amnesty international
AUSTRALIA
A Human Rights Agenda
for the new Government
9 November 1998 AI INDEX: ASA 12/08/98
DISTR: CO/GR
As the new Australian Parliament reconvenes, Amnesty International has
presented the re-elected Prime Minister, John Howard, with an agenda for
human rights protection which highlights key human rights issues to be
addressed by his new government as a matter of priority.
Amnesty International believes the new Australian Government has an
opportunity to make significant moves for human rights protection, both
within Australia and through its foreign affairs, security, trade and aid
policies. Australia's expertise and capacity for promoting and protecting
human rights place a particular responsibility on the Australian Government
at a time of rapid political and economic change in the Asia-Pacific
region.
Amnesty International welcomes the priority given by the Prime
Minister to reconciliation with Australia's indigenous peoples and
encourages his government to make a fresh start towards overcoming a legacy
of human rights violations, inequality and disadvantage.
While Amnesty International has welcomed the previous Coalition
Government's contributions towards improving human rights protection at the
national and international level, the organization has identified a number
of issues it believes should be addressed by the incoming administration.
Some of these issues were reflected in Amnesty International's Human Rights
Ballot Paper which was sent to all candidates in the Federal Election
asking them to "vote 1 for human rights". The Human Rights Ballot
requested support for internationally recognized human rights standards,
racial tolerance, codes of conduct for companies, human rights education,
the integrity of Australia's National Human Rights Commission, integrating
human rights across all policy areas and fair systems of asylum
determination and detention of asylum-seekers.
Two thirds of the 55% of election candidates who responded to the
Ballot Paper supported all seven domestic human rights issues. The
Coalition supported six out of seven domestic human rights issues, but
answered the seventh with a reiteration of its policy on mandatory
detention of asylum- seekers. This response indicates a high level of
priority given to human rights among Australian members of parliament and
should translate into concrete steps taken by the new government.
Amnesty International believes that the new government should, among
other things and as a matter of priority,
� Make human rights issues a transparent and integrated part of regional
security, trade and aid policies, focusing where appropriate on
treaties, labour standards, refugees and legal reform.
� Strengthen the role of human rights in the program of the Centre for
Democratic Institutions.
� Fulfil its promise to mark the 50th anniversary of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights with a new edition of the Department of
Foreign Affairs' Human Rights Manual and facilitate integration of the
manual in staff training for federal and state government
departments.
� Ratify the statute for the International Criminal Court and pass
enabling legislation at the earliest possible time in order to
facilitate its becoming effective internationally. Introduce
legislation to ensure that genocide, other crimes against humanity and
war crimes, as defined in the Statute of the International Criminal
Court, are also crimes under domestic law.
� Ratify, and give effect, at the earliest opportunity, to the Ottawa
Treaty on landmines - the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use,
Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on
Their Destruction.
� Engage in active diplomacy through bilateral and regional
relationships to effect ratification of these documents by other
states parties.
� Widen the participation of civil society in the Australia-China human
rights dialogue and facilitate its evaluation through greater
transparency. Consider a meaningful broadening of the human rights
dialogue process within the region - in particular, with Indonesia,
Cambodia, and Myanmar.
� Respond positively to the recommendations of the report by the Joint
Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Inquiry into
Australia's Regional Dialogue on Human Rights.
� Encourage a newly-convened Joint Standing Committee on Treaties to
inquire into the ramifications of Australia having ratified the
International Convention on Civil and Political Rights, and on Federal
and State progress in complying with the convention.
� Give serious consideration to the recommendations in the August 1998
report on the Convention on the Rights of the Child, made by the
previous Joint Standing Committee on Treaties, and in the 1997 joint
report on children in the legal process by the Australian Law Reform
and Human Rights Commissions. Give priority to establishing a national
Office of Children.
� Urge state governments to amend mandatory juvenile sentencing laws in
order to prevent child imprisonment except as a last resort, and never
for longer terms than those served by adults for the same offence.
� Ensure that measures announced in December 1997 to address the "stolen
children" inquiry findings are being fully and effectively implemented
without further delays.
� Invite submissions on how to broaden the Government's response to the
"stolen children" inquiry under its new approach to Aboriginal
reconciliation, particularly with regard to contemporary separations
under juvenile justice and child protection systems.
� Avoid long-term detention of asylum-seekers while ensuring they are
not returned to countries where they may face death or persecution.
Review options to allow independent control of any continuing
detention beyond periods permitted under international human rights
standards.
� Strengthen the capacity of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity
Commission (HREOC) to deliver - across all sectors of the Australian
community - its human rights education functions prioritized by the
previous coalition government.
� Establish a national committee representing government, HREOC,
business and non-government sectors, to develop strategies for human
rights education during the second half of the UN Decade of Human
Rights Education. Aim for the committee's formation by the 50th
anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on 10
December 1998.
� Follow up on its supportive statements on voluntary codes of conduct
for Australian companies by creating a working group of government,
business and non-governmental organizations for the development of
codes based on human rights principles.
INTERNATIONAL SECRETARIAT, 1 EASTON STREET, LONDON WC1X 8DJ, UNITED KINGDOM
