ALHR

ALHR has criticised the Parliamentary process which allowed only 40 hours for submissions. ALHR noted the time period destroys any notion of accountability and public scrutiny which is sought to be provided by public involvement in the committee process. ALHR noted the bill contains various provisions supporting victims and witnesses in criminal proceedings, and strengthening … Read More >>

See letter to QLD Attorney-General, attached.

Back in July ALHR President, Stephen Keim SC, wrote to the Prime Minister Julia Gillard, and Federal Attorney-General Nicola Roxon and Foreign Minister Bob Carr to seek assurances that the Australian government is undertaking appropriate advocacy on behalf of the Australian citizen, Julian Assange, whose safety and rights to due process have appeared to be … Read More >>

On 25 September 2012, 80 leading legal, human rights, health, community and women?s organisations wrote to the NSW Attorney General calling on him to retain and strengthen the NSW compensation scheme for victims of violent crime. ALHR is proud to have added its name to the list of signatories. The full text of the letter … Read More >>

ALHR has written to Queensland Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie urging his government to reconsider amendments to the Surrogacy Act 2010, which was enacted to enable any person – regardless of relationship status – to enter into a surrogacy arrangement. The proposed amendments would criminalise same-sex couples, singles and heterosexual de facto couples of less than two … Read More >>

ALHR President, Stephen Keim SC, wrote to the Prime Minister Julia Gillard, and Federal Attorney-General Nicola Roxon and Foreign Minister Bob Carr to seek assurances that the Australian government is undertaking appropriate advocacy on behalf of the Australian citizen, Julian Assange, whose safety and rights to due process have appeared to be in some jeopardy … Read More >>

ALHR wrote this Letter to the Editor of The Age to highlight the deeply unsettling plight of a Sri Lankan woman, Ranjini, and her young sons, incarcerated in Villawood Detention Centre last week, following an adverse security assessment by ASIO.

ALHR added its voice to a joint letter from humanitarian organisations urging Foreign Minister Bob Carr to use diplomatic channels to urge the US to accede to the Mine Ban Treaty. The letter was initiated by the Australian Network to Ban Land Mines and Cluster Munitions (ANBLC). Commending his principled stand in publicly condemning the … Read More >>

Federal Attorney-General Nicola Roxon has responded to the joint letter of 21 December 2011 urging the Australian Government to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT). In her response, Attorney-General Roxon assured the parties that the Australian Government was working towards ratification, and … Read More >>

We, the undersigned organisations, are writing to urge the Australian Government to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT).

The Migrant Workers Convention is one of the nine core United Nations human rights treaties. It has been ratified by 45 countries. On this 21st anniversary of the signing of this Convention and eight years after it entered into force, we join in the civil society appeal to Australia to ratify the Convention and to … Read More >>

74 prominent citizens have called on Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd and new Attorney-General Nicola Roxon to take urgent steps to safeguard the human rights of WikiLeaks’s founder Julian Assange. The group comprises some of Australia’s most eminent public figures, including former Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser, as well as international figures such as Noam Chomsky, David … Read More >>