Australian Lawyers for Human Rights submission on reform of abortion laws in the NT

posted on January 30, 2017

ALHR has written a submission to the NT Attorney-General and Minister for Health, Natasha Fyles MLA, on proposed changes to legislation governing termination of pregnancy in the Territory. Access to abortion in the NT is extremely limited and inconsistent with other jurisdictions. The NT government proposes to repeal section 11 of the Medical Services Act, introduce a … Read More >>

ALHR opposes access to Retained Metadata for Civil Litigation

posted on January 27, 2017

ALHR strongly opposes the use of data retained under the mandatory retention scheme for non-criminal and non-security matters involving civil litigation.  The mandatory data retention scheme was claimed by the Commonwealth Government to be purely a targeted and proportional response to perceived security threats. The Inquiry is considering the possibility of opening up access to all of the … Read More >>

UN Forum in Focus

posted on December 21, 2016

Chair of ALHR’s Business and Human Rights Subcommittee, Amy Sinclair, reflects on the Annual UN Forum on Business and Human Rights, 2016 Last month, I braved the long-haul and flew from Australia to Geneva to experience the Annual UN Forum on Business and Human Rights. And it is, very much, an experience. Now in its 5th … Read More >>

Time to Tackle Slavery

posted on December 3, 2016

Modern Slavery pollutes global and domestic supply chains and permeates economic activity. It desperately needs addressing to end the exploitation of vulnerable workers, both at home and overseas. Amy Sinclair, Chair of our Business and Human Rights Subcommittee, has been working to address this and ALHR is proud to support business, anti-slavery and religious groups … Read More >>

ALHR meets with UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of migrants

posted on November 30, 2016

On 14 November Kahn Hoang and Rebecca Dowd, Co-Chairs of ALHR’s Refugee Rights Subcommittee met with the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of migrants in Sydney along with other NGO organisations. The meeting went for about 75 mins and the Rapporteur  took views from all interested parties in in a round-table discussion. ALHR made … Read More >>

ALHR’s Amy Sinclair comments in Lawyers Weekly on the Joint Civil Society Statement on Business and Human Rights

posted on August 30, 2016

Lawyers Weekly reports on ALHR’s participation in a coalition of civil society groups calling on the government to implement the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights in Australia.  The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, unanimously endorsed by the UN Human Rights Council in 2011, require businesses to respect human rights and governments … Read More >>

ALHR Business and Human Rights Sub-Committee, A Year in Review

posted on August 19, 2016

ALHR’s BHR Sub-Committee has had a busy first year. Amy Sinclair and the BHR team have participated in the OHCHR’s Corporate Accountability and Remedy Project and maintained concerted advocacy efforts calling for a National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights. Read our attached report for further details of the BHR Sub-Committee’s activities.

10 most needed changes to Australian Government’s policies towards asylum seekers and refugees

posted on July 19, 2016

10 Changes that ALHR would like to see with respect to the Australian Government’s policies towards asylum seekers and refugees  End offshore processing and stop boat turnbacks. End the detention of children and families. Ensure timely access to durable solutions for recognised refugees. This includes resettlement — preferably in Australia or in a country which … Read More >>

ALHR’s New Women and Girls’ Rights Subcommittee

posted on July 14, 2016

ALHR is pleased to announce the launch of our new national Women and Girls’ Rights Subcommittee Women comprise half the world’s population, but are the large majority of the world’s poor, illiterate, and displaced. Globally, women make up only 22% of national parliaments. Women do approximately 66% of the world’s work in return for less than 10% … Read More >>