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Australian Lawyers for Human Rights
- June 2002
ALHR Activities
Update on Nauru/Pacific Solution Project
All the detainees
currently on Nauru have had their claims for refugee status determined.
The appeal process is under way.
ALHR is working with the Refugee Advice and Casework Service
in Sydney to present written submissions on the situation of particular groups
of asylum seekers, to be taken considered by the UNHCR and DIMIA in the appeals
process.
ALHR members
have made visa applications which are still being considered by the Nauru
Government. ALHR has also sought
financial support from the Australian Government through an approach to
Minister Ruddock. There is no
formal indication that Nauru will not continue to be part of the Government’s
‘Pacific Solution’, and ALHR continues to be prepared to provide independent
advice to asylum seekers who are kept offshore.
ACTION FOR MEMBERS ON ASYLUM SEEKERS
We remind
you that if you wish to assist with the applications for further protection
by holders of Temporary Protection Visas, you can register your interest with
ALHR or alternatively, you can make inquiries of your own by contacting the
following formal schemes:
WA - Contact
Mary Anne Kenny
[email protected]
VIC - Refugee
and Immigration Legal Centre 03 9483 1144
QLD - South
Brisbane Immigration Legal Centre 07 3846 3189
NSW - Refugee
Advice and Casework Service 02 99267 8744
In the other
states there is not a formal scheme but if you are interested in starting
one they could possibly contact the following;
SA - Refugee
Advocacy Service of South Australia - 08 8177 0490
ACT - Marion
Lê
[email protected]
or the Legal
Aid Centres in each capital city.
You are welcome
to contact
[email protected]
to register interest.
Human Rights Seminars
In the May
Update we mentioned these are coming up in Sydney in the second half of the
year. The seminars, being co-hosted
by ALHR and Young Lawyers, are being held in August, September and October.
The first seminar is titled "An introduction to International
Human Rights Law and Practice - Its Relevance to Australian Practice".
Speakers are Dr Sarah Pritchard and Dr Annemarie Devereux.
The second seminar is titled "Anti-Discrimination Law and
Practice", and the third seminar is titled "Discrimination Law in the Workplace".
More details are provided in the Upcoming Events section.
Members who
are interested in developing and promoting similar seminars in their State
or Territory should contact Sue Harris in Canberra at
[email protected]
Penny Martin in Melbourne at
[email protected]
, Philip Tahmindjis in Brisbane at
[email protected]
or generally at
[email protected]
Federal "anti-terrorism" legislation
ALHR’s submission to the Senate Committee is on the website:
www.alhr.asn.au
In light of the Committee’s recommendations,. the Federal Government amended
its "anti-terrorism" bills: the Australian
Security Intelligence Organisation Legislation Amendment (Terrorism) Bill
2002, Security Legislation Amendment
(Terrorism) Bill 2002 [No. 2], the
Criminal Code Amendment (Espionage and Related Offences) Bill 2002,
the Criminal Code Amendment (Suppression
of Terrorist Bombings) Bill 2002, and the
Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism Bill 2002.
But for the ASIO Bill, the legislation was passed by the Senate
on 27 June 2002. The Senate Bill
debate has been adjourned.
While the amendments went some way to addressing concerns raised by ALHR
and other groups, there are still a number of significant areas of the legislation
that ALHR opposes. In relation
to the Security Legislation Amendment
(Terrorism) Act 2002 [No. 2], there is a continuing concern that it:
·
violates the right to a fair trial and the right to be prosecuted for a
recognisable criminal offence, because of the lack of clarity in the drafting
of the Bill;
·
uses an overly broad definition of the term "terrorism", and provides undefined
exemptions for "lawful advocacy, protest or dissent";
·
fails to comply with requirements of natural justice in relation to the
Attorney-General's power to "ban organisations";
·
could permit prosecution and conviction of a person who is an "informal
member" or an aspiring member of an organisation declared by the Attorney
General to be a "terrorist organisation";
·
retains the reversed onus of proof in relation to some offences;
·
criminalises activities which even the government does not believe should
be prosecuted;
The continuing concerns about the ASIO Bill include that it:
·
provides for the detention of people, incommunicado, who have not been charged;
·
indefinite extension by warrant of the initial 48 hour period of detention;
·
fails to ensure that detainees can be brought before a court, to rule on
the legality of their detention;
·
removes the right to silence, with a penalty of up to five years in prison
for failing to answer a question;
·
removes the right to be presumed innocent by reversing the onus of proof
in relation to the ability to answer a question, and the protection against
self incrimination;
·
retains provisions regarding strip searching and detention that could be
applied to children between the ages of 10 and 18;
Again, ALHR encourages members to be active in lobbying Government, the
Opposition, Minority Parties and Independents.
International Criminal Court: Treaty Ratification
ALHR was very active in the last month lobbying the Australian Government,
and in particular Cabinet, to ratify the ICC Treaty.
In mid-June the Prime Minister announced that Cabinet has
agreed to ratify the Treaty.
It is important to note that Cabinet has already agreed to ratify the Treaty
on two previous occasions.
The Prime Minister announced a purported "reservation", being that Australians
cannot be tried by the Court without a warrant from the Australian government
Hilary Charlesworth,
a lecturer in international law at the Australian National University, said
the government's declaration only repeats what is already in the ICC statute.
She said a statement about the primacy of Australian law might
be politically necessary, but it was not legally necessary: "His statement
that this declaration would reaffirm the primacy of Australia's jurisdiction,
that's precisely what the statute does".
ALHR will keep members informed of developments.
Current Issues
Federal
Inquiry into the Migration Legislation Amendment (Further Border Protection
Measures) Bill 2002
: On 25 June 2002, the Senate referred the following matters to the Senate
Legal and Constitutional References Committee for inquiry and report by
29 August 2002.
The Terms of Reference for this inquiry are:
(a) the implications of excision for border security;
(b) the effect of excision on affected communities, including Indigenous
communities;
(c) the financial impact on the Commonwealth;
(d) the nature of consultation with affected communities in relation to
the Government's excision proposals;
(e) the Migration Legislation Amendment (Further Border Protection Measures)
Bill 2002; and
(f) whether the legislation is consistent with Australia's international
obligations.
In addition to the Terms of Reference, a range of other documents are available
online for those interested in making submissions or being involved in ALHR's
submissions on this issue.
http://www.aph.gov.au/Senate/committee/legcon_ctte/mig_BP/Mig_BP_TOR.htm
Submissions
ACT Bill of Rights Consultation
The ACT Bill of Rights Consultative Committee has released an issues paper,
which is set out on its website
http://
www.act.gov.au/rights
, along with the
terms of reference. The Commitee
has a list of relevant links to other rights sites.
The details for contact and submissions are set out on the webpage.
The closing date is 30 September 2002.
ALHR continues to work on a submission to the ACT Bill of Rights Community
Consultation Committee.
For further information about how you can get involved, contact Sue Harris:
0401 653 512 or
sharris@acfoa.asn.au
Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Inquiry into Children
in Detention
ALHR has made its submission to this Inquiry.
The submission is available on the ALHR website.
State and Territory Member meetings
ACT
ALHR members
are getting together for drinks at the Kurrajong on Friday 28 June to toast
the ICC - there are now 30 Canberra members which is an amazing growth rate
from the two members we started the year with!
We will debate
an ideas paper for the ACT Bill of Rights Consultative Committee chaired by
Hilary Charlesworth about how to encourage members of the public to make a
submission or go to one of the public meetings.
Sue Harris will meet Hilary on Monday 1 July to put those
ideas. For a copy of the Ideas
Paper, email
[email protected]
.
For further information on ACT ALHR activity, contact Sue Harris: 0401 653
512 or
[email protected]
Queensland
For information on Queensland ALHR activity contact Phillip Tahmindjis at
[email protected]
and Samantha Traves at
[email protected]
.
Victoria
For information on Victorian ALHR activity contact Siobhan McCann at
[email protected]
and Penny Martin at
[email protected]
Other States and Territories
There are ALHR members in every State and Territory (and overseas).
To discuss how to get a local group meeting organised e-mail
us on
[email protected]
Report on ALHR Activities completed
Susan Harris represented Australian Lawyers for Human Rights at the "Trust
the Women" Constitutional Convention on 12 June 2002.
She spoke with Susan Brennan from the Women's Rights Action
Network Australia on "Advocacy Tools for Women on Human Rights Issues".
The workshop was highly interactive and the presenters did not deliver papers.
The 33 participants were first asked to identify human rights
issues they felt passionate about – they named the rights of women, children,
indigenous people, people with disabilities, the aged and asylum-seekers,
plus a wide range of specific issues.
Practical advocacy materials were distributed – how to lobby a politician,
how to use the media, how to set up a campaign.
For a copy of these handouts, please contact Contact Sue Harris
by e-mail on
[email protected]
Other Human Rights News
The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission has made available electronically
a number of submissions made to its Inquiry on Children in Detention.
These can be found at:
http://www.humanrights.gov.au/human_rights/children_detention/submissions/index.html#legal
The Commission
has also recently updated the material available on the native title section
of its website. It now contains
the 2001 Native Title Report, provided to the Commonwealth Attorney General
by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner,
as well as the Commissioner's submissions in relation to a range of issues
and cases.
The website
can be found at:
http://
www.humanrights.gov.au/social_justice/native_title
JOBS: The International
Human Rights Law Group seeks a new Director of Programs. Headquartered in
Washington, DC, with offices and programs in 11 countries, the organization
is comprised of a diverse staff of 77 human rights and legal professionals
from over 20 countries engaged in advocacy, strategic human rights lawyering
and training around the world.
All nominations, inquiries and applications should be sent in strict confidence
to: email:
[email protected]
ANZSIL Conference: Lots
of ALHR members were present at the ANZSIL Conference on New Challenges and
New States: What Role for International Law?
It was the tenth joint annual international law conference
of the Australian and New Zealand Society of International Law and CIPL and
was held at University House, ANU on 14 to 16 June 2002. On 14 June there
was a full-day discussion on international law issues concerning East Timor,
including the 1999 INTERFET operation and UNTAET's role in the birth of East
Timor as a nation on 19-20 May 2002. The remainder of the program featured
topical panels on international criminal law, international law/constitutional
law/domestic law interface, a 'Tampa' panel, environmental law/fishing issues,
human rights, September 11: international and national responses, and the
year in review. Conference papers will be published in the conference proceedings
and will be available by the end of August.
http://law.anu.edu.au/anzsil/index.htm
Coming Events
July
1 July 2002 - Sydney:
Australian Red Cross International Humanitarian Law Department
is holding a seminar on the International Criminal Court.
The seminar will explore a range of issues as to the impact
that the International Criminal Court will have on international laws and
politics and Australia's role in the international order.
Speakers are Ms Madelien A J de Planque, Consul-General of
the Netherlands; Dr Keith Suter, International Law Association Australian
Branch Director of Studies; The Hon Justice John Dowd AO, Supreme Court of
NSW; Lt Col Michael Kelly, Director of the ADF Military Law Centre; Don Rothwell,
President of the Australian and New Zealand Society of International Law;
and Jeff McMullin, Journalist and Author.
The Seminar is being held at the Parliamentary Theatrette,
Parliament House, Macquarie Street, Sydney from 6:00pm tp 8:00pm.
Entry is $5.00 and bookings are essential to
[email protected]
4 July 2002 - Sydney:
The Amnesty International NSW Legal Network is holding a seminar to commemorate
World Refugee Day (June 20).
The seminar will be in the form of a panel discussion, with speakers including:
Dr John Pace, who will speak on the "Pacific Solution"; Dr
Mary Crock, who will discuss Australian jurisprudence and the recent amendments
to the migration laws; Nick Poynder, who will discuss a recent case of interest;
Sarah Pritchard, who will discuss the Australian law in light of international
standards; Mahamoud, 17 year old Aghani currently holding a Temporary Protection
Visa who will speak of his personal experience; and Jill Vidler, who will
speak about the practical process involved in applying for a TPV and her
experience in assisting refugees.
The seminar is being held at 6:30 pm on Thursday 4 July 2002, at the University
of Sydney, Law School, Lecture theatre 1, level 1, 173 Phillip Street, Sydney
NSW 2000. RSVP: by 2 July 2002,
to Catherine Chang on
[email protected]
Entry is by donation.
24 July 2002 - Canberra:
The Centre for Public International Law (CIPL) is hosting a forum for Ambassador
John Dauth LVO, Australia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations,
New York, to present a "Report from the United Nations".
It will be at 6:00pm, venue to be announced, all welcome.
For updates on venue please check CIPL's website:
http://law.anu.edu.au/CIPL/index.htm#TopOfPage
29 July 2002 - Sydney:
Australian Red Cross hosts Part 2 of the International Humanitarian Law Lecture
Series, with speaker The Hon Darryl Williams, Commonwealth Attorney General.
The Attorney General will speak on the International Criminal Court, focusing
on Australia's role in the development of the Rome Statute, the recent JSCOT
and ratification debate, Australia's Declaration to the Rome Statute and the
upcoming conference of States' Parties. The lecture is being held at 6:00pm
at the Sydney office of Malleson Stephen Jacques. RSVP (essential) to
[email protected]
or on telephone 02 9229 4294
31 July 2002 - Canberra:
TheCentre for International & Public Law (CIPL) is hosting the 5th Geoffrey
Sawer Lecture, being given by Judge Navanethem Pillay, President, International
Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.
The Lecture is being held at the Shine Dome, at 6 pm. All Welcome.
For more information
http://law.anu.edu.au/CIPL/index.htm#TopOfPage
August
5 August 2002 - Canberra:
In conjunction with the Royal Netherlands Embassy, the Centre for International
Public Law (CIPL) presents the
second in the series of public seminars on the International Criminal Court,
with Professor James Crawford speaking on challenges facing the new ICC.
The seminar is being held at the Staff Library, Law School,
ANU. Please check the CIPL website
for details of time, etc:
http://law.anu.edu.au/CIPL/
index.htm#TopOfPage
22 August 2002 - Sydney:
Young Lawyers and ALHR are holding a seminar titled "International Human
Rights Law and Practice - Its Relevance to Australian Practice".
Dr Sarah Pritchard, Barrister, will speak on international
instruments - what they are, where to find them; the role of UN Committees;
international human rights case law and procedure, and how to prepare a communication
to a UN Committee. Dr Annemarie
Devereux, Legal Officer, Public Interest Advocacy Centre, will speak on practical
issues in making human rights communications to UN Committees from NSW, and
how to use conventions and optional protocols.
The seminar will be chaired by Renee Saibi.
For details of how to register to attend please send an e-mail
to Elvira on
[email protected]
23 August 2002 Dignity,
Democracy, Equality - national strategic conference on human Rights education
University House, at Australian National University 1 Balmain Crescent, Acton,
Canberra 8.00 am-5.30 pm.
An inaugural national strategic conference to bring together
people from all sectors involved in human rights education. The conference
is hosted by the National Committee on Human Rights Education Inc, as a contribution
to the United Nations Decade for Human Rights Education. It will provide a
consultative forum to move forward the development of a collective vision
of a national human rights education agenda.
Information on the Conference Program and an Electronic Registration
Form are available via the Human Rights Education Associates (HREA)website
at:
http://www.hrea.org/lists/hr-education/markup/msg00934.html
For further information please contact: Michael Curtotti, Acting Secretary,
National Committee on Human Rights Education, tel: 6287 2211, fax 6287 3535,
email: [email protected]
.
27-29 August 2002
: National Treaty Conference, co-hosted by ATSIC, the Australian Institute
of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, and Australians for Native
Title and Reconciliation. The
Conference aims to inform non-government organisations, bureaucracy, the legislature
and the wider community on the benefits of the concept of a treaty between
Aboriginal peoples, Torres Strait Islander peoples and the Commonwealth of
Australia. Proposed speakers
include leading Indigenous activists and academics, as well as representative
of a range of national organisations and the Federal Government, Opposition
and the Australian Democrats.
Information about the conference and copies of the registration brochure
are available at
http:/
/www.treatynow.org/conference.asp
September
24 September 2002:
Young Lawyers and ALHR are holding their second seminar for 2002 titled
"Anti-Discrimination Law and Practice".
Michelle Hannon, legal practitioner with Gilbert + Tobin's Pro
Bono practice, will speak on identifying a discrimination issue, making a
complaint, choosing the jurisdiction, advising clients on process and options,
and practical aspects of filing and lodging applications.
Maggie Smyth, Manager Legal and Policy, Anti-Discrimination
Board, will speak on practical aspects of investigation and conciliation and
on how the Board manages complaints.
Simon Rice, President of ALHR and Judicial Member of the Equal
Opportunity Division of the Administrative Decisions Tribunal, will speak
on the Tribunal's procedures in inquiries into complaints of discrimination.
The seminar will be chaired by Paul Guterres.
For details of how to register to attend please send an e-mail
to Elvira on
[email protected]
October
22 October 2002:
Young Lawyers and ALHR are holding their third seminar for 2002 titled
"Discrimination Issues in the Workplace".
Sally Moyle, legal officer, office of the Sex Discrimination
Commissioner, will speak on the employer's obligations in relation to pregnant
workers, part-time work and family responsibilities, and on return to work
from maternity leave onwards. Kate Eastman, Barrister, will speak on legal
aspects of sex discrimination and sexual harassment: employees' rights and
employers' responsibilities in relation to harassment, vilification and victimisation.
Sarah Heesom, Director, Staff and Student Equal Opportunity,
Sydney University, will speak on the employer's responsibilities, compliance
programs and policies to avoid discrimination and equal opportunity issues
in practice. The seminar will
be chaired by Robin Banks. For
details of how to register to attend please send an e-mail to Elvira on
[email protected]
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