Last night, Lateline reported on a five-year-old refugee who faced the prospect of being separated from his father forever. His father had failed an ASIO security assessment, which under current policies means he is to be detained indefinitely with no right of appeal. According to the report, 46 proven refugees are being locked up indefinitely […]
In the second half of the 1970s, Indonesia’s war against the people of East Timor caused the largest loss of life relative to population since the Holocaust. Reputable and widely used demographic techniques have shown that 30 per cent of East Timor’s population died during the war. What did the Australian Government know about the catastrophe in […]
Today, in an interview with the ABC, US President Barack Obama declared his support for marriage equality – the legality of same-sex marriages. The move, coming six months before he stands for re-election, is the latest in a series of political steps in that direction. Six months ago, late in 2011, witnessed a beginning of […]
Much has been written about the complicity of people smugglers and their networks in transporting asylum seekers to Australian shores. In Australia, the arrival of “boat people” has generated intense political debate, especially since the Tampa incident in 2001. Former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd described people smugglers as “engaged in the world’s most evil trade […]
In her opening remarks, Dr Caroline Norma explained with fervour that the framing of human trafficking in Australian discussion is all wrong. I was convinced – having come into the Young UN Women’s “Human Trafficking in Melbourne: Prevention, Protection and Prosecution” event held earlier in the year on 22 March – that human trafficking was […]
Dr Stephen Zunes critically examined the wave of resistance to autocratic regimes that has engulfed the Middle East since late 2010 during a lecture presented by the Castan Centre for Human Rights on 19 March 2012. The lecture was held at the Monash Conference Centre. Dr Zunes, Professor of Politics and International Studies at the […]
Right Now’s Editor-in-Chief, André Dao, recently spoke to Professor Stephen Zunes, a Professor of Politics and International Studies at the University of San Francisco. He is one of the world’s leading experts on non-violent resistance and has won recognition from the Peace and Justice Studies Association as their first Peace Scholar of the Year. We spoke to […]
On the 17th of April, Read & Rights will meet at LOOP to discuss the human rights issues in Chloe Hooper’s The Tall Man. Here’s our review. Please send yours to jess@rightnow.org.au. For more info about the event, please click here. Hurley had battle in his name, Cameron had doom in his. The bitter joke […]
This article is part of our March theme, which focuses on an ongoing challenge to Australian society: Race & Discrimination. Read our Editorial for more on this theme. Australia is obliged under international human rights law to prohibit incitement to racial hatred (Article 20 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights). The Commonwealth, […]
This article is part of our March theme, which focuses on an ongoing challenge to Australian society: Race & Discrimination. Read our Editorial for more on this theme. Public policy values, particularly human rights principles and non-discrimination principles, should guide governments in the conduct of public law litigation. The Commonwealth’s Obligations to Act as a […]
This article is part of our March theme, which focuses on an ongoing challenge to Australian society: Race & Discrimination. Read our Editorial for more on this theme. Recently the Federal Government announced that it intends to consolidate the Racial Discrimination Act 1975, Sex Discrimination Act 1984, Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and Age Discrimination Act […]
This article is part of our March theme, which focuses on an ongoing challenge to Australian society: Race & Discrimination. Read our Editorial for more on this theme. The trafficking of human beings has existed throughout the ages; in recent times transforming into an issue of global importance, touching the Asia-Pacific and indeed Australia directly. […]
