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In general terms it is how individuals are treated as members of a particular organisation or community  Basic privileges that all living people are entitled to claim  People have them simply by being human  An entitlement that is enforceable by law  Basic rights such as right to life, freedom, equality, dignity,  Individuals have civil rights, legal rights, democratic rights, and social and economic rights 2

How are rights protected in Australia Without a comprehensive charter of rights, the protection of rights in Australia is a very fragmented array of different legal and constitutional instruments. Due to the division of powers, not all states have identical arrangements, so there is no consistency across the nation. The following diagram sums up the ways in which the rights of Australian citizens are protected. 3

The Australian Constitution lays out the rules by which Australia is governed, but unlike the situation in some other countries, it says very little about the rights of our citizens. Australia is the only advanced democratic country in the world that does not have a clear statement of this nature. Which rights does our constitution actually protect and how do we measure up against comparable countries? 4

Australia has declared that it will abide by the expectations contained within ‘The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)’ 5

 Life liberty& security  Freedom from slavery  Ban on torture & cruel punishment of prisoners  l_act/ca195882/s9ai.html l_act/ca195882/s9ai.html  victoria-gave-the-green-light-to- torture/2006/05/16/ html victoria-gave-the-green-light-to- torture/2006/05/16/ html  Fair trial  Innocent till proven guilty  Equal pay  Right to seek work  Freedom to marry, have a family & own property  Outlawing discrimination on the grounds of race, colour, sex, language, opinion (there are 30 of these) 6

 Indigenous and Refuge response Indigenous and Refuge response iFMJxt_H0  Convention on the Rights of the Child  WnI-NXIGc&list=PL812095B2F8CFEFB9 WnI-NXIGc&list=PL812095B2F8CFEFB9 7

 While rights have a moral force, the UN does not have the legal power to make these part of the law in any country and it is left to each individual country to make rights part of the law  The USA is well known for their Bill of Rights which clearly lists and protects many basic rights e.g, right to keep and bear arms  There has been attempts to create a national Bill of Human rights in Australia but have not been successful  The ACT has been the first to pass their own: Human Rights Act 2004 (ACT)  Followed by Victoria: Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006(VIC)

 WW2 resulted in approximately 60 million deaths  6 million Jews died in the Holocaust  World leaders wanted action so this does not happen again  They wanted more civilised world order  They believed that every person should be entitled to these  People needed protection because governments and people behaved badly  The United Nations drew up the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (consists of 30 rights)

The most fundamental right. We have systems and processes in place to protect life and prosecute those who unlawfully take it. All Australian states have abolished the death penalty In March 2010 the Torture Prohibition and Death Penalty Abolition Act (2010) Cth made it impossible for any state to re-introduce the death penalty. 10

Australia has signed the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which commits Australia to the abolition of the death penalty. For how this affects domestic law, see UNSWCCL's comment piece: The PM could protect us from the death penalty. Australia voted for the UN General Assembly's resolution calling for a global moratorium on the death penalty (18 December 2007). Australia annually co-sponsors a resolution of the UN Human Rights Commission that calls for all nations to abolish the death penalty. The latest version of the resolution was passed on 20 April 2005 and is called The Question of the Death Penalty (UN Doc E/CN.4/RES/2005/59). jurisdictionlast executionabolition Queensland New South Wales (*) Tasmania Commonwealthnil1973 ACTnil1973 Northern Territory Victoria South Australia Western Australia

 Since Federation (1901), only 114 persons have been legally executed in Australia. Incidentally this figure of 114 happens to coincide with the total number of persons said to have been executed in South Africa in  75E0-4CBC-8181-E0BF0204D3CF%7Dti03.pdf  Ronald Joseph Ryan (21 February 1925 – 3 February 1967) was the last person to be legally executed in Australia. Ryan was found guilty of shooting and killing prison officer George Hodson during an escape from Pentridge Prison, Victoria in Ryan's hanging was met with some of the largest public protests in the history of Australia and led to the abolition of the death penalty in the country   ryan-did-not-kill-warder/story-e6frg6nf ryan-did-not-kill-warder/story-e6frg6nf

Also known as Civil/political rights These are the rights of a citizen to participate in the government and political processes of their country. Right to be protected by legal processes Vs abuse of power. Examples:  Equality before the law, irrespective of race, ethnicity, wealth or social position  Freedom from torture and other cruel or degrading punishment 13

 These include the rights to the resources for an adequate standard of living; Food Clean water Clothing Shelter Health care Education 14

ACTIVITY Research some of the different types of human right violations around the world Go to;  0ur work  Types of human right violations; ( refugees, indigenous people, weapons, death penalty, women, torture and terror, poverty etc. )  Look up 3 topics  Who? What? Where? When? Why? How?

Answer Questions 1 – 5 Page 91 of Text Answers to be discussed and posted on the Q drive 16