Search results

Article 3(1) of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child provides that a child's best interests are to be a primary consideration in all actions concerning them. The Australian system, whereby the guardian of unaccompanied child asylum seekers is the Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs, rather than an authoritative, independent statutory body, does not ensure that the requirements of article 3(1) are met.

Following the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families and the release of the report Bringing them home several questions have been frequently asked and statements made about the Inquiry’s findings and recommendations.

Many same-sex couples who appeared at the Inquiry’s community forums talked about the problems they face in getting visas. They highlighted the limited options available to a same-sex couple wanting to migrate to Australia as a couple. They talked about the additional expense and disruption to their lives in proving their entitlement to a visa. And they talked about the indignity of being treated differently to genuine opposite-sex couples.

The International Commission of Jurists is dedicated to the primacy, coherence and implementation of international law and principles that advance human rights. Its aim is to promote human rights through the rule of law by ensuring that developments in international law adhere to human rights principles and that international standards are implemented at the national level. The Commission was founded in Berlin in 1952 and its members are jurists representing different legal systems of the world.

Explore a report prepared for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission into the deaths in custody of Indigenous juveniles.

Catherine Branson welcomed guests, in particular international guests and acknowledged the traditional owners of the land. She thanked the Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions for co-hosting the seminar. She acknowledged the importance of the right to be free from torture, and congratulated the Australian Government for recognising the rights of those deprived of their liberty by signing the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture (OPCAT). She noted that Australia faces challenges in implementing OPCAT, particularly due to its federal structure.

DR OZDOWSKI: It is 9.30 so we will start another day off, formal hearings. My name is Dr Sev Ozdowski and I'm the Human Rights Commissioner. To my right is Dr Trang Thomas, Professor of Psychology at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and to my left Mrs Robin Sullivan, Queensland's Children's Commissioner. Both of them do assist me with the Inquiry as Assistant Commissioners. Also, on my left Ms Vanessa Lesnie who is Secretary to the Inquiry.

The recognition and protection of native title and the participation of Indigenous people in decisions affecting their land are critical priorities within a human rights framework.

On 13 February 2008 Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, on behalf of the Australian Parliament, made a historic and long overdue national Apology to the Stolen Generations. With eloquence and emotion, Prime Minister Rudd said what so many Australians have wanted to say, and what so many Indigenous peoples have needed to hear: