ALHR

Australian Lawyers for Human Rights (ALHR) congratulates Behrouz Boochani, whose book, No Friend But the Mountains: Writings from Manus Prison, was awarded both the Victorian Prize for Literature and the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for non-fiction last week and renews its call on the Australian Government to urgently commit to ensuring a safe and viable … Read More >>

The United Nations’ Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) has weighed in on the ongoing controversy regarding the Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA) for Adani’s Carmichael Coal and Rail Project. A Federal Court’s decision in August 2018 dismissed a challenge to the validity of the ILUA commenced by five of the 12 individuals … Read More >>

Australian Lawyers for Human Rights (ALHR) calls on all countries to ensure that lawyers are able to perform their professional obligations without fear of retribution. ALHR has always been saddened by news of lawyers facing consequences such as being silenced, harassed, kidnapped, imprisoned, injured and killed for fulfilling their roles as advocates. On 24 January … Read More >>

MEDIA RELEASE The 2018 Human Rights Report Card from Australian Lawyers for Human Rights (ALHR) has found Australia continues to significantly lag in key areas such as Indigenous rights, children’s rights, disability rights, freedoms and LGBTI rights. Further, many states and territories continued to perform poorly in their approach to human rights. ALHR President, Kerry … Read More >>

Australian Lawyers for Human Rights (ALHR) has congratulated the NSW Government on changes to implement recommendations of the Royal Commission into Institutional Child Sex Abuse and address an anomaly which previously prevented child abuse victims from suing unincorporated entities such as churches. Known as the “Ellis defence”, this defence was essentially based on the argument … Read More >>

Australian Lawyers for Human Rights (ALHR) has made a New Year call on the Australian Prime Minister to give immediate effect to his 2018 promise to remove religious exemptions to discrimination laws affecting LGBT students and teachers in Australian schools. ALHR says  that the Morrison Government’s proposed amendments to the ALP’s Sex Discrimination Amendment (Removing … Read More >>

Leading human rights lawyers have expressed grave concerns at some of the recommendations of the Ruddock Review into ‘religious freedom,’ released today, seven months after it was provided to the Government. In response to the recommendations, Australian Lawyers for Human Rights (ALHR) has joined the Law Council of Australia in calling on the Morrison Government … Read More >>

Australian Lawyers for Human Rights (ALHR) welcomes the launch of Equality Australia, as a positive and necessary step toward a more inclusive Australia. ALHR’s LGBTI Committee co-chair, Nicholas Stewart, said, “Equality Australia was born out of the successful Australian Marriage Equality campaign which in 2017 was integral to ensuring support for equal marriage laws in … Read More >>

Australian Lawyers for Human Rights (ALHR) has welcomed yesterday’s announcement of a $1 million reward for information leading to the conviction of any person connected to the murder of Scott Johnson, who was killed in what is believed to have been a gay hate murder in Sydney’s North Head in December 1988. ALHR’s LGBTI Subcommittee … Read More >>

Today is Human Rights Day and the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), a milestone document, which underpins all international human rights law and inspires us to continue to work to ensure all people can live in freedom, equality and dignity. Australian Lawyers for Human Rights (ALHR) President Kerry Weste says, … Read More >>

Australia’s leading human rights organisation has welcomed a Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade report examining the global prevalence of human organ trafficking. The Compassion, Not Commerce: An Inquiry into Human Organ Trafficking and Organ Transplant Tourism Report makes twelve recommendations aimed at law reform to address Australian participation in the illicit trade and … Read More >>

Australian Lawyers for Human Rights (ALHR) commends the passing of the federal Modern Slavery Act 2018. This important human rights legislation represents a first step towards eradicating modern slavery in the operations and supply chains of large Australian companies. The Walk Free Foundation and the International Labour Organisation estimate that last year around 40.3 million … Read More >>