The unheard truth in the heart of Australia

19 November 2009, 04:45PM

"In the heart of this first world I found scenes more reminiscent of the third world. That Indigenous peoples experience human rights violations on a continent of such privilege is not merely disheartening, it is morally outrageous. The moral imperative to eradicate such poverty is no less an imperative on government than to eliminate torture."

Irene Khan

This was the reaction of Amnesty International Secretary General Irene Khan upon her visit to the Utopia Homelands last week. The ironically-named Utopia is a group of Aboriginal communities five hours drive north-east of Alice Springs along dirt roads.

More than 45,000 Aboriginal people are still subject to racially discriminatory measures, including compulsory quarantining of social security payments, as a result of the Government's Northern Territory Emergency Response, or "Intervention".

"The blunt force of the intervention's heavy handed 'one size fits all' approach cannot deliver the desired results, said Irene. "The Government will not secure the long term protection of women and children unless there is an integrated human rights solution that empowers peoples and engages them to take responsibility for the solutions."

Take action now

Join Irene Khan's call and send a letter to the Hon. Jenny Macklin, Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, by clicking on the ACT NOW button on right-hand side of this page.

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The Hon. Jenny Macklin MP
Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600

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Dear Minister,

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I commend the Australian Government for creating opportunities to reset its relationship with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples through the apology to the Stolen Generation and the formal support of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People. Hence, I strongly urge you to heed the call by Irene Khan, Amnesty International Secretary General, to not squander the opportunity that presents itself to the Australian Government now through the Northern Territory Emergency Response (NTER) and the reinstatement of the Racial Discrimination Act (RDA). The Australian Government has made enormous financial and political investments into the Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory. To achieve the desired progress, I urge you to take the necessary step of replacing any blunt and blanket policy approaches with policies that uphold the human rights of Indigenous people and the minimum standards contained within the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous People to which you have committed. The pathway out of poverty and discrimination is only possible through an approach that has human rights principles at its core and that empowers and engages Indigenous communities to take responsibility for the solutions

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