Australian Lawyers for Human Rights (ALHR) is concerned that the Queensland Government?s recent funding cuts to community legal centres will adversely impact on access to justice in Queensland. The Environmental Defenders Office Qld, the Environmental Defenders Office NQ, Sisters Inside and, most recently, the Queensland Working Women’s Service have had their State government funding cut … Read More >>
The Stronger Futures legislation is currently before the Parliament, if passed would extend elements of the Northern Territory Intervention for a further 10 years. While the bills formally reinstate the Racial Discrimination Act, suspended in 2007 by the Howard Government’s NTNER Act, the current package is still inconsistent with discrimination laws and several human rights … 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 >>
“Australian Lawyers for Human Rights (“ALHR”) welcomes the recommendations of the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee supporting the Marriage Equality Amendment Bill 2010 (with amendments),” Stephen Keim, President of ALHR, said today. “It is pleasing to see that the Committee has understood that marriage equality is about removing discrimination in relation to a … Read More >>
Young UN Women Australia Perth asked the ALHR WA Branch to put together an article for the June edition of their Zine e-magazine. Tiffany Henderson, WA Co-Convenor, penned a great critique of the National Human Rights Action Plan from the perspective of women’s human rights.
I was invited by a religious lobby group to write an article on the place of religious vilification within international and domestic human rights and anti-discrimination law. Religious and racial vilification and the religious and racial hatred have been causes of some of those ?barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind? both before … Read More >>
“Australian Lawyers for Human Rights (‘ALHR’) strongly condemns the executive interference with the PNG judiciary that is taking place in Papua New Guinea.” Stephen Keim, President of ALHR, said today. “The threats towards the judiciary, the recent arrest of a Supreme Court Judge and the imposition of public emergency regulations, separately and in combination, undermine … 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.
“Australian Lawyers for Human Rights (ALHR) welcomes the announcement of the creation of a National Children’s Commissioner,” Stephen Keim, President of ALHR, said today. “This announcement is timely given Australia’s looming appearance before the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in June” said Mr. Keim. “We believe a National Children’s Commissioner will go … Read More >>
‘Asylum Seeking and the Law: the Minister, Human Rights and Accountability in Law’ Australian Lawyers for Human Rights (ALHR) and the UQ Justice and the Law Society (JATL) presents a special CLE seminar update regarding the latest debacles in the Australian government?s asylum seeker policy and its human rights implications including: (i) An analysis of … Read More >>
See attached press release.
