Human Rights Violations In Australia

Two of thirty recognised human rights by the United Nations are “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (Doc. 1)” or “No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms”(Doc. 1). However, both are still problems that continue to happen more than fifty years after the creation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Human rights are continuously violated because when the United Nations created the document it did not legally bind any country to uphold the rights of their people, making the document little more than words on paper. Eleanor Roosevelt remarked during a meeting of the United Nations that “without concerned citizen action to uphold them, we shall look in vain for progress (Doc. 2). Eleanor Roosevelt was emphasizing that the government cannot force the people to utilize their human rights. It is a responsibility that the people must take upon themselves. For example, in the United States we have the right to freedom of speech, but we cannot be forced to speak out, but must do it of our own accord. If we do not use our right to freedom speech it becomes more easily forgotten or taken away. The human rights of people are often times violated simply because the people allow them to be or don’t recognise that they are entitled to them which is why it is important to know

“Ideas about human rights have evolved over many centuries. But they achieved strong international support following the Holocaust and World War II. To protect future generations from a repeat of these horrors, the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in 1948 and invited states to sign and ratify it”

Currently, human rights in Australia are protected in different ways. Unlike most other similar liberal democracies, Australia has no Bill of Rights to protect human rights in one single document. Instead, some rights can be found in the Constitution, our common law and legislation which includes acts passed by the Commonwealth Parliament or State or Territory Parliaments.

Australian law reforms have been adequately effective in dealing with surrogacy and birthing technologies. The NSW state reforms have effectively supported the changing values of society by aiming to achieve justice and avoid conflicts surrounding surrogacy, while the commonwealth is obsolete on effective laws to prevent surrogacy issues. As the demand for surrogacy and birthing technologies increases, issues surrounding surrogacy are more prevalent in society. Additionally, there is no Commonwealth law, meaning each state and territory has developed individual laws of surrogacy and birthing technologies, allowing for issues and challenges surrounding the protection and the rights of all parties involved.

Upholding human rights is essential for ensuring a fair and equitable society. In 1966, Australia and a majority of the world’s nations signed on to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). After the atrocities committed in World War II this seemed like a positive step for ensuring acknowledgement and respect for the rights and freedoms of all people. However, the means of enforcing human rights is not a straightforward process. In response to ratifying the ICCPR, Australia set up the Australian Human Rights Commission. However, after a number of failed attempts, it has not followed through with implementing a

Australia pride itself on its strong human rights record and its standing as a good global citizen. However deeper analysis and according to recent situation that how boat people are being treated shows that Australia has failed to fulfill with its international human rights obligations in a number of areas. This is making the things complicating and has tendency towards receptionist and relativist arguments as regard as these international obligations. Especially, much of the focus in Australia and the country’s

Case 1 is an appeal to the conviction rendered by District Court Judge Bradley on

“In the United States, 15 states have laws that fail to protect women with disabilities from involuntary sterilization” (Against her will). Sterilization of disabled women in the United States should not be allowed. It denies disabled women the rights of having children. It is sexist to force women to get sterilized but men do not have to get sterilized. Women should have the right to have children, no matter if they have a disability or if something is wrong with her. The United States has used forced sterilization along with other countries in North and South America, along with places such as Asia and Africa.

Human rights - they are an ongoing issue in the world today, with the constant struggle against violation. The United Nations has accepted 30 articles on human rights, which help protect millions from political, social, and legal abuses (UDHR). Even with the insistence from the world’s leaders to follow and honor these rights, violation is common and provides a serious threat to people all over the world. One example of a violation of human rights such as equality and safety in possessions is shown through the issue of Japanese American internment camps (UDHR).

he most significant reason against this policy includes the violation of female rights in behalf of the government deciding the number of infants a family have to have and the increment of crime against women. Since, 1979 the law has prevented around 250 million births since ultrasound tests and abortions became easier to access (Doc E). Also, since ultrasound tests are more accessible this policy created sex discrimination and the number of abortions increased since they could find out earlier if they were expecting a male or female (Doc E). It is imperative to mention that since there's fewer woman, woman became more vulnerable to suffer a crime against them and it represents the power the government is capable of using. This information

Human rights have been a perpetual concern for the contemporary global society in terms of its meaning, and interpretation. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) define human rights as “inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family” . Governments have different forms to protect these human rights; United States of America, United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand following many other countries obtain a form of Bill of Rights or charter of rights. Australia does not have said document. However, there are other forms of laws which protect human rights in Australia.

In April 1997 the Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) released a report which was the result of the National Enquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families. The outcome of this enquiry was a number of recommendations made to begin the reparation necessary for a unified Australia. For this essay the recommendation 9(b) will be explored as far as the impact and relevance within the Australian community and the education system, specifically within the Counselling profession. The Bringing Them Home Report recommendation 9(b) has positively influenced the way education of the forced removal of Indigenous Children is implemented into tertiary studies. This essay will begin by exploring the segregation and forced assimilation of Indigenous peoples which commenced in the late 1800’s and continued through until 1970 under various Acts in place under the Australian Government. Then it will discuss how government policies and practices have been shaped by the Bringing Them Home Report and the impact this has had on Indigenous Australian peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples and their communities, including the ongoing effects to the current day. Finally it will explore how the Counselling profession can benefit from educating undergraduates on the effects of forcible removal.

The People’s Republic of China with a population 1.3 billion, is the third largest country in the world and has a land size of 960,000 square kilometres. It is a rapidly growing economy, with living standards being raised every year. However, human rights violations are still a part of daily life in some part of China and can still be seen in the present time. The most controversial issues include discrimination, right to live and not to be subject to torture, freedom of religion, opinion, to fair public hearing, rights to family and the right of movement. (The Consulate General of The People's Republic of China, 2003),(Infoplease, 2009)

From the past, education has always been seen as a crucial aspect of our lives. In 1968, Durkheim stated that ‘society can survive only if there exists among its members a sufficient degree of homogeneity; education perpetuates and reinforces this homogeneity by fixing in the child, from the beginning, the essential similarities that collective life demands.’ Education has become even more indispensable as more instruments start to recognise the right to education. For instance, Article 2 of the First Protocol (A2P1) of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and Article 28(1) of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. This essay will assess the effect of the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA 1998) in protecting the right to education in England. It is noted that the HRA 1998 provide a relatively limited protection as compared to the rest of the instruments. But looking in light of the proposed reform on HRA 1998, the current protection provided by the HRA 1998 has undeniably secured certain protections toward the children’s educational rights. Firstly, this essay looks into the scope of protections that are provided by the HRA 1998. Secondly, the effectiveness of A2P1. Thirdly, the influence of other conventions with regards to the right to education. Lastly, the essay will conclude by looking at the future reform of the HRA 1998.

“All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.”