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Human Rights and Wrongs in Australia

October 30th 2011 21:51
This week I've been interested to find out how Australia's human rights record stands. Although we have signed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we do not possess a bill of rights, and indeed have largely failed to codify the declaration into Australian law. The Australian Human Rights Commission lists six instances of people appealing to the UN against Australia's decisions based on rights which the charters Australia had signed said they had, but which Australian law denied them. In each of these cases the UN found either entirely or mostly in favour of the complainant, and in most cases, Australia acted according to the recommendations.

In that case, Human Rights Committee Communication No. 560/1993 (A v Australia), A, a Cambodian asylum seeker who had been detained in immigration detention for four years, argued that under Article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Australia had violated his rights. Article 9 provides that all persons be protected from arbitrary detention and have the right to have the lawfulness of their detention reviewed by a court.

The Human Rights Committee found in favour of A and stated that the Australian Government should pay A compensation. The government rejected this decision, and, according to The Australian Human Rights Commission, has since rejected most decisions which state that they are in violation of the ICCPR.

I would have thought that this was a sufficient blemish on the country's record, but Australia continues to flaunt UN conventions. In April 2010, the UN expressed 'deep concern' over asylum seekers in Australia being subjected to mandatory detention in remote areas and the suspension of asylum claims (World News, 2010). Australia defended its decision as lawful, even against claims that it was causing injury to the health and well being of the asylum seekers (World News, 2010).

I can't claim to be impressed by my country's behaviour. To sign a declaration without then codifying it into international law appears disingenuous. To then turn around and flaunt that declaration, refusing to accept the decision of a committee formed to enforce that declaration is unacceptable. On an international scale, Australia's reputation is tarnished. More importantly, on a personal scale, we are damaging the lives of people we have agreed to protect.

The only thing I can take away from this is the knowledge that I live in a country where human lives are treated with no respect and where international obligations mean nothing. In my opinion, Australia needs a bill of rights, and we need one which incorporates the UN conventions we have signed. Australian people, and asylum seekers who come to Australia, deserve to have their rights recognised. Our word clearly isn't enough; it's time to test our law.

Reference
Australian Human Rights Commission. 2010. Human Rights Explained. Case Studies: Complaints About Australia to the Human Rights Committee. Online. Available at Really Long Link Accessed 30 August 2011.
World News Australia. 2010. UN Troubled by Asylum Seeker Treatment. Online. Available at Really Long Link Accessed 30 August 2011.
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Australia, Gay Marriage, and Indigenous Rights

October 28th 2011 02:00
I'd like to apologise for not posting lately. Any students out there know what it's like at this time of year: assignments and exams just keep on coming. With that said, I'd like to share with you some of my opinions on Australia's human rights policies.

Politics, The Poor, and Human Rights
“Human Rights are an issue which only concern politicians and the poor”

Image by Rosen Georgiev

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Does the issue of human rights only concern politicians and the poor? It's easy to see why some would think that way. Human rights, it often seems, are only denied to those people we see on the nightly news: the refugees pleading for our protection, the desperate people of a warn-torn country. It's easy to forget that there are average Australians, not impacted by poverty or joblessness, who are still fighting for rights which most of us take for granted. Current policy has created second class citizens of people who work hard, who pay taxes, and yet are denied one of the rights which we, as a society, hold most dear: the right to marry who they choose. Same sex marriage is a human right, and one that Australia has constantly failed to recognise. Yet Australia's human rights failures don't end there. Our country's treatment of its indigenous people is shocking and, while such people are mostly poor, it cannot be said that their difficulties only affect themselves. Australia's international standing is at stake; if our country continues to deny its citizens their basic rights, the results to our international image will be devastating.

Marriage equality has been identified as a right by sources ranging from a South African Constitutional Court judge, to human rights advocates, and, of course, gay marriage activists. That first mentioned source, Dr. Sachs, was instrumental in deciding that same sex marriage was a matter of human rights, and in seeing that right codified in South African law (Mayne, 2010). He has since lended his voice to the Australian debate, presenting a free public lecture about the issue (Mayne, 2010). Marianne Mollman of Human Rights Watch (Mollman, 2011) also supports same sex marriage, and states that, by failing to respect and recognise the rights of same sex couples, we are encouraging society to reject homosexuals, or see them as less valuable than heterosexuals (Mollman, 2011).

The debate over same sex marriage shows how important issues of Human Rights are to everyone, whatever their monetary status. What it fails to highlight, perhaps, is how important issues of Human Rights are to the international image of a country. Australia's stance on marriage equality, along with its treatment of indigenous people and lack of women in positions of power, were criticised by the UN during Australia's first Universal Periodic Review (Human Rights Law Centre, 2011). During a Universal Periodic Review, all countries in the United Nations are given an opportunity to question the country under review on matters of policy (Human Rights Law Centre, 2011). That the United Nations has criticised our stance on human rights, including same sex marriage, shows that such issues can negatively affect our international standing.

Our international standing is further harmed by Australia's treatment of citizens attempting to marry their same sex partners overseas. Some countries require a CNI, that is, a Certification of No Impediment to Marriage from the home country of persons applying to marry. Australia, in 2004, made same sex marriage illegal in The Marriage Act 2004 (O'Shea and Peterson, 2011). Since that time, Australia has refused to issue CNIs to same sex couples wishing to marry overseas. The practice has been condemned by the Netherlands, which has waived the requirement of a CNI for Australian citizens: a distinction shared only with Zimbabwe, whose Human Rights record leaves much to be desired (O'Shea and Peterson, 2011).

If the refusal to accept same sex marriage is damaging our international standing, why do we stand by it? The blame may lie with the religious right, a vocal minority who consider marriage to be a sacred institution, the value of which would be reduced if it were available for everyone (Edwards, 2005, 248). Arguments have been advanced that heterosexual marriage encourages men to become loving and respectful partners, promotes the protection of women, and is, in fact, necessary for the healthy development of children (Edwards, 2005, 248). These arguments are surely disputed by the facts. Marriages, no matter what the gender of the parties involved, can and do break up. Children are raised by single parents and yet grow up to be well adjusted members of society. These arguments are clearly moot, so much so that some scholars have suggested that the true objection comes from elsewhere. Jane Edwards, in Culture, Health, and Sexuality (Edwards, 2005, 249, 249), suggests that the true fear comes from a notion that masculinity and the institution of marriage are already crumbling (Edwards, 2005, 248). Thus the aversion to equal rights stems not in bigotry, but in the fear that their principles are no longer shared in a changing world.

While it is important to respect all points of view, conservatives should not, and indeed, can not, be permitted to stand in the way of the advancement of human rights. Such advances have not been made without opposition in the past. Slavery, for instance, had supporters as well as detractors, with rifts forming even among members of the same church congregation (Najar, 2005, 157). Yet one would be hard pressed to find a person in modern society who looked back on the time of slavery with anything other than disgust and pity. Social change is hard for some people to handle, and that must be respected. But respect for the opinions of others must not stand in the way of progress. Advances in Human Rights are necessary for our country to remain in line with international standards.

That such opposition to same sex marriage exists is not surprising, and it provides a clear explanation for the slowness of the Australian government to recognise equal marriage rights. But no such controversy exists with regards to Indigenous Australians. The life expectancies of these Australians are twenty years less than that of their non-indigenous counterparts (reference). The factors contributing to this inequality include poor education, poverty, and discrimination, along with a lack of access to health facilities (reference). There has been international discussion of a human right to health, to be encoded in international law (reference). This right is certainly being denied to many Indigenous Australians.

Health researchers Natalie Gray and Ross Bailie (Gray and Bailie, 2005, 449) suggest that one of the reasons for the discrepancy in health standards is that issues of indigenous health are linked to other, less politically popular issues, such as indigenous land rights (reference). Gray and Menzie suggest that the Australian government focuses on the issue of health, providing medical facilities and failing to recognise that the underlying problems must be addressed before good health can be achieved. They note that government efforts have failed to the extent that indigenous health has not improved significantly over the last twenty-five years (Gray and Bailie, 2005, 449).

An international human right to health may not be the answer. Australia, while it has ratified many human rights declarations, has failed to transplant of those declarations into Australian law (Gray and Bailie, 2005, 449). While this behaviour may seem disingenuous, the government is under no obligation to follow any international treaties they sign (Gray and Bailie, 2005, 449). Thus an international human right to health would have no affect whatsoever on the well-being of Australian indigenous people, even if Australia agreed to it. The only way the government can be required to protect indigenous health is if an Australian law is enacted with that aim in view.

How does the treatment of our indigenous people affect Australians who are neither politicians nor poor? On an international level, Australia's image suffers due to the mistreatment of our indigenous people. As mentioned earlier, the UN, in its first Universal Periodic Review of Australia, condemned our country for the inequality between Indigenous Australians and other Australian people (Human Rights Law Centre, 2011). Such public condemnation is fatal to our international image, damaged as it already is by our treatment of asylum seekers, our lack of contribution to the fight against poverty, and the sexism inherent in our corporations and policies (Human Rights Law Centre, 2011).

Australia is one of the lucky countries. We have the 14th largest economy in the world (Human Rights Law Centre, 2011), and yet we either can not or do not protect the rights of our own people. The right to equality is simply not codified in our law; neither marriage equality nor health equality are protected. These issues affect more than just politicians and the poor. They affect every Australian. Without equality, we have nothing. Our international reputation is crumbling, and will continue to crumble for as long as we deny our citizens their basic rights. The health, happiness, and safety of all Australians depends on the recognition of human rights. Unless things change soon, who knows where our country is headed?


Reference List

Edwards, J. 2005. 'Marriage is Sacred: The Religious Right's Arguments Against 'Gay Marriage' in Australia. Culture, Health, and Sexuality, Volume 9. Pp 247, 261.

Gray, N. and Bailie, R. 2006. Can human rights discourse improve the health of Indigenous Australians?. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, Volume 30, pp 448–452.

Human Rights Law Centre. 2011. Australia Faces International Calls for Human Rights Act, Same-Sex Marriage Equality & Constitutional Protection of Indigenous Rights. Online. Really Long Link [Accessed 24 October 2011].

Mayne, H. 2010. Should Australia Allow Same Sex Marriage? Online. Available at Really Long Link [Accessed 20 October, 2011].

Mollman, M. 2011. Gay Marriage: The Issue is Respect. Online. Available at Really Long Link [Accessed 23 October, 2011].

Najar, M. 2005. Meddling with Emancipation": Baptists, Authority, and the Rift over Slavery in the Upper South, Journal of the Early Republic, Volume 25, no. 2, pp. 157, 186.

O'Shea, E, and Peterson, S. 2011. Same Sex Marriage: Australia's Policy of Discrimination Without Borders. Online. Available at Really Long Link [Accessed 23 October, 2011].
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Is it time to settle for Mr. Good Enough?

October 19th 2011 03:58
Image credit: Kokkai_nak

IVF clinics have started marketing their egg freezing as a viable way for young women to ensure that they can have children when they finally meet Mr. Right. It sounds like a good idea: save your eggs when you're young and they're there when you meet the right man. But experts are warning that this is not necessarily a reliable method of ensuring future fertility, and instead suggest that young women wanting children settle for a man who's good enough, if not perfect, while they're still young. You can read the news article here.

Egg freezing is doubtless an expensive practice, but is having a child to a man one doesn't love any better? The whole problem is compounded by fertility issues experienced by young men, as detailed here. Apparently junk food has a negative effect on male fertility. Perhaps I'm unusual here, but I am not personally acquainted with more than one young male who does not consume junk food on a regular basis. Sure, the problem is easily solved: but now we're asking women not only to procreate with men who they don't consider to be 'right', but also to change their eating habits. It seems a little ambitious to me. What do you think? I'd love to hear your opinions in the comments section.
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Apparently 'The Hangover 2' Stole Someone's Life Story...

October 18th 2011 05:55
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You wouldn't expect anyone to admit to it, but at least one man has apparently lived the events of The Hangover Part 2. He is suing Warner Brothers, claiming that the film is based on a script he wrote about a series of events in his own life.

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The story of a boy, a ute, a donkey, and a bucketload of firearms.

October 18th 2011 04:29
donkey
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In a story so bizarre it could only have come out of rural Australia, a thirteen year-old boy was recently caught driving an unroadworthy ute full of firearms and ammo, while towing a dead donkey. To make matters more confusing, he appears to have done so with the full permission of his father. You can read about it here.

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End of the World

October 18th 2011 01:48
apocalypse
Are you prepared for the end of the world? No? Neither am I. But according to Family Radio, the fine people behind the infamous May 21 Billboards (don't remember them? Take a look ), the world is going to end on the 21st of October.

And they really mean it this time. If you're too lazy to read through a page of psychotic ramblings, the gist of it is this: May 21st, the date they announced as the rapture all over the world, was the due date to be saved. If you weren't a follower of Jesus by that point, too bad. You're getting your ass handed to you when the physical world is annihilated in just three days. I'm about as screwed as they come. As far as my memory serves (although it's not in the habit of serving me well), I was both a heavy drinker and an active bisexual on May 21st. Eek


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Why You Should Re-Watch Digimon Season One

October 18th 2011 00:45
television, tv
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There's something incredibly satisfying about re-watching the shows we loved as children. Nostalgia is all very well and good, and I'm sure it contributes to the pleasure. But for me, nostalgia isn't enough. I don't have time to reclaim my childhood, what with such important tasks as sleeping, eating, and drowning my lungs in cigarette smoke. do, however, have time to laugh at absurdities. That's where the special appeal of Digimon comes in.

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Five Words Which Won't Be On My Italian Exam

October 17th 2011 04:43
venice, italy, italian, canal, italiano
Venice, in Italy. Image credit: Idea Go.

It's the end of semester and university exam time is approaching fast. I personally have five on their way; two exams for Italian, one for Spanish, and an oral interview for each. I'm trying to study for tomorrow's Italian exam, and finding myself increasingly distracted by some of the more interesting words. Words like


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