discussion on "Globalisation and Racism".

At the World Conference Against Racism, the Commissioner was a member of the Australian Government delegation. In his independent capacity as Race Discrimination Commissioner he addressed a parallel session panel on the role of national human rights institutions, especially in the UN human rights treaty system and treaty reform. He also addressed the WCAR plenary session on behalf of the Commission on 4 September. Among other things, the Commissioner said:

[T]here can be no doubt that the greatest problem of racial discrimination in Australia is the situation of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders. This discrimination is institutional and systemic in nature, and historically derived as a consequence of colonialism…

A major obstacle to the full realisation of equality and inclusion of Indigenous Peoples is [the] emphasis among States and in the UN system on individual rather than collective rights including rights to land and resources, self-determination and autonomy, development and to practice culture.

The World Conference adopted the "Durban Declaration and Programme of Action" to renew efforts to combat racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. These outcomes were overwhelmingly endorsed by the UN General Assembly early in 2002.

WCAR follow-up

The Commissioner convened a series of meetings during January and February 2002 to discuss Australian implementation of the WCAR outcomes. He consulted with Neville Roach, then chair of the Council for a Multicultural Australia, Jeremy Jones (Executive Council of Australian Jewry), Fred Chaney (Reconciliation Australia), Thu Nguyen-Hoan (Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs), Sandra Power (Attorney-General's Department) and each state and territory equal opportunity agency head. On 14 March 2002 the Commissioner convened a workshop to discuss WCAR follow-up with state and territory Equal Opportunity Commissioners, Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commissioners and staff and the New Zealand Race Discrimination Commissioner.

Beyond tolerance: National Conference on Racism

The Beyond tolerance conference on racism in Australia was convened by the Commissioner at the Sydney Opera House on 12 and 13 March 2002. The conference themes were:

• The fragility and strengths of Australia's commitment to diversity, reconciliation and equality of opportunity.
• The forms of discrimination experienced by Indigenous people and people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, including multiple discriminations.
• The priorities for reforms to eliminate racial discrimination from all sectors of Australian society.

Most of the papers delivered at the conference are available on the Commission's website at www.humanrights.gov.au/racial_discrimination/beyond_tolerance/index.html .

A media forum associated with the conference and entitled "Reporting Diversity" was held on the evening of 12 March 2002 also at the Sydney Opera House. It was chaired by ABC journalist John Highfield with panellists Julie Nimmo (ICAM, SBS), Paul Murray (Radio 6PR, Perth) and Farah Farouque ( The Age , Melbourne). The Forum was recorded by the ABC and edited for broadcast on ABC Radio National's "Big Ideas" program on 31 March 2002, repeated 2 April 2002.

Research and policy

Alcohol restrictions

Following on from the 1995 Alcohol Report the Commissioner continues to be approached by local Indigenous communities requesting support for agreements to restrict the sale or distribution of alcohol to their community members. Such restrictions may be justified as special measures to advance the enjoyment of human rights for Indigenous communities and therefore a lawful exception to the prohibition on racial discrimination in the provision of goods and services.

The Commissioner granted one year extensions on two exemption certificates in November 2001. One dealt with an agreement between the Wiluna Aboriginal Community and the Club Hotel in Wiluna Western Australia while the other dealt with restrictions imposed on a liquor licence held by Kings Creek Station for the benefit of the Wanmarra and Ukaka Aboriginal Communities in the Northern Territory. The Wiluna agreement includes provision to ban the sale of takeaway wine and spirits to members of the Wiluna Aboriginal community and to limit sale of takeaway beer, in cans only, to certain hours. The Wanmarra licence conditions ban the sale of alcohol altogether to members of the two communities and their visitors.

In August 2001 the Commissioner wrote to the South Australian Premier expressing his concerns that the creation of dry zones in the city of Adelaide may indirectly discriminate against Indigenous people. The dry zone provisions restricted consumption of alcohol within the zones to people eating a meal in a restaurant. The Commissioner noted that many Aboriginal people would not be able to afford to buy a meal in a restaurant and that the imposition of dry zones may therefore impact disproportionately on them. Such a disproportionate impact would not be unlawful if the imposition of a dry zone was reasonable in all the circumstances and the Commissioner sought information from the Premier about the services which would be provided for Indigenous drinkers to ameliorate the effects of forcing them further away from the city precinct.

In June 2002 the Commissioner made a submission on the scope of the special measures exception in the context of restrictions on alcohol sales to a liquor licensing inquiry convened by the Western Australian Director of Liquor Licensing. The community affected is the Irrungadji Community of Nullagine Western Australia.

Access to water

One recommendation in the 1994 Water Report was that the Commission should follow-up the water supply situation in the ten case study communities after five years. Dr Bruce Walker, Director of the Centre for Appropriate Technology in Alice Springs, undertook the review. His report, Review of the Water Report, was launched on 3 October 2001. Dr Walker found that, since 1994, a number of measures have been adopted to provide water and sanitation and improve the health of Indigenous people. In seven of the 10 communities, there were significant improvements.

Although he concluded there have been improvements in technical delivery and higher levels of spending, he found, however, that safe, clean, sustainable water supplies are still not guaranteed. He recommended that the design and implementation of systems of water delivery should reflect a cooperative process of negotiation, community education, forward planning and cultural awareness.

Consultations

Post 11 September

On 12 September, following the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, the Commissioner wrote to all state and territory Multicultural Affairs Commissions, Equal Opportunity Commissions, Ethnic Communities Councils and peak Arabic and Islamic community organisations. Commissioner Jonas raised concerns regarding an anticipated increase in anti-Arab and anti-Muslim vilification and offered to establish an email clearinghouse to exchange information and consider possible joint strategies and action. There was a solid response from state and territory equal opportunity agencies and from relevant non-government organisations and the "egroup" operated until the end of the year. While agencies were grateful for information shared in this way, few had the time or capacity to contribute information during the crisis.

To assist agencies to advise clients victimised by racism, the Commission sent resource packages to 36 Migrant Resource Centres and to Arabic and Islamic community organisations.

In October 2001 the Commissioner met with Dr Thu Nguyen-Hoan, Assistant Secretary for Multicultural Affairs, Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, to exchange information and discuss strategies to head off, if possible, a further escalation of racist attacks.

During 2002 the Commissioner has progressed consultations with Australia's Arabic communities, meeting with staff at Sydney's Noor Al Houda Islamic College and members of the Australian Arabic Council in Melbourne, while staff have participated in other meetings.

In January 2002 the Commissioner met Emeritus Professor Ken McKinnon and Jack Herman of the Australian Press Council to discuss approaches to ethnic descriptors and racial stereotyping in the print media.

Race relations in Kalgoorlie Western Australia

Staff of the Commission, with a representative of the State Equal Opportunity Commission, visited Kalgoorlie-Boulder in May 2002 following expressions of concern about deteriorating race relations in the city. They consulted widely with Indigenous and non-Indigenous people and organisations.

The Commissioner concluded there were two underlying issues which, if addressed by the community, could help to resolve shared issues of concern. The first was a significant lack of accurate information about each other and about legal rights and obligations. The second was a failure on the part of community leaders to consult fully and effectively on issues affecting Indigenous people in the city.

Following consultations with the Acting Equal Opportunity Commissioner for Western Australia, the Commissioner recommended two interlinked strategies. The first would involve delivery of information, education and training covering legal rights and obligations, cultural awareness and cross cultural communication. The second would involve the key stakeholders in negotiating an Indigenous consultation protocol. The Commissioner has proposed a mediator be engaged to assist in this process.

International consultations

During a visit to London in April 2002, the Commissioner and staff consulted with staff at the Commission for Racial Equality, the Institute for Public Policy Research, the Runnymede Trust and the UK Secretariat of the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia and European and International Policy on race equality laws in the UK and on WCAR implementation planning.

Speeches

A selection of speeches, seminars and presentations made by, or on behalf of, Commissioner Jonas during 2001-02 are listed below. Further speeches are available on the Commission's website at www.humanrights.gov.au/speeches/race/ .

Combating Racism in Australia , Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Regional Consultation for the World Conference Against Racism, Melbourne, 5 July 2001.

Combating Racism in Australia , Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Regional Consultation for the World Conference Against Racism, Newcastle, 27 July 2001.

Expectations for the World Conference Against Racism, Australian anti-racism non-government organisations, Sydney, 23 August 2001.

Commentary on the Draft Durban Declaration , Pre-Conference Strategic Planning Meeting of National Human Rights Institutions, Johannesburg, South Africa, 27 August 2001.

National human rights institutions and human rights treaty bodies , Elements of a Global Alliance Against Racism [etc]: Roles and Responsibilities of the Human Rights Treaty Bodies, National Human Rights Institutions and Other Relevant Institutions, WCAR parallel forum, Durban, South Africa, 3 September 2001.

Statement on behalf of the Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission , Plenary Session of the World Conference Against Racism, Durban, South Africa, 4 September 2001.

National institutions and the World Conference Against Racism , Sixth Annual Asia Pacific Forum Meeting, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 27 September 2001.

World Conference Against Racism - outcomes and relevance to Australia, post-WCAR briefing for Australian anti-racism NGOs and agencies, 4 October 2001.

Opening address , Beyond tolerance: national conference on racism, Sydney, 12 March 2002.

Moving beyond tolerance towards the elimination of racial discrimination in Australia , Beyond tolerance: national conference on racism, Sydney, 13 March 2002.

Community Harmony and Multiculturalism , Rockdale City Council, Sydney, 21 March 2002.

Procedures and remedies for dealing with complaints of racial discrimination and vilification , Sixth International Workshop of National Human Rights Institutions, Copenhagen, Denmark, 11 April 2002.