Amnesty calls for protest over contentious bill Source: AAP|Published: Wednesday March 28, 9:06 AM Amnesty International today called on voters to ask politicians to reject a bill preventing Australians from taking human rights issues to court. An Amnesty spokesman in London said the so-called Teoh bill robbed Australians of the right to use international human rights standards when complaining in courts about rights abuses. "Last year we had the UN human rights committee say in very strong terms that this law, if it is passed, would be in breach of Australia's civil and political rights convention obligations," the spokesman told ABC radio. "I can only say to all Australians: pick up your phone, call your senator, and ask the question - 'why suddenly do they want to go ahead with this?"' The spokesman said the law would be a blanket prohibition on wronged women, children, disabled people and Aborigines contesting human rights violations. He said Australia had a right to protect against international crime, such as people smuggling. "What I don't see Australia doing is to take into account that their own citizens or any visitors to the country ... has rights internationally that Australia has promised to go by," he said/ The Administrative Decisions Bill of 1997, originally drafted by the former Labor Government, is due before the Upper House this week. http://www.theage.com.au/breaking/0103/28/A32494-2001Mar28.shtml ************************************************************************* This posting is provided to the individual members of this group without permission from the copyright owner for purposes of criticism, comment, scholarship and research under the "fair use" provisions of the Federal copyright laws and it may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner, except for "fair use." -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Archived at http://www.cat.org.au/lists/leftlink/ Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
