Submission to the National Consultation on Human Rights

Description

National Consultation on Human Rights Committee
This submission to the National Human Rights Consultation Committee addresses in turn the three questions posed by the Committee. First, in response to which rights should be protected and promoted, it is argued that Australia should fully and comprehensibly protect and promote within its jurisdiction all of the international human rights obligations it has voluntarily accepted – that is, economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights. Secondly, in response to whether rights are sufficiently protected, it is argued that Australia lacks effective human rights protections because of its failure to give formal and comprehensive legal recognition to human rights. Thirdly, in response to how human rights could be better protected, it is argued that a human rights instrument based on the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms 1982 (Can), whether by constitutional amendment or a manner and form provision, is preferable. If political realities preclude this, it is argued that the next best alternative is comprehensive statutory protection of human rights modelled on the Human Rights Act 1998 (UK).

Period	15 Jun 2009
Work for	Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), Australia, New South Wales