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 >>
Mr Aumua Ming Leung Wai Office of the Attorney General P.O. Box 27 Apia, Samoa By email: attorney.general@ag.gov.ws Dear Attorney General Recommendations by the Samoan Law Reform Commission to repeal sections of the Crimes Ordinance Australian Lawyers for Human Rights (ALHR) is a network of Australian lawyers active in practising and promoting awareness of international … Read More >>
ALHR added its name to a letter to Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd, supporting a letter from Assange’s solicitor Gareth Pierce requesting assistance and information, and urging the Government to be active in ensuring that Mr. Assange’s rights to fair treatment and due process are not overridden. You can access both letters below. Letter to … Read More >>
On 6 July 2011, an open letter was sent to Australia’s Defense Minister, Foriegn Affairs Minister and Attorney General regarding the proposed legislation in Australia that would implement the Convention on Cluster Munitions and enable Australia to ratify and become a State Party to the Convention. ALHR President Stephen Keim SC added his name to … Read More >>
ALHR expressed its deep concern at reservations declared by Pakistan on ratifying the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT) in June 2010. ALHR President Stephen Keim urged the Australian Government to take urgent action to oppose … Read More >>
ALHR has signed on to a Briefing Note calling for amendments to a proposed bill to extend complementary protection under the Migration Act to people at risk of being subject to torture, the death penalty, other serious human rights violations or arbitrary deprivations of life. The re-introduction of complementary protection through the Migration Amendment (Complementary … Read More >>
The Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Mr Chris Bowen, announced a government decision that families and unaccompanied children asylum seekers would be placed in the community, a decision to be implemented over the next nine months. ALHR wrote to congratulate the Minister and urge further and more far reaching reforms.
The Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Mr Chris Bowen, announced a government decision that families and unaccompanied children asylum seekers would be placed in the community, a decision to be implemented over the next nine months. ALHR wrote to congratulate the Minister and urge further and more far reaching reforms.
