Commonwealth Human Rights e-Newsletter: January 2006   Commonwealth National Human Rights Commission (CNHRC) Project

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This e-Newsletter has been produced for Commonwealth National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) by the British Council, as part of the British Council's project to support networking and sharing between such NHRIs.

SPOTLIGHT of the month:   ‘A Serious Threat' - opening Speech by Mary Gusella, Chief Commissioner, Canadian Human Rights Commission, during a conference on Hate on the Internet, hosted by the Commission on 15-16 December 2005
Content:

	1. Forthcoming Events 2. Awards 3. Reports and Publications 4. News Stories

FORTHCOMING EVENTS

E-learning courses in 2006 by Human Rights Education Associates (HREA) The registration process is now open for all HREA distance learning courses offered in 2006. Courses include HREA's annual courses on human rights advocacy; the United Nations human rights system; human rights-based programming; project development & management in the NGO sector; and human rights monitoring.

50th Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women from 27 February to 10 March 2006 in New York The 50th session of the Commission on the Status of Women will consider two themes: Enhanced participation of women in development: an enabling environment for achieving gender equality and the advancement of women, taking into account, inter alia, the fields of education, health and work; and Equal participation of women and men in decision-making processes at all levels.

Migrant Workers' Rights Training Course from 7 to 11 April 2006 in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia The Diplomacy Training Program, Faculty of Law, University of New South Wales Sydney, Australia, is calling for applications to a training course based on the rights of migrant workers in the Asia-Pacific. The week long programme will centre around the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Family (ICRMW) and other relevant legal standards. The course content will focus on the ICRMW in the context of the broader human rights framework, and the increasingly important role of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions. The course is aimed at human rights advocates, migrant workers' organisations, women's organisations, NHRIs and trade unions. Participants will develop practical skills in advocacy, lobbying and working with the media to advance migrant workers' rights. Applications close Friday 20 Jan, 2006.

 

AWARDS,COMPETITIONS & INTERNSHIPS

Commonwealth National Human Rights Commissions Staff Attachment Programme British Council, under the Commonwealth National Human Rights Commissions Project, is inviting applications for a Staff Attachment Programme enabling National Human Rights Commissions (NHRCs) to exchange good practice and build capacity. This programme is open to mid-career staff of NHRCs/NHRIs in the Commonwealth. The attachment can be to research a particular area of NHRC activity or to gain practical skills in a priority or developing area of work. Before submitting a proposal applicants must identify and contact a potential or receiving Commission in another Commonwealth country and have agreed with the partner the purpose and scope of the visit. A one off grant of £2000-£2500 will be given.  The grant will be provided to the individual taking part in the exchange through the local British Council office in either the sending or receiving country. The grant is intended to contribute towards the costs of the exchange visit (e.g. international airfare, visa fee, insurance accommodation, accommodation, all meals, local transport, materials costs, and incidentals).  No other reimbursements of any kind will be borne by the British Council. Selected candidates are expected to submit a report of the visit/attachment to the British Council within 4 weeks of their return. The report will be made available on the website of the British Council's Commonwealth Human Rights Commissions project as a resource for other commissions. The last date to apply is 10 February 2006. Application form can be downloaded from the website or write to Neena Jacob at Neena.jacob@in.britishcouncil.org

KNCHR Chairperson Maina Kiai wins ICJ Jurist of the Year Award Maina Kiai, Chair of the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, has been awarded the prestigious Jurist of the Year Award for 2005 by the International Commission of Jurists. The award recognises the Chair's work in the promotion and protection of human rights, particularly in his role in the fight against corruption, as a voice of reason in the referendum campaigns and in ensuring that economic and social rights are not sidelined in the rights discourse. In his acceptance speech, Maina Kiai dedicated the award to the KNCHR staff, saying that he was accepting it not on his own behalf, but for the Commission as a whole.

 

REPORTS & PUBLICATIONS

Commonwealth

Commonwealth Human Rights Law Digest- Volume 5 This second issue of Volume 5 of the 'Commonwealth Human Rights Law Digest', published by INTERIGHTS, summarises cases decided by national courts in 20 different Commonwealth jurisdictions on major issues. They include freedom of assembly; political participation; separation of powers; emergency powers; cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment; the death penalty; liberty and security; refugees; and torture. One of the cases featured in this publication is a court case involving a group of HIV-positive prisoners in Nigeria awaiting trial in 2004 for periods between two and five years for serious offences, including armed robbery and murder. They challenged their continued detention and segregation as amounting to breaches of their rights to dignity, not to be subjected to torture, and to be free from discrimination as guaranteed under the Constitution of Nigeria.

International

The State of the World's Children 2006 Millions of children across the world have become “invisible” on account of various forms of exploitation they have been suffering for years. An estimated 143 million children in the developing world have suffered the death of at least one parent, while more than one million children are living in detention, the vast majority awaiting trial for minor offences. About 171 million of the world's children are working in hazardous conditions and with dangerous machinery, including in factories, mines and agriculture. These and many more findings form part of UNICEF's groundbreaking report “State of the World's Children 2006: Excluded and Invisible” which witnessed a global release in London in December 2005. The report is an assessment of the world's most vulnerable children, whose rights to a safe and healthy childhood are exceptionally difficult to protect. The report describes in detail how these children - poor, exploited and abused - are being ignored, growing up beyond the reach of development campaigns and often invisible in everything from public debate and legislation to statistics and news stories.

Report of the Open-ended seminar on enhancing and strengthening the effectiveness of the special procedures of the UN Commission on Human Rights The open-ended seminar organised by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and chaired by the Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights was held in Geneva on 12 to 13 October 2005. Participants included Member States, special procedures mandate holders, representatives of non-governmental organisations and United Nations specialized agencies. The unique and important role played by the special procedures system in the promotion and protection of human rights was generally recognised by participants. It was agreed that the special procedures should be an integral part of the proposed Human Rights Council. Participants also shared the view that the system could be further enhanced by fostering a greater sense of collegiality among mandate holders, entailing more coordination, harmonization of working methods and self-regulation. The Coordination Committee, established at the twelfth annual meeting of special procedures, will play a pivotal part in this process, in particular, in updating the “manual for special rapporteurs/representatives/experts and chairpersons of working groups of the special procedures of the Commission on Human Rights and of the advisory services programme”. Participants stressed the importance of better cooperation with special procedures and the need for systematic follow-up to their work, and exchanged views on how different actors might contribute to such strategies. Follow the progress on the proposed Human Rights Council

Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the Right to Development This report, submitted in response to Commission on Human Rights resolution 1998/72, contains a summary of the activities undertaken by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, separately or jointly with others, with regard to the implementation of the right to development. Particular importance is placed on those activities which relate to the right to development issue identified in resolutions of the General Assembly and the Commission on Human Rights, as well as in the agreed conclusions contained in the report of the Working Group on the Right to Development on its sixth session.

Practical guidance to implementing rights based approaches, Human Rights analyses for poverty reduction and Human Rights benchmarks To what extent are human rights being incorporated into development programmes? How can a human rights-based approach best be developed? This report, by the UK Government Department for International Development (DFID), brings together material collated from development organisations in four key areas: practical guidance on rights-based approaches, including case studies and checklists; analytical tools which feature human rights for understanding the causes and characteristics of poverty; human rights impact assessment; and human rights indicators to measure development progress.

WHO global study on domestic violence against women   This report by the World Health Organisation presents a global perspective on domestic violence against women. Covering ten countries including Bangladesh , Peru and Tanzania , the document finds that violence against women is still widespread with far reaching health consequences. The report covers violence against women in both partner and non-partner experiences. It offers a set of fifteen recommendations to strengthen national commitment and action on violence against women. These include: promoting gender equality and women's human rights, and compliance with international agreements; enhancing the capacity for data collection to monitor violence against women, and the attitudes and beliefs that perpetuate it; integrating responses to violence against women into existing programmes such as the prevention of HIV and AIDS and the promotion of adolescent health; developing a comprehensive health sector response to the various impacts of violence against women. The report concludes that the ultimate challenge is to prevent and eventually eliminate all forms of violence, including violence against women.

‘Honour Crimes', Paradigms, and Violence Against Women Edited by Lynn Welchman and Sara Hossain, this book arises from the practical insights and experiences of individuals and organisations addressing so-called ‘honour crimes' in different geographic and social contexts, including ‘honour killings' and interference with the right to marry. Its purpose is to support human rights activists, policymakers and lawyers by explaining what such crimes are, how they vary from country to country, and what strategies are needed to combat them. Drawing on original case material from a wide range of countries, it identifies and analyses cross-cutting thematic issues and seeks to develop a human rights based framework as an alternative to a culturally relativist approach. It urges the reform of many national legal systems which enable men to rely on the pretext of ‘honour crimes' in order to get a reduced sentence.

Africa

Declaration - 5th conference of African National Human Rights Institutions Abuja, 8-10 November 2005 The 5th Conference of African National Human Rights Institutions was held in Abuja, Nigeria, from 8 to 10 November 2005 under the theme “ Realisation of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights”, hosted by the Nigerian National Human Rights Commission in cooperation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and the Coordinating Committee of African National Human Rights Institutions. It was noted that despite the consensus on the indivisibility of human rights, economic, social and cultural rights remain marginalized in their implementation. Participants felt concerned that there is inadequate recognition by African States of economic, social and cultural rights, which results in the continued marginalization of the enjoyment of these rights.

Home-grown rights instruments: Supporting the protocol on the rights of women in Africa – a paper by Gladys Mutukwa Gladys Mutukwa, regional coordinator of the Women in Law and Development in Africa and a member of the steering committee of the Solidarity for African Women's Rights Coalition, explains the international and regional mechanisms available for the protection of women's rights. States cannot show a commitment at one level and act differently at another, she argues. Failure to ratify a critical home-grown instrument like the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa calls into question any purported commitments to the rights of women, she concludes. This Protocol can rightly be called the Bill of Rights for African Women. It has the special distinction of addressing specific problems and issues that have been major constraints and hindrances for African women in the past. The Protocol covers fundamental issues like the right to inheritance, widowhood, affirmative action to promote equal access and participation in politics and decision making; rights of particularly vulnerable groups of women i.e. the elderly women, women with disabilities, women under conflict situations, pregnant women and nursing mothers, protection against harmful traditional practices. It also addresses current and emerging issues like HIV and AIDS, refugee women, right to food security and adequate housing etc.

Instrument for advancing Reproductive and Sexual Rights: The Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa – a briefing paper On 11 July, 2003, the African Union—the regional body that is charged with promoting unity and solidarity among its 53 member nations—adopted a landmark treaty known as the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa (the protocol) to supplement the regional human rights charter, the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (the African Charter). The Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa comes into force on 25 November 2005 - a milestone in the protection and promotion of women's rights in Africa. Fifteen countries have ratified the Protocol. Now the struggle for implementing these rights at national level begins. The treaty affirms reproductive choice and autonomy as a key human right and contains a number of global firsts. This briefing paper by Centre for Reproductive Rights offers suggestions for women's health and rights advocates within and beyond Africa. It provides detailed information that can help African women exercise their reproductive rights. The paper can also be useful to advocates outside Africa who are seeking to establish similar guarantees. Also read Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on The Rights Of Women In Africa

Commonwealth Secretary-General launches manual to mark International Human Rights Day Human rights must be a fundamental cornerstone for strong and open societies, said Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon. He pointed out that active, entrepreneurial, energetic and self-starting societies are stifled in the absence of rights-based protections to freedom of expression and opinion. The Secretary-General was speaking at the launch of the Commonwealth Secretariat's 'Manual on Human Rights Training for Police in Commonwealth West African Countries' on 8 December 2005, coincided with the celebration of International Human Rights Day on 10 December 2005. “Respect for civil and political rights, and the fulfilment of basic economic and social rights, is fundamental to the Commonwealth, along with democracy, development and respect for the rule of law”. The manual was produced with the support of senior police officers from Cameroon, The Gambia, Ghana , Nigeria and Sierra Leone. The Secretary-General noted that Commonwealth West African states, which have ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, are committed to ensuring respect and promotion for the association's fundamental values. He said the manual can be used by police trainers to develop existing standard training curricula on core policing skills.

Australia

Indigenous young people with cognitive disabilities and Australian juvenile justice systems In 2005 the Commonwealth Attorney General's Department provided funding for the Social Justice Commissioner to undertake a research project examining the issues relating to Indigenous young people with a cognitive disability and/or mental health issue in Australian juvenile justice systems. The report provides the findings of a series of consultations and a national roundtable; highlights current policy and programme approaches; provides a brief statistical overview and considers strategies and areas for future research.

Five Years On: An update on the complaint handling work of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission of Australia (HREOC) HREOC's Complaint Handling Section (CHS) undertakes research projects with the dual aim of providing further information on the complaint process for the general public and obtaining data to enable the Commission to reflect on, and improve, its complaint practice.  The Commission has recently produced a paper - 'Five years on: An update on the complaint handling work of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission' which outlines the findings of two research projects undertaken by the CHS in the 2004-05 reporting year. The first project provides a follow up to research undertaken by the Commission in 2001, which considered the initial period of operation of the Human Rights Legislation Amendment Act (No.1),1999 (Cth) (HRLA Act). This project focused on updating complaint statistics used in the 2001 research to provide a longer period from which to assess the impact of procedural changes introduced by the HRLA Act. The findings of the project, as documented in this paper, reinforce the Commission's previous finding that the changes introduced by the HRLA Act, including the move to a court determination process, have not had the negative impact on the Commission's complaint process that some had predicted. The second part of the paper summarises findings of a survey undertaken by the Commission's conciliators over a six-month period in 2004. The survey findings provide a current snapshot of the Commission's conciliation work and include: statistics on party representation in conciliation across jurisdictions; details of the type of conciliation process conducted across jurisdictions; and information relating to the role of the conciliator.

Fiji

Bill of Rights - International Legal Analysis The Bill of Rights: International Legal Analysis considers each section of the Chapter 4 Bill of Rights provisions of the 1997 Constitution from its origins in international law, its introduction in Fiji by way of amendment or alteration of international law in accordance with the Reeves Commission's recommendations, its relationship to other sections of the Constitution, its links with the developing body of public international law broadly defined, and its application by Fiji's courts where relevant. The Compendium lists all human rights cases decided in Fiji since 1970, including a brief outline of the decisions, and links them with the relevant provisions of the 1970, 1990 and 1997 Constitutions. This will allow practitioners to illustrate to the court how a particular provision of the 1997 Bill of Rights chapter developed over time since many of the provisions contained in the 1997 Constitution were in fact present in Fiji's earlier Constitutions. The Analysis and Compendium were conceptualised by the Commission's human rights legal practitioners, written by a practising lawyer after consultation with magistrates and judges of Fiji.

Sri Lanka

Rising up in response: women's rights activism in conflict In 2003 the Urgent Action Fund for Women's Human Rights (UAF) launched a year-long project to identify concrete ways to improve international support for the interventions of women's rights activists during all phases of a conflict. Women were interviewed in three conflict areas: the Balkans (Kosovo and Serbia); Sierra Leone; and Sri Lanka. The study addresses the importance of respecting women's human rights – in particular the right to participation and non-discrimination. This report considers the study of women's rights activists who respond to conflicts or crises in their own countries The author considers their strategies and why it is that the capacities of women activists are extremely limited. The report's findings and recommendations are derived primarily from semi-structured field interviews, focusing on women activists' experiences and their interventions at different points of a conflict, as well as specific barriers to their work and supporting factors, with a particular emphasis on security-related issues.

United Kingdom

Children on the edge of care - Human rights and the Children Act This report, published by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, UK, concerns three groups of children who have not been accorded the full protection of the Children Act 1989 in terms of either meeting their needs or protecting them from harm. The report examines how local authorities respond to the needs of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, disabled children at residential special schools, and children who are privately fostered or who live with relatives rather than their birth parents. It provides a critical analysis of what we know about the circumstances of these groups of children, what their entitlements are under the Children Act, how local authorities respond to their needs and entitlements, and whether recent changes will redress past inadequacies. It concludes that a shortage of resources, and inadequate knowledge about the views and experiences of these three groups of children have resulted in a failure to recognise and promote their human rights.

Sex and power: who runs Britain? 2006 New figures released by the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) of the UK, as part of its annual survey of women's representation in positions of power suggest equality between men and women will take: 20 years in the top management of the civil service; 40 years at the director level of FTSE (The Financial Times and the London Stock Exchange) 100 companies; 40 years in the senior judiciary; up to 200 years – another 40 elections in Parliament. Thirty years after the Sex Discrimination Act (SDA) came into force, "Sex and Power: Who Runs Britain? 2006", which looks at women in senior positions across the public and private sector, reveals that women comprise only 11 per cent of directors at FTSE 100 companies, 20 per cent of MPs (with only two ethnic minority women) and 16 per cent of local authority council leaders. The survey also shows that women make up just 9 per cent of the senior judiciary, 10 per cent of senior police officers, and 13 per cent of editors of national newspaper. While women are reaching critical mass in some areas, including as heads of professional bodies (33 per cent) and national arts organisations (33 per cent), in most fields there has been little change since the EOC first published the survey two years ago.

 

NEWS STORIES

ANTI-TERRORISM

Special Online edition on the Australian Anti-Terrorism Bill (No.2) 2005 - The Human Rights Defender The Human Rights Defender is a human rights magazine, a publication of the Australian Human Rights Centre : The University of New South Wales, which features information and comment on a broad range of current issues in human rights. It also seeks to provide a platform for the expression of critical thinking and the discussion of conceptual developments in human rights. This special edition of the Human Rights Defender has been developed as a response to the perceived erosion of human rights in Australia with the introduction of the new legislative regime. This issue highlights articles and comments by a wide range of writers on the Anti-Terrorism Bill (No.2) 2005. Also read online discussion on Human Rights Act for Australia

ASYLUM

Probe into immigration detention in Northern Ireland An investigation is being launched into the detention of asylum seekers and migrants in Northern Ireland. It will be carried out by the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission. It will examine why detainees are held in prisons and how complaints are resolved. The condition of centres, and issues such as legal advice, health care and diet, will also be investigated. Chief Commissioner Professor Monica McWilliams said: " Northern Ireland is the only place in the UK where immigration detainees are held in prison as a matter of course. The decisions taken by immigration officers to detain asylum seekers appear to be arbitrary, inconsistent, and, on a number of occasions, seem to have breached international and domestic human rights norms. We hope that our research will contribute to an informed debate in Northern Ireland on how to improve conditions for asylum seekers and migrants in Northern Ireland ." The commission will publish the findings of its research in the form of a report later this year.

UNHCR sees improvements in immigrant detention centre of South Africa The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) welcomed improvements to facilities at South Africa 's controversial Lindela Repatriation Centre, where undocumented and illegal foreigners are held before being repatriated. The centre outside Johannesburg was singled out by Human Rights Watch for ill-treating refugees and running a poor healthcare system. Since the beginning of the year over 45 people, mostly Zimbabwean asylum seekers, have died, mainly of disease, and more than 400 were hospitalised. UNHCR Regional Representative Ebrima Camara, who is based in Pretoria , toured Lindela and said in a statement that there were now no children and only a few women at the centre, reflecting reforms enacted after a government-appointed commission investigated the deaths of inmates. Previously there were high numbers of both women and children.

Asylum seekers face tough controls under new fast-track system in the UK – New asylum model A large-scale overhaul of the asylum system in the UK has begun which will lead to at least a third of all asylum seekers being placed in detention centres for the "fast-track" processing of their claims for refugee status. The "new asylum model", which UK ministers hope will be implemented by September 2006, also envisages far greater controls over failed asylum seekers facing removal, including the use of electronic tagging, reporting requirements and detention. It will see the creation of a category of "late and opportunistic asylum claims", with some cases being decided within two weeks instead of two months. The new asylum model includes an attempt to improve immigration officials' initial decision-making, which has been severely criticised by refugee welfare groups. The immigration service has been consulting the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) over ways to improve the initial decision process.

Children traumatised by asylum raids, says watchdog The UK government has been severely criticised for allowing children to be “snatched” from their homes by immigration officials. Al Aynsley-Green, England 's first Children's Commissioner, said that it was outrageous that in a civilised society the children of asylum-seekers were being rounded up for deportation with no warning and no attempt to explain to them what was happening. The children were then taken with their families to immigration detention centres and held under lock and key to await deportation. Such experiences, he said, were extremely traumatic for the children, who were left bewildered and distraught. Although the Government claims that the parents of such families are told what is going to happen, very often this message did not get through to the children and too often the authorities treated the children merely as appendages of their parents, he said. Professor Aynsley-Green emphasised that he was not trying to interfere with the politics of immigration, but rather trying to ensure that children caught up in the asylum process were treated as individuals.

MENTAL HEALTH

CRE to monitor mental health services to tackle inequality The UK Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) will monitor the efforts of the mental health services to address the unequal treatment and care of patients because of their race. The exercise will assess the progress being made by local health services to implement the action plan set out in Delivering Race Equality in Mental Health (DREMH), the UK Government's report and key recommendations following the death of David 'Rocky' Bennett. The monitoring will be carried out in conjunction with the Healthcare Commission (HC), the Mental Health Act Commission (MHAC) and other strategic partners.

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS

CHRAJ receives 100,000 complaints The Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Ghana has since its inception until June 2005, received about 100,000 complaints and resolved more than 85 per cent of them. Mr Richard Quayson, Deputy Commissioner of CHRAJ, who announced this, said that in 2003, the Commission dealt with 7,923 family-related cases out of a total of 13,726. Speaking at a media dialogue in Kumasi , he said administrative justice and labour related cases, which used to form the bulk of cases, approximately 76 per cent, dropped to 16.4 per cent. The media dialogue was a collaboration between CHRAJ and the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) for media personnel in Kumasi and has as its theme: "Advancing Human Rights: Prospects and Challenges". Mr Quayson said complaints reflecting general basic rights constituted 12.8 per cent of cases. Out of the 7,923 family related cases, those concerning children were 4,956 mainly child maintenance, while marital issues constituted 1,619 cases and inheritance cases were 1,348. Mr Quayson said the Commission has succeeded in putting the subjects of human rights, good governance and corruption on the nation's developmental agenda and has over the past years kept them in the public domain and scrutiny.

No one can influence CHRAJ, not even the President Mr Richard Quayson, Deputy Commissioner of the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Ghana, has asserted the independence of the commission and would strongly object to any form of interference. He said the commission is sufficiently insulated from interference and therefore cannot be ordered to investigate cases adding, "Not even the President can order CHRAJ to investigate cases" because that would amount to interference. Mr Quayson said the Commission goes about its duty according to the dictates of the law explaining as well that with equal protection as Appeal Court judges, no one removes a Commissioner of the Commission except on grounds of misconduct which calls for an impeachment. In an answer to what CHRAJ can do and cannot do, Mr Quayson said much as the Commission protects rights of general society, it cannot investigate matters between government and government agencies as well as cases before the court. According to him, CHRAJ basically investigates complaints of violations of fundamental rights and freedoms in both public and private sectors and provide appropriate remedy or redress. CHRAJ reviews policies and laws, which do not comply with human rights provisions in the constitution and other international instruments and advises the government accordingly.

Human Rights Day Marked in Maldives A Seminar was held by the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) to mark the 57th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on 10 December 2005. The HRCM was also marking its second anniversary. The main focus of the Seminar, in addition to marking Human Rights Day, was the presentation of the key findings of a baseline human rights survey conducted by the HRCM. The presentation was made by Mr. Peter Hosking, an international consultant, who has been advising the HRCM for some time. The Seminar was introduced by Mr. Ahmed Saleem, Member of the HRCM. In his introductory remarks, Mr. Saleem said that since the adoption of the UDHR, a great flowering of the ideal of universal human rights has taken place and that without doubt, the UDHR remains among the most important political legacies of this century. 45 participants from government ministries, UN agencies, media, civil society and political parties participated in this Seminar.

AHREOC welcomes Graeme Innes AM - new Human Rights Commissioner Mr Graeme Innes AM joins the Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission as the new Human Rights Commissioner and acting Disability Discrimination Commissioner. Mr Innes has experience in the human rights and equal opportunity area, he is an advocate on disability issues and has worked within the Commission for 12 years. Commissioner Innes has been deputy disability discrimination commissioner since 1999 and has been a member of various tribunals - the NSW Administrative Decisions Tribunal; the NSW Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal; and the Social Security Appeals Tribunal. He was also a Hearing Commissioner with the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission.

RIGHTS OF THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE

No declaration for Indigenous Peoples in 2005 - Maybe in 2006 by Gustavo Capdevila The long-awaited international declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples may be adopted in 2006, after more than 10 years of complex efforts by a United Nations working group, experts announced. The negotiations that took place in 2005 gave rise to a glimmer of hope that the next session of the U.N. Commission on Human Rights, to be held in March and April, might approve the Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. In 2005 December session in Geneva, the working group finished drafting 10 paragraphs of the preamble to the declaration, as well as 14 articles, which can be considered as already approved, representing very concrete results, said Luis Enrique Chávez, from Peru, who chairs the group. He specifically mentioned Australia, the United States, Britain and New Zealand as the countries that are opposed to recognising indigenous peoples' rights to self determination, and to their own land, territories, and natural resources.

TRAFFICKING

UK considering trafficking treaty The UK government is considering signing up to the European Convention against Human Trafficking, amid mounting pressure from campaign groups. The recent conviction of five Albanian men for sex trafficking offences has prompted campaigners to ask why the UK had not signed the convention. Anti-Slavery International says more can be done to help victims. The Home Office said it backed action on trafficking but no decision had been made on whether to sign the convention. The European Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings, which has been signed by eight countries, provides temporary residence permits to victims endangered by return to their home countries and to those who assist with prosecutions. It aims to provide a minimum level of support and increased protection for victims. A Home Office spokeswoman said: "The government supports fully all the aims of the Convention against Human Trafficking." The Home Office said the UK is yet to sign the convention because it fears the system is potentially open to abuse by people making false claims of being trafficking victims in a bid to remain in the country. But this suggestion has been rejected by Mary Cunneen, Director of Anti-Slavery International.

 

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