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In 1999 and 2000 the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (the CERD Committee) and the Human Rights Committee (HRC) of the United Nations both criticised the 1998 amendments to the Native Title Act 1993 (the NTA) as limiting the rights of Indigenous people.(1) The committees found that the amendments were discriminatory and recommended that Australia either suspend implementation…

The year 2001 marked the tenth anniversary of the final report of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody. The 5 volumes and 339 recommendations that comprise the national report of Commissioner Johnston remain among the most extensive, frank and devastating examinations of the impact of colonialism on the Indigenous peoples of this country.

Family law plays a role in the `placement and care' of Indigenous children when parenting disputes come before the Family Court of Australia (except in WA where the State Family Court deals with all family law matters) or those lower courts, presided over by magistrates, which have power to deal with them. The parents do not have to be married: children born outside marriage are treated in the…

This UPR Progress Report operates as a statement of key human rights concerns and developments in Australia in 2013. The report is the third in a series of annual reports that are being developed in the lead up to Australia’s second Universal Periodic Review (UPR) at the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council in October 2015. Each report identifies important milestones as well as…

Within months of the `First Fleet' arrival at Sydney Cove in 1788 there was `open animosity' as Indigenous people protested against `the Europeans cutting down trees, taking their food and game, and driving them back into others' territories'. Bitter conflict followed as Aboriginal people engaged in `guerilla warfare - plundering crops, burning huts, and driving away stock' to be met by `punitive…

International and Australian evidence demonstrates the long-term effects of early life experience on health and well being throughout life. The detention of children and young people is poses significant risks to normal development. The exposure of infants and young children to stress either directly or mediated through the experiences of their parents reduces the likelihood of normal brain…

The Native Title Report 2003 evaluates native title as a framework for economic and social development for traditional owner groups. While the legal framework for native title restricts its capacity to improve economic and social conditions for Indigenous people, the Report recognises that the native title agreement-making process provides an invaluable opportunity for States and Territories to…

On 5 December 2008 the Australian Human Rights Commission invited a group of young Muslim women to interview the Sex Discrimination Commissioner Elizabeth Broderick for a future community radio segment that the young women will develop themselves. The young women are participating in  the 'Young Muslim Women’s Short Animation Film Project' coordinated by Paula Abood who is the Community Cultural…

State and Territory legislation, programs and policies in the areas of child welfare, adoption and juvenile justice are intended to provide a non-discriminatory framework for the administration of services. In many cases, programs are designed with the objective of reducing the extent of contemporary removals of Indigenous children and young people. In spite of this, the over-representation of…

This submission to the Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission's Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention Centres is the result of the work and contributions of many people.

One of the Commission’s central functions is to undertake education programs that increase public awareness and generate discussion of human rights and anti-discrimination issues within Australia.

Dr Ozdowski has made public education on human rights a priority for his term. Other priority areas are the elderly in our ageing society and children. Dr Ozdowski is working to progress the Commission’s 2000 recommendations for alleviating age discrimination, as set out in the report Age matters: a report on age discrimination.