Amnesty International has welcomed the National Human Rights Consultation Committee's recommendation that Australia adopt a federal Human Rights Act.

The recommendation was announced today by Father Frank Brennan, Chair of the National Human Rights Consultation Committee, a body set up by the Federal Attorney General. The release of the Committee's report marks the culmination of a consultation process which enabled people in Australia to have a say on how their human rights are protected.

"The Federal Government should now implement the Committee's recommendation and adopt a Human Rights Act," said Jenny Leong, Campaign Coordinator for Amnesty International Australia.

Amnesty International has been calling for a Human Rights Act that protects civil, political, economic, cultural and social rights in order to meet Australia's international human rights obligations.

The Committee has recommended an Act that protects the full range of human rights now included in the seven international human rights treaties to which Australia is a signatory. These include civil, political, economic, cultural and social rights.

Amnesty is concerned, however, that the Report draws a distinction between the treatment of economic, cultural and social rights and the treatment of civil and political rights. The Report appears to accept the need for a distinction, depending on which rights are in question, in the recourse available to people who think those rights have been violated.

 "The sense of injustice you feel when your rights have been violated is no different whether you are struggling to access adequate housing or being denied your right to vote, in fact, the two are inextricably linked and both lead to social exclusion," said Jenny Leong. "We believe that all rights should be treated equally."  

Of the 35,000 people who made submissions to National Human Rights Consultation Committee, an overwhelming 29,150 were in favour of a Human Rights Act. This is in line with the findings of an opinion poll commissioned by Amnesty International, which found that 81 per cent of people surveyed would support the introduction of a law to protect human rights in Australia.

Amnesty International commends the Committee's recognition of the urgent need to strengthen the specific protection of the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and the crucial need for communities to have meaningful control over their affairs.

Amnesty International believes a Human Rights Act is necessary to guarantee national, uniform legal protection of the human rights of everyone living in Australia, but only if the Act truly reflects our international obligations.

In July 2009, Amnesty International made a submission to the National Human Rights Consultation. The document was submitted along with more than 10,000 submissions the organisation collected from its supporters and from people around Australia.

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Human Rights Act for Australia campaign