Thanks to our friends at Voiceworks we’re pleased to present the following article by Bridget Chappell, a young Australian writer, on the criminalisation of sex work in Iraqi Kurdistan. As Chappell points out in her piece, one of the major arguments put forward to justify the invasion of Iraq in 2003 was widespread human rights […]
21 June 2011 On Friday 17 June, the United Nations Human Rights Council passed a historic resolution on the rights of gay, lesbian and transgender people that “seeks equal rights for everyone regardless of their sexual orientation.” The resolution passed following a tense debate and narrow vote, in which African states accused South Africa of breaking […]
William A. Schabas is director of the Irish Centre for Human Rights at the National University of Ireland, Galway, where he holds the chair in human rights law. He is also an Associate Professor at Middlesex University, in London, and an honorary professor at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, in Beijing. He is currently […]
DATE: 26 May 2011 The United Nations Human Rights Commissioner, Navi Pillay has reiterated long-standing concerns by the international community that Australia’s mandatory immigration detention regime is in breach of Australia’s international human rights obligations and criticised racist and inhumane elements within Australia. In a press conference held yesterday, as part of a six-day visit […]
DATE: 13 MAY 2011 Amnesty International has criticized Australia’s treatment of asylum seekers and indigenous issues in its 2011 World Report, which has been released today. The chapter on Australia highlights the Federal government’s refugee policy and its impact on asylum seekers with mandatory, long term detention and poor conditions in detention facilities putting a large […]
On Tuesday 5 April, the Castan Centre for Human Rights Law hosted a Q&A-style debate entitled “Will the Revolution be Tweeted? The Role of Social Media in Promoting and Protecting Human Rights”. The event was held at Monash University Law Chambers in Melbourne. Panellists included Professor Sarah Joseph, Director of the Castan Centre; Sam Maclean, […]
NAVIGATING THE GREY AREA BETWEEN LEGITIMACY AND LEGALITY The crisis in Libya is getting intense media coverage in Australia. This is primarily because of the scale, pace and brutality of the events unfolding there. After last week’s Security Council Resolution 1973 though, the Libyan crisis has become more relevant to us for another reason: Australia’s […]