ALHR Newsletter

Members will remember that ALHR prepared a briefing for Human Rights Committee consideration of Australia in NY on 23-24 March. ALHR is a signatory to a major shadow NGO report Freedom, Respect, Equality, Dignity: Action: NGO Submission to the Human Rights Committee. The Human Rights Law Resource Centre, together with the National Association of Community Legal Centres and Kingsford Legal Centre, submitted this report to the Human Rights Committee regarding Australia in September 2008. Members of the Human Rights Law Resource Centre in Vic went along to NY to give evidence. ALHR updated the brief to take into account the processing of asylum-seekers on Christmas Island and the December opening of the facility. Read it here: http://www.alhr.asn.au/activities/2009/03/04/alhr-briefing-for-the-human-rights-committee-s-consideration-of-australia-in-its-95th-session.html. The advance report - CCPR/C/AUS/CO/5 2 April 2009 - states at para 23: The State party should: a) consider abolishing the remaining elements of its mandatory immigration detention policy; b) implement the recommendations of the Human Rights Commission made in its Immigration Detention Report of 2008; c) consider closing down the Christmas Island detention centre; and d) enact in legislation a comprehensive immigration framework in compliance with the Covenant.

The National Consultation is getting towards the business end of proceedings, and so is the ALHR submission! The Committee is now moving to hold community consultations in SA, WA and Tasmania, so get along if you can. Remember the deadline is 15 June. http://www.humanrightsconsultation.gov.au/www/nhrcc/nhrcc.nsf The Australian Human Rights Commission is also holding lots of workshops to skill up WA and Tas folk ready to contribute to the consultation, including legal meetings, so rsvp for those: http://www.hreoc.gov.au/letstalkaboutrights/workshops.html The Australian Human Rights Group, the umbrella NGO for the sector has almost finished its submission, and has updated its website - http://www.humanrightsact.com.au/ahrg/ ALHR is holding submission writing workshops in Sydney in May, and in Canberra we have joined forces to put on a seminar with the ACT Human Rights Commission on 29 April. ACT members are gearing up to go and talk to community groups and clubs about the consultations. Registrations for our undergraduate law student comp have now closed with over 160 students registered! I cannot wait to read what the next gen of ALHR has to say about the protection of their human rights. Finally, I participated as a trainer in a AHRC workshop on the consultation for women's groups in Brisbane 'What's in it for women?' on 25 March, where over 80 women presented their views to Tammy Williams from the Consultation Committee.

ALHR participated in some joint advocacy activities. We joined a coalition led by A Just Australia writing to the Joint Standing Committee on Migration's inquiry into immigration detention about its first report. We joined an open letter to the NSW Premier raising concerns about the Covert search warrant legislation that was rushed through NSW Parliament. Submission writing - ALHR made a submission regarding treaties tabled on 12 March 2009 - Convention on Cluster Munitions - to the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties on 16 April 2009 (thanks Jess Casben and Matthew Zagor) - ALHR will make a submission to the Senate Standing Committee on Legal And Constitutional Affairs i nquiry into access to justice, due 30 April Sue briefed an Australian diplomat about to be posted to our Geneva Mission about our views on the Human Rights Council and Universal Periodic Review mechanism.

- Op ed: Australia's Guantanamo dilemma - ABC Unleashed - 5 February - Sue and Eve Lester http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/stories/s2481791.htm - Sue interviewed on ABC Radio National program The World Today - 6 April - Afghanistan President says new Sharia law is under review http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2008/s2536003.htm - Paul Harpur gave a radio interview on 2SER 107.3 FM on 6 April re government decision that trial for electronic voting for blind people in NSW was too expensive. Paul talked about removing ability of people with vision loss to vote without assistance, issues were right to vote and privacy - Sue interviewed for Inter Press Service story on NSW covert search warrants on 25 March - RIGHTS-AUSTRALIA: Tough Terror Laws Part of Routine Policing? By Stephen de Tarczynski http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=46258 - Op ed: Why Australia should engage in the Durban Review Conference, APO 16 April (with Hilary Charlesworth) http://www.apo.org.au/webboard/comment_results.chtml?filename_num=274144

April 2009 National Consultation Community Roundtable, Midura VIC - 29 April 2009 Older People and Human Rights and Responsibilities: Your Voice, Sydney - 29 April 2009 Is it time for a National Human Rights Act?, Canberra - 29 April 2009 National Consultation Community Roundtable, Launceston TAS - 30 April 2009 Human Rights Act for Australia - Public Forum, Adelaide SA - 30 April 2009 Australian Human Rights Commission, Protecting Human Rights in Australia Workshop, Perth - 30 April 2009 Australian Human Rights Commission, Youth Advocates Workshop on the National Human Rights Consultation, Perth - 30 April 2009 Australian Human Rights Commission, Legal Workshop on the National Human Rights Consultation, Perth - 30 April 2009 Australian Human Rights Commission, Roundtable Discussion: Human Rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People, Darwin NT - 30 April 2009 May 2009 From Human Rights to Human Service Delivery Work, RMIT, VIC - 1 May 2009 National Consultation Community Roundtable, Burnie TAS - 1 May 2009 Australian Human Rights Commission Community Workshop on the National Human Rights Consultation, Perth - 1 May 2009 National Consultation Community Roundtable, Tweed Heads NSW - 6 May 2009 National Consultation Community Roundtable, Yarrabah QLD - 7 May 2009 Hot Topics 2009 - Getting Real on Human Rights, Sydney - 8 May 2009 Young Lawyers Conference - A Charter of Rights, Sydney - 9 May 2009 National Consultation Community Roundtable, Perth WA - 12 May 2009 National Consultation Community Roundtable, Kalgoorlie & Busselton WA - 13 May 2009 National Consultation Community Roundtable, Geraldton & Paraburdoo WA - 14 May 2009 Seminar - Corporate responsibility: failed rhetoric or future remedy? , Sydney - 21 May 2009 August 2009 Conference - Cultural and Religious Freedom under a bill of rights , Canberra - 13-15 August 2009

1. The Human Rights Enterprise in Australia and Internationally by Peter Bailey (ANU) When launching this book, Kirby described it as a "marvelous cornucopia of material. every nook and cranny of the subject of human rights in Australia is examined." http://www.lexisnexis.com.au/aus/academic/publications/documents/Flyer_Bailey_Human_Rights_Enterprise_in_Australia_acad.pdf 2. Implementing Human Rights Norms: Judicial Discretion and Use of Unincorporated Conventions, by Dr Wendy Lacey (Assoc Prof of Law, UniSA). This book examines the extent to which Australian judges may be guided by unincorporated international human rights conventions when exercising discretionary powers, with comparative analyses of UK, Canadian and New Zealand law. Information about the book is set out below. The book's webpage is at .

Eureka Street special edition: Asylum seekers are not criminals, featuring ALHR member Kerry Murphy: http://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=13033