Edition 129 • June 2016
No Images? Click here
ADVOCACY AT THE UN / Human Rights Council warned that Australian governments are locking up Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women at record rates
In a statement to the 35th session of the UN Human Rights Council we reminded the Australian Government of the various promises it's made at the UN over the years to better protect the rights of Indigenous peoples and alerted the Council of the alarming and growing rate at which Australian governments are locking up Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women.
ADVOCACY AT THE UN / Australia must find humane way forward for refugees on Manus and Nauru
In another statement we told the Human Rights Council that the Australian Government’s deliberate mistreatment of people seeking asylum is a stain on its human rights record and casts a dark shadow over its efforts to be elected to the Council.
ADVOCACY AT THE UN / Australian Government’s support for LGBTI rights at UN welcomed
In a third statement delivered to the Human Rights Council, we welcomed the Australian Government's support for the UN's special expert to help combat violence and discrimination faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people and highlighted examples of positive law reform that various Australian states have recently completed.
DONATE / Help defend our democracy
We've got one more week to meet our fundraising target for the 2016/17 tax year! The Human Rights Law Centre is fiercely independent and we want to keep it that way. Can you chip in with a donation today?
WORK FOR US / We are recruiting a Communications Officer
We’re currently seeking a Communications Officer to join our team in Melbourne. This new and exciting position will work closely with the Directors of Communications and Campaigns and play a vital role expanding our public profile.
STAFFING / Meet our new Development Manager
Meet Rachel Richmond who joined our team in April to take care of all our donor engagement activities. Her expertise is in designing, planning and executing fundraising campaigns and working with donors to manage their giving and protect their philanthropic legacy.
LGBTI RIGHTS / Legal and community groups call on Queensland to erase unjust homosexual convictions
Despite the legalisation of homosexuality in Queensland 26 years ago, people charged under the old laws remain convicted criminals to this day. We told a parliamentary hearing earlier this month that it's time for this legacy to be erased.
YOUTH JUSTICE / After years of neglect, Victorian Government must rebuild a safe, humane, age-appropriate youth justice system
Giving evidence at a recent Parliamentary Inquiry, our lawyer Shahleena Musk drew parallels between her experience in the youth justice system in the Northern Territory and what she was observing in Victoria.
FREEDOM OF RELIGION / Protections in law must be balanced with other rights
Australia is a diverse, multicultural and multi-faith country and as we discussed with a parliamentary human rights sub-committee recently, governments have a responsibility to ensure people with different religious and non-religious beliefs can live together in peace.
DEFENDING DEMOCRACY / Our report launched by Gillian Triggs
Produced in partnership with 15 leading Australian NGOs, Defending Democracy highlights the threats to community advocacy and recommends reforms to safeguard independent community voices.
AWARD / Recognition of work to protect and promote the rights of refugees and people seeking asylum
We’re thrilled that our Daniel Webb has been named one of the 10 finalists for the inaugural Global Centre for Pluralism Awards.
INTERNATIONAL CASE SUMMARIES
South African High Court blocks executive withdrawal from International Criminal Court
Democratic Alliance v Minister of International Relations and Cooperation and Others (Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution Intervening) (83145/2016) [2017] ZAGPPHC 53 (22 February 2017)
UK High Court rules against MPs withdrawing from EU without Act of Parliament
LR (on the application of Miller and another) v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union [2017] UKSC 5 (24 January 2017)
UK Supreme Court finds police gave freedom to protestors at expense of public safety
DB v Chief Constable of Police Service of Northern Ireland [2017] UKSC 7 (1 February 2017)
NOTICE BOARD
JOB / Communications Officer
Join the Human Rights Law Centre team in Melbourne in a new exciting position.
JOB / Principal Advisor
Help the Change the Record Campaign Coalition to address the disproportionate rates of violence and imprisonment experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
JOB / Indigenous Rights Campaigner
This exciting position is responsible for developing strategies to win Amnesty International Australia's Indigenous rights campaigns.
MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS
Manus class action: 'Our Government is morally and legally responsible for the harm'
Our Daniel Webb discusses the Australian Government’s $70 million out of court settlement for men held in limbo at its camp on Manus Island.
The wrong kind of settlement
Signing a cheque for the injustices of yesterday doesn’t help the injustices of tomorrow, our Daniel Webb tells The Saturday Paper.
Prevention, not punishment is key to reducing Indigenous youth detention
Our Shahleena Musk in conversation with RightNow's Mihilini Fernando
Manus detention degraded to make refugees leave
Our Amy Frew speaks to Radio NZ about how conditions in Australia's refugee detention centre on Manus Island were deliberately degraded to push residents to leave.
