By Jill Fraser
MELBOURNE
The United Nations is being urged to examine Australia's approach to human rights, with a leading legal body suggesting Canberra’s "contempt" could jeopardize its chances of attaining a seat on the U.N.’s human rights body in 2018.
On Friday, Australia’s Human Rights Law Centre (HRLC) delivered a statement to the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva expressing concern about the federal government's policies on asylum seekers and its “increasing contempt” towards the U.N.
The HRLC urged the Council to question Australia on its “increasingly regressive approach to human rights” in the lead up to a key periodic review in November.
Prior to the review, national human rights institutions are encouraged to report to the Council any issues of concern.
The HRLC’s Director of Advocacy and Strategic Litigation, Anna Brown, told The Anadolu Agency on Saturday that the Australian government isn’t walking its talk regarding human rights.
“In the interest of the [November] review being as robust as possible it’s important that the nations of the council [conducting the review] are fully informed of the situation on the ground in Australia," she said.
She highlighted what she called a "disconnect" between what Australia says at an international level and its actions on the ground domestically.
“Australia has a good track record of engaging with important U.N. forums, but there’s concern that not only is Australia’s human rights record deteriorating, but that Australia is also becoming increasingly belligerent in the face of external criticism,” said Brown.
The HRLC’s statement to the Council last night referenced a response from Prime Minister Tony Abbott to a recent U.N. report that criticized Australia’s asylum seeker policies.
Abbott retorted “Australians are sick of being lectured to by the United Nations,” while Immigration Minister Peter Dutton, dismissed the report as “absolute rubbish”.
Brown said the statement aims to alert the nations of the Council to the widening gulf between Australia’s domestic actions and statements the Government makes to the international community.
“In Geneva, Australia has been at the forefront of discussions about the importance of ensuring the independence of human rights institutions, yet at home the Government has significantly cut funding to the Australian Human Rights Commission," she said.
She added that the government has publicly attack the credibility of and sought the resignation of the Commission's President, Professor Triggs.
"Such actions are manifestly incompatible with resolutions Australia leads at the U.N.,” said Brown.
“At the moment the risk is that Australia isn’t matching its talk with its walk back home and that damages our credentials as a human rights leader,” she told AA.
Brown said Australia’s campaign to become a member of the Council is likely to be affected by the Government’s disdain.
The HRLC’s statement was part of a formal process that invites national human rights institutions tohighlight to the Council issues it may wish to raise as part of the Council’s four-yearly periodic review of a country’s bid.
“Our hope is that if Australia does gain a seat it will be effective in building international consensus and taking a leading role on particular human rights issues of concern,” Brown told AA.
