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Appeal to the Australian Government to Ratify the United Nations Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families (The Migrant Workers Convention)

posted on December 19, 2011

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 >>

Open Letter to Mr Rudd, foreign minister, urging him to protect Assange

posted on December 19, 2011

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 >>

President’s Human Rights Day 2011 speech notes

posted on December 10, 2011

Notes for a Talk to a Public Forum organised by the Refugee Action Collective to Celebrate Human Rights Day on 10 December 2011 at Toowong Senior Citizens Hall, 9 Maryvale Street, Toowong by Stephen Keim, President, Australian Lawyers for Human Rights

Letter to Samoa

posted on December 9, 2011

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 supports same-sex marriage

posted on December 5, 2011

Stephen Keim, President of Australian Lawyers for Human Rights (ALHR), today, said that the organisation supported the decision of the Australian Labor Party conference to commit the Party to a policy of lifting restrictions on same sex marriage. “From a human rights perspective, the issue of same-sex marriage is pretty straightforward. All human rights are … Read More >>

Common Law v Human Rights: Which Better Protects Freedoms?

posted on December 1, 2011

Feature article by West Australian and National Committee member John Southalan. The common law and human rights both provide important protections for individuals, groups and society in general. Along with this benefit, however, both human rights and the common law have shortcomings with their protections able to be limited or lost for many reasons, depending … Read More >>

International aid: contemporary issues and approaches to assistance

posted on November 30, 2011

Australian Lawyers for Human Rights is hosting a panel event with Mr Tim Costello (CEO of World Vision Australia), Mr Andrew Hewett (Executive Director of Oxfam) and Dr Susan Harris Rimmer (Manager of Advocacy and Development Practice at ACFID) discussing the current issues in international aid and development. Come along to hear our three very … Read More >>

Letter to Government to support Assange’s right to a fair trial

posted on November 9, 2011

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 >>

The Cluster Munitions Debate in Australia

posted on October 30, 2011

The Commonwealth Parliament has recently been debating legislation to domestically ratify the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which was signed by the Australian government in 2008. Serious concerns have been expressed about the breadth of exemptions which the government has inserted into the implementing legislation, which would permit weapons to be stockpiled on Australian soil in … Read More >>

New approach required on refugee debate

posted on October 30, 2011

ALHR President Stephen Keim’s regular column in Brisbane Legal magazine. This month Mr Keim writes in support of the Centre for Policy Development’s Report ‘A New Approach: Breaking the Stalemate on Refugees and Asylum Seekers’ CPD Report ‘A New Approach’

2015 World Day Against the Death Penalty Dinner QLD

posted on October 14, 2011

Buy your tickets now to the Queensland 2015 World Day Against the Death Penalty Dinner  Australians Against Capital Punishment, Australian Lawyers For Human Rights and Reprieve Australia cordially invite you to our 13th annual dinner to recognise the World Day Against The Death Penalty raising awareness on the application of the death penalty for drug-related … Read More >>

Presentations at the Amnesty International Conference

posted on October 6, 2011

ALHR President Stephen Keim SC was a guest speaker at the Amnesty International Conference in Brisbane on 6-7 October 2011. The Conference, under the theme ‘Change the World’, marked the 50th anniversary of Amnesty International. Mr Keim gave a workshop paper on ‘The Human Rights Framework: What Does it Offer?’, and participated in a panel … Read More >>