Address by Claire Mallinson, National Director Amnesty International Australia
6-7pm, Wednesday 22 October, ACT Legislative Assembly
Thanks to everyone for coming this evening, it's great to be here. My name is Claire Mallinson and I'm the National Director of Amnesty International Australia.
I'd like to begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of this land, the Ngunnawal people.
We pay respects to their tribal elders.
We celebrate their continuing culture and we acknowledge the memory of their ancestors.
As Catheryn has highlighted, the theme for tonight's forum is - the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (the UDHR) and what it means for Australia today.
2008 is a landmark year in the global campaign to make human rights a reality for all people. 60 years ago, in 1948, world leaders showed extraordinary leadership. They drafted and signed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights - the UDHR.
The world leaders of the day wanted a better world and a better future.
They resisted pressure from competing political camps and the declaration was adopted without a single vote against it.
60 years ago, our world leaders committed to global values and made 30 global promises. They recognised that every person is born free and equal in dignity and rights. They recognised that our collective security is based on our common humanity and upholding global values.
They recognised that all people have:
- a right to free speech,
- a right to education,
- a right to be free from torture, and
- a right to life, liberty and security.
But 60 years after the UDHR was signed, people are still being tortured in at least 81 countries, they face unfair trials in at least 54 and are not allowed to speak freely in at least 77.
Serious human rights abuses are happening all over the world, including here in Australia.
And it's ordinary people, the poor, the marginalised and the vulnerable, who suffer the most.
For nearly 50 years, Amnesty International has played a leading role in putting human rights on the international agenda.
Recently we have broadened our mission to support the millions who endure the torture of hunger and slow death from preventable disease.
The right to health, adequate housing, water, food and education are all protected in the UDHR.
But whilst wealthy countries bail out billions of dollars to banks - over one billion people experience human rights violations that cause extreme poverty.
Denying people these rights is having catastrophic results.
Every three seconds a child dies from extreme poverty.
Every night 800 million people go to bed hungry.
One in six people live in slums.
These are human rights scandals of shocking proportions.
To quote Nelson Mandela
"Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural.
It is man made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings.
And overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity.
It is an act of justice.
It is the protection of a fundamental human right, the right to dignity and a decent life."
We all have a responsibility to respond - not just a moral responsibility - but also a responsibility based on legally binding international human rights treaties.
In ensuring our goal of a world where everyone enjoys their full human rights, the UDHR is as important today as it was in 1948.
However, the performance of governments around the world has frequently been one of failure.
In Australia, the treatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and the 17 year life expectancy gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people is a national disgrace.
Over the last few months, Amnesty International has traveled across the Northern Territory, to hear how Indigenous Australians' lives have been affected by the Northern Territory Emergency Response - the Intervention.
We have heard about the impact of blanket welfare quarantining.
This is the policy where all Aboriginal people, regardless of their situation, have half their welfare payments and pensions paid in vouchers to spend in nominated stores.
We were told in the Katherine region that some people could not get access to food for eight weeks in the lead-up to Christmas, because of delays in implementing the system.
We heard that many people have defaulted on loans because the money that is going to their bank account is not enough to cover the automatic deduction.
What we have also seen and heard is that the Government's response does not address the underlying causes of Indigenous disadvantage.
Housing is a good example.
After a visit in 2006, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Housing called Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander housing a 'humanitarian tragedy' and 'some of the worst in the world'.
Poverty is not just about a 'lack of'.
It is also about discrimination and exclusion.
Aboriginal people have much lower rates of accessing health care services.
In 2001-02, Medicare expenditure for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples was only 39 per cent of that for other Australians.
But there is hope.
These human rights violations are no more inevitable than violations of the right to freedom from torture, or of the right to a fair trial.
All involve holding governments and private actors to account to ensure that the rights enshrined in the UDHR and other international human rights standards are upheld.
Repairing the effects of a history of accumulated rights violations, chronic poverty, social exclusion and discrimination requires careful attention to rights.
It also requires a focus on a restoration of dignity, on capacity-building, on empowerment.
And it requires a substantial shift from a rights-violating
or even a rights-ignoring, to a rights-protecting policy.
As the driving force behind all human rights standards, the UDHR's relevance is clear.
Amnesty International believes respect for all human rights provides a fundamental basis for a sustainable and better future for residents of remote communities and town camps in the Northern Territory.
The Prime Minister recognised the importance of respecting the rights of Indigenous people in his Apology to the Stolen Generations.
Both the spirit and the letter of the Prime Minister's apology reflect the ALP's "Guiding Principles" for a Labor Government's relationship with Indigenous Australians.
However, it is clear that elements of the Northern Territory Emergency Response are discriminatory.
It is not necessary to discriminate to protect Indigenous women and children.
Amnesty International strongly supports the recommendations handed down by the Northern Territory Emergency Response Review Board last week.
We are calling for the immediate reinstatement of all forms of legislation prohibiting racial discrimination.
Consultation and community engagement were among the first recommendations of the Little Children are Sacred report, which prompted the Intervention. These critical recommendations were ignored and, a year on, an independent review has found the effectiveness of the intervention has been diminished because it failed to consult with communities.
The right to consultation is enshrined in the Convention to Eliminate Racial Discrimination and the Declaration for the Rights of Indigenous People. From our own consultations with groups and individuals in affected Northern Territory communities, we have found what seems to be widespread support for the provision of additional policing and health services.
But there is concern that Intervention services may have been at the expense of pre-existing trusted services.
Our consultations have found some support for the alcohol bans.
But research shows that such bans work best when imposed by communities themselves and accompanied by services for alcohol addiction.
We should draw on the lessons from programs that have succeeded internationally in bringing the most damaged communities back from the brink.
Successful programs have acknowledged the wrongs of the past, used healing processes that draw on traditional cultural values and used a combination of mainstream and traditional justice to ensure that offenders can be safely reintegrated into the community.
We should learn from these techniques that empower local communities, ensure gender equity, and build local capacity, when the gaps in services and infra-structure are filled.
And we should work to ensure Government policy is formulated within a framework that respects human rights.
People living in poverty are far too frequently excluded from discussions about how to improve their lives.
The Australian Government and governments around the world must adopt policies that enable people living in poverty to be part of decision-making.
Australia is the only Western democracy without a national Human Rights Act.
If Australia wants to be an international leader in human rights it needs to address this.
And I know both Helen and George will have more to say about this shortly.
History has shown that having a blind faith that governments will do the right thing when it comes to human rights does not always work.
The images and stories of children being born in detention centres, the Pacific Solution , mandatory detention for refugees, and the recent Dr Haneef case are all too vivid.
So Australia's record shows only too clearly that its governments have failed to protect the rights of the most vulnerable.
A Human Rights Act is one way of encouraging education and debate about human rights at all levels of Government.
Where Human Rights Acts are in place they have been able to make governments more accountable and more transparent.
The overriding of the Racial Discrimination Act would have been the subject of greater debate and scrutiny if we had had a Human Rights Act.
A Human Rights Act would strengthen the Government's obligation to ensure the fulfillment of Indigenous Australians' right to the highest attainable standard of health as well as to an adequate standard of housing?
Too often decisions are made without any consultation with the people whose lives are most affected.
States need to dismantle barriers which obstruct peoples' access to education, health care, food, clean water and sanitation.
They must also address discrimination against people who endure human rights violations and who have the least access to justice.
Human rights are ours to enjoy and ours to protect.
The spirit of solidarity means that human rights abuses anywhere are the concern of people everywhere.
And change is possible when we work together locally and globally.
As we have seen in the last few weeks the world is interrelated and change can happen very fast.
The global economic downturn highlights that the UDHR, human rights defenders and Amnesty International are needed now more than ever.
The urgency shown by the rich countries to tackle the financial meltdown is in stark contrast to their stalling and broken promises over poverty alleviation and human rights.
It's too soon to predict how badly the poorest countries will fare in the financial crisis.
But we know from history it's the millions of the worlds poorest citizens that are always the most vulnerable.
A global economic turndown could put human rights at serious risk.
Not only could economic and social rights - including the rights to housing, health and education - come under increased pressure but there is a risk of more human rights violations.
As the economy shrinks and countries tighten their belts, migrants' and refugees are likely victims.
Social tensions could increase, leading nervous governments to clamp down on dissent and impose tough public security policies.
Worse could follow if rich countries decide to use the financial crisis as an excuse to cut aid and trade which is what has happened in previous recessions.
Human rights are not a luxury for good times.
Now is the time for the world leaders to turn the words and ideals of the UDHR into action.
Governments must ensure they provide protection for the rights of all citizens including the poor and vulnerable.
And you and I - and the growing movement of Amnesty human rights defenders - are key to holding governments and decision-makers to account.
People like you, across the country, and around the world are standing up for what you believe in and for the values you hold dear.
Together, we are all part of the Amnesty family and part of a movement, demanding and creating change - a movement that is holding governments, corporations and individuals to account.
And we will not stop until everyone has equality, justice, freedom and dignity.
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