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14 December 2012WebpageNational Human Rights Consultation - Appendix 2
The Declaration recognises the legitimate entitlement of Indigenous people to all human rights – based on principles of equality, partnership, good faith and mutual benefit... -
Rights and Freedoms
20 January 2023Opinion pieceAustralia needs to deliver on our treaty promises
As with any agreement, there are certain requirements that OPCAT signatories need to fulfill, and Australia has been given longer than any other country to meet our OPCAT commitments. Today – 20 January 2023 – is our extended compliance deadline, and Australia has failed to deliver on our promises. -
14 December 2012Book page
Commission Website: National Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention
This submission will consider the issue of ‘statelessness’ and its consequences for the nationality of children in detention [2], focussing specifically on those children who are born into immigration detention in Australia. It will address the first term of reference [3] for the Inquiry. The submission will first consider the right to nationality at international law and the problem of ‘statelessness’, before discussing Australia’s domestic law. -
14 December 2012Book page
Commission Website: National Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention
The Social Justice In Early Childhood Group (SJIECG) was formed in 1996 and is made up of early childhood professionals focussed on social justice issues as they relate to children and their families. The group aims to raise the awareness of social justice issues within the early childhood profession. The group membership includes teachers, students, childrens services managers, additional needs workers and administrators. Group members are based in Sydney, but work in local, state and national services. -
14 December 2012Book page
Homelessness is a Human Rights Issue (2008)
Access to safe and secure housing is one of the most basic human rights. However, homelessness is not just about housing. Fundamentally, homelessness is about lack of connectedness with family, friends and the community and lack of control over one’s environment. -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
10 July 2013WebpageImmigration detention reports and photos
Immigration detention reports: The reports below published by the Commission outline issues of concern arising from its visits to immigration detention facilities. 2018 Inspection of Adelaide Immigration Detention Centre Report (2018) - Dept. of Home Affairs response to Adelaide Immigration Detention Centre Inspection of Perth Immigration Detention Centre Report (2018) - Dept. of Home Affairs ... -
14 December 2012Book page
National Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention - Background Paper 3: Mental Health and Developmen
from Behaviours Associated with Victimisation in The Impact of Current and Traumatic Stressors on the Psychological Well-Being of Refugee Communities. [1] -
14 December 2012Book page
Annual Report 2008-2009: Chapter 8
2008-09 has been a year of positive developments in the human rights area. While many human rights challenges lie ahead, as Human Rights Commissioner, I have been excited by the progress that Australia has made in human rights, both domestically and internationally during the year. -
14 December 2012Book page
7. Refugee Status Determination for Children in Immigration Detention
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that around half of the 50 million displaced persons in the world are children. Around 10 million of these children are under the care of UNHCR. Approximately 100,000 separated children roam Western Europe.(1) During 1999 alone, more than 20,000 separated children applied for asylum in Western Europe, North America or Australia.(2) Of those 20,000 unaccompanied children, 46 travelled to Australia to seek asylum. In the same year a further 202 children sought asylum in Australia with their families.(3) -
14 December 2012Book page
National Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention
ChilOut was established in July 2001 by a group of concerned parents and citizens who felt compelled to advocate and act on behalf of children and their parents living in Australia's immigration detention centres (IDC). -
Commission – General
5 August 2020E-bulletin (Monthly)August ebulletin
We have heard the words human rights quite a lot in recent weeks, in varied and sometimes inaccurate settings. Measures to protect our health and safety must be balanced with our rights and freedoms, but if there was ever a time to articulate where that line is, it would be now. Which is why last week, I took the step of writing a piece for a mainstream publication. While the pandemic continues ... -
Rights and Freedoms
10 April 2013Publication
Homelessness is a Human Rights Issue
This paper explores the many ways that homelessness impacts on a person’s ability to enjoy basic rights and freedoms. It shows that homelessness is more than just a housing issue. Homelessness is about human rights. Homeless people are not merely objects of charity, seeking help and compassion – like all Australians, they are individuals entitled to the protection and promotion of their human rights. Since human rights belong to everyone, it is in the interests of the Australian community as a whole to ensure that the rights of homeless people are respected and protected. -
14 December 2012Book page
Annual Report 2007-2008: Chapter 2 - Human Rights Education and Promotion
A central function of HREOC is to undertake education programs that increase public awareness and generate discussion of human rights and anti-discrimination issues within Australia. HREOC’s legislative responsibilities are: -
14 December 2012Book page
Commission Website: National Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention
This submission will focus on the current Australian immigration detention regime as it applies to minors. The regime will be examined based on data and information made available by the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (“DIMIA”) and supporting documentation ranging from government publications, the Flood Inquiry and testimonies given to the Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission “HREOC” under oath. -
31 July 2013Book page
6 Links to further information
6.1 Commission projects and publications The Commission has considered issues relating to the human rights of people impacted by section 501 visa refusals or cancellations in the following work: The Commission’s report: 2011 Immigration detention at Villawood: Summary of observations from visit to detention facilities at Villawood [106] The Commission’s 2009 submission to the Senate Standing ... -
Rights and Freedoms
20 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 ... -
14 December 2012Book page
Commission Website: National Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention
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. -
Rights and Freedoms
19 August 2016Speech
Tony Blackshield Lecture
HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE OVERREACH OF EXECUTIVE DISCRETION: CITIZENSHIP, ASYLUM SEEKERS AND WHISTLEBLOWERS It is a special pleasure for me to speak in honour of Professor Blackshield, who is a long time colleague of mine in the law. He is a constitutional law scholar of the highest order and one of the most influential figures in Australian legal education over the last 50 years. I have two memories ... -
Commission – General
14 December 2012Publication
Annual Report 2004-2005: Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission
The Annual Report of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission for the period ending 30 June 2005 is produced pursuant to section 45 of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Act 1986. The report has been prepared in accordance with the requirements of section 70 of the Public Service Act 1999. -
14 December 2012Book page
Discussion Paper: African Australians: A report on human rights and social inclusion issues (2009)
The Australia of 2009 is a proud multicultural nation. It is a nation, culturally, socially and economically formed by the unique combination of its First Nation peoples, its early settlers, and by the many waves of subsequent migration. As such, negotiating diversity and respecting people of all faiths, races, cultures and identities has evolved into an important characteristic of being a member of Australian society.