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Children's Rights

It's time to strengthen our surrogacy laws to help protect children

NATIONWIDE regulations are urgently needed to cover situations when Australians are engaging surrogates to have children for them. The range of assisted reproductive technologies available today presents many legal, moral and ethical challenges. These are challenges we can no longer ignore and...

Category, Opinion

Time to strengthen our lax surrogacy laws

Nationwide regulations are urgently needed to cover situations when Australians are engaging surrogates to have children for them. The range of assisted reproductive technologies available today presents many legal, moral and ethical challenges. These are challenges we can no longer ignore and...

Category, Opinion
Children's Rights

Children's Rights in a Changing World

Megan MitchellNational Children's CommissionerAustralian Human Rights Commission Association of Children's Welfare Agencies Conference 201420 August 2014 Check Against Delivery Introduction Thank you, Stephen, and good afternoon everyone. Can I start by acknowledging the traditional owners of the...

Category, Speech
Commission – General

Time for rethink on asylum seeker treatment

I am gravely concerned that Australia's practices in relation to asylum seekers risk serious breaches of fundamental rights and freedoms under the human rights treaties by which Australia is bound.

Category, Opinion
Commission – General

President Speech: Human Rights 2011 (2011)

Thank you Indira - and thank you Michael for your welcome to country. On behalf of the Australian Human Rights Commission, I acknowledge the Gadigal peoples of the Eora nation and pay our respects their elders past and present.

Category, Speech
Commission – General

President Speech: The role of the Australian Human Rights Commission in protecting and promoting human rights in Australia

I would like to begin by saying how delighted I am to be here speaking this evening about the work of the Australian Human Rights Commission. I hope also to learn more about the protection of human rights in Japan and about your proposal for a national human rights institution in Japan. This is my first time to Japan and I am thrilled to be here. I am grateful for all the work that has gone into the preparation for this session and for my visit. And I thank those who have looked after me so well since I arrived in your country.

Category, Speech
Commission – General

Prevention of human rights abuses against irregular migrants: the role of National Institutions

In the age of globalisation there has been a massive increase in international migration and, as the number of international migrants has grown, so too has the problem of irregular migration. Many states have tried to stem irregular migration by introducing new border control measures and tougher criminal sanctions for people smugglers.[1] However, while effective border control is a legitimate objective of all sovereign states, state responses to the issue of irregular migration have often failed to protect the human rights of irregular migrants.[2]

Category, Speech
Rights and Freedoms

Lawasia Conference

In the contemporary world, and particularly amongst developed economies, many of us believed that the culture of civil liberties, freedoms and non-discrimination are reasonably well established and these precepts have clear links to innovation, creativity and the broader concepts of economic productivity and a well functioning civil society. Indeed, I believe that many of us had come to accept and expect this to be the situation, and that conferences like the one we attend here today could be built on this very premise.

Category, Speech
Commission – General

National Human Rights Institutions

The Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (hereafter the Australian Human Rights Commission) is one of the oldest National Human Rights Institutions in the Asia Pacific region. It was originally established in 1981 as the Human Rights Commission and then restructured in 1986 to become the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission. It is a founding member and a strong supporter of the Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions.

Category, Speech
Rights and Freedoms

Children and the Law: Issues in the Asia Pacific Region

Salutation Firstly I would like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which we stand and by so doing remind ourselves that Australia’s cultural traditions stretch back many thousands of years.

Category, Speech
Commission – General

Site navigation

This session focuses primarily on relationships between National Human Rights Institutions (NHRI’s) and the Judiciary, but as well touches on their relationship with officers of the executive government such as the Attorney-General. One of the stated aims of this session is to assess how the independent institutions of the judiciary and NHRI’s can mutually and independently strengthen national protection systems for human rights.

Category, Speech
Rights and Freedoms

Human Rights in the Asia Pacific Region

It is my pleasure to report to you today on the outcome of deliberations of the Working Group on Human Rights Education. This working group was relatively small in size but very diverse and robust in its deliberations. It consisted of representatives of Arabic countries, including the host country Qatar as well as Japan, the Philippines and Australia.

Category, Speech

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