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Education1 April 2016Webpage
An Introduction to Human Rights
Overview Human rights are a set of principles concerned with equality and fairness. They are not a recent invention - ideas about rights and responsibilities have been an important part of all societies throughout history. Since the end of World War II, there has been a united effort by the nations of the world to decide what rights belong to all people and how they can best be promoted and ... -
Rights and Freedoms21 August 2019Project
Freedom of Religion
For over 20 years now, the Commission has advocated for more comprehensive legal protection in Australia for freedom of thought, conscience and religion. -
Rights and Freedoms15 November 2019Opinion piece
Freedom of speech and Annika Smethurst
Opinion piece by Commission President Rosalind Croucher published in the Australian newspaper The raids on the home of News Corp journalist Annika Smethurst and the offices of the ABC have highlighted the vulnerability of press freedom in Australia compared to other similar liberal democracies. The offences being investigated, as set out in the relevant warrants, included alleged offences by ... -
Rights and Freedoms30 April 2013Webpage
Right to self determination
Back to Rights and Freedoms: right by right Article 1 of both Covenants | A right of peoples rather than individuals | Self determination and the Australian people | Self determination and Australia's first peoples | International scrutiny | More information | Comments Article 1 of both Covenants The right to self-determination is contained in article 1 of the International Covenant on Civil and ... -
Sex Discrimination7 February 2020Publication
Respect@Work: Community Guide to the Sexual Harassment National Inquiry Report (2020)
Also available: Full Report A message from the Commissioner Australia was once at the forefront of tackling sexual harassment globally. Women’s organisations in Australia began to press for the legal and social recognition of sex discrimination in the early 1970s. This movement built on Australia’s ratification of two key international conventions: the International Labour Organization’s ... -
Technology and Human Rights2 July 2023Opinion piece
Australia needs to be a world leader in ethical AI
Find out more about how Australia can be a leader in responsible and ethical artificial intelligence. -
Technology and Human Rights28 February 2024Opinion piece
Let’s not elevate brain tech over our humanity
Learn more about how Neuralink's successful implantation could raise human rights issues about neurotechnology. -
Rights and Freedoms18 November 2020Webpage
How are our human rights protected in law in Australia during COVID-19?
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Rights and Freedoms31 July 2019Speech
Free and Equal: A National Reform Agenda for Human Rights in Australia for the next decade
Commission President Emeritus Professor Rosalind Croucher AM addressed the Castan Centre human rights conference on July 26. The topic was ‘Free and Equal’: A National Reform Agenda for Human Rights in Australia for the next decade. Thank you to the Castan Centre, and its Director, Professor Sarah Joseph, for inviting me to speak. Let me begin by acknowledging the traditional custodians of the ... -
Rights and Freedoms14 December 2012Project
Counter-terrorism and human rights
Since the events in the United States on 11 September 2001, the Australian Government has introduced more than 40 new counter-terrorism laws. Amongst other things, these laws have created: -
Rights and Freedoms30 April 2019Publication
Free and equal: An Australian conversation on human rights (2019)
Through 2019, the Commission will promote conversation nationally to identify what makes an effective system of human rights protection for 21st century Australia? -
Rights and Freedoms1 December 2020Video
Balancing Human Rights During COVID19
Protecting public health and protecting human rights are not mutually exclusive choices – but how do we keep the balance between the two? What safeguards do we need to protect rights and freedoms in Australia and prevent the ‘creeping authoritarianism’ we have witnessed elsewhere in the world? These were just some of the big questions of our time discussed by the panellists during the ‘Balancing ... -
Rights and Freedoms21 September 2023Media Release
Human Rights Commissioner critical of COVID inquiry scope
Australia’s Human Rights Commissioner has welcomed the Federal Government’s announcement of an inquiry into Australia’s handling of the COVID pandemic but has criticised the inquiry’s terms of reference for not having a specific focus on human rights impacts and for excluding the unilateral actions of state and territory governments. Today Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed the government ... -
Technology and Human Rights15 May 2023Opinion piece
‘Weaponised' AI an existential threat to truth, human rights
This opinion piece by Human Rights Commissioner Lorraine Finlay appeared in The Australian on Monday 15 May 2023. In George Orwell's 1984, the Ministry of Truth exercises absolute control of information according to The Party ethos, “Who controls the past, controls the future: who controls the present, controls the past”. If the Ministry of Truth existed today, a more accurate slogan would be “Who ... -
Rights and Freedoms17 January 2019Project
Free and Equal: An Australian conversation on human rights
What makes an effective system of human rights protection for 21st century Australia? What are we doing well and what steps do we still need to take? -
Technology and Human Rights5 March 2019Publication
Whitepaper: Human Rights and Technology
Learn more about how Australia can foster innovation and protect human rights through the application of technologies such as ethical AI. -
Rights and Freedoms11 December 2020Video
Rosemary Kayess: Human Rights Day Oration 2020
Watch Human Rights Medal winner Rosemary Kayess present the 2020 Human Rights Day Oration. Rosemary Kayess is a leading human rights advocate for people with disability in Australia and worldwide. Rosemary contributed to drafting the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and successfully lobbied for its ratification in Australia. Last year, Rosemary was ... -
Rights and Freedoms8 October 2019Speech
UN Human Rights Commissioner speaks out
Australian Human Rights Commission conference Free and Equal: An Australian Conversation on Human Rights Statement by Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights 8 October 2019 President of the Australian Human Rights Commission, Rosalind Croucher and fellow Commissioners Mr Les Malezer, Member of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, Members of Parliament and ... -
Technology and Human Rights16 December 2019Publication
Discussion Paper: Human Rights and Technology
Learn more about protecting and promoting human rights from the risks of AI, to better develop and deploy ethical AI. -
Rights and Freedoms20 January 2021News story
Australia’s human rights status for international review
The Australian Government will appear before the UN Human Rights Council this evening where it will present an update of the country’s human rights record. It’s the third time Australia has appeared before Universal Periodic Review (UPR)— a unique process reviewing the human rights situations in all 193 UN member countries, every four-and-a-half years. The UPR process allows the Australian ...