Amnesty International supports 40 years of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy
Forty years of the struggle for Aboriginal rights will be recognised and celebrated by Amnesty International this weekend as the organisation takes part in the Aboriginal Tent Embassy’s 40th Anniversary Commemoration.
“When four Aboriginal men planted a beach umbrella on the lawns of Parliament this week in 1971, this humble action symbolised the need to recognise the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders,” says Monica Morgan, Manager of Amnesty International’s Indigenous Rights Program.
“Four decades on, the strength of Aboriginal Peoples to standing up and takinge charge of their own affairs deserves celebration, and sends a message to our Government there is still unfinished business when it comes to respecting and protecting the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.”
Amnesty International will be holding a stall and workshops at the Anniversary Commemoration, addressing the key human rights issues still facing Aboriginal Peoples in Australia today.
A panel discussion featuring Aboriginal elders from the Northern Territory will cast a light on the effects of Government policies that are denying Aboriginal Peoples the right to live on their traditional homelands.
“Despite a wealth of evidence showing the social and health benefits of raising families on their homelands, the Government is effectively forcing Aboriginal Peoples to choose between the right to live on their ancestral lands or access to basic services.”
Amnesty International will also be holding a workshop promoting the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
“The UN Declaration reaffirms the rights of all Indigenous Peoples, and seeks to provide a minimum set of principles that will enable Governments around the world to address the continuing injustices faced by Indigenous Peoples,” says Morgan.
“It is a living document that all Aboriginal Peoples can use to monitor, report and take action against human rights violations that affect them.”
Amnesty International at the Aboriginal Tent Embassy 40th Anniversary Commemoration:
Thursday 26 January
10am-4pm
Amnesty International stall highlighting the organisation’s work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, with a petition supporting homelands in the Northern Territory.
Friday 27 January
Panel Discussion: Aboriginal People’s rights to traditional homelands in the Northern Territory
11am – 12:30pm
Forum featuring Aboriginal leaders including Rosalie Kunoth-Monks, discussing the affects of Government policies in the Northern Territory on Aboriginal People’s right to their ancestral lands.
Workshop: UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
1:30pm – 3:30pm
A human rights training workshop promoting how the UN Declaration can help Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders gain recognition of their rights.
Comments
Michael Wild | Posted on 31 January 2012, 05:10PM | Report comment
Given all the political uproar following the flag burning nearly riotous behaviour of some associated with Tent Embassy perhaps Amnesty Australia should make a follow up statement. Sure it’s a sticky matter but it was Amnesty’s idea to get entangled with the ever sticky issues of indigenous disadvantage in the first place. At the moment Indigenous issues are dominating the headlines in a way not seen for some time and our silence looks strange.
If Amnesty showed it had the courage to condemn very bad behaviour even given the participants were indigenous, it would make Amnesty look fairer, more balanced and morally courageous. At the moment I get the uncomfortable feeling there is no conduct too heinous or irresponsible that would be prepared to denounce if the perpetrator is indigenous. This includes cases where the victims are indigenous children.
I challenge readers to look through the dozens of AIA’s statements about the NT intervention that even mention child maltreatment.