Australia is a stable, democratic and culturally diverse nation with a highly skilled workforce and one of the strongest performing economies in the world.
Too often, people with disabilities are left out of crisis planning, evacuation and humanitarian efforts and can be, as this report describes, “absolutely invisible” in conflict prevention and peacebuilding activities.
Climate change is already having significant impacts in Australia and the Pacific. It poses an existential threat for our region - threatening cultural heritage, livelihoods and security.
Australia has been a longstanding champion of human rights. We are proud to have been one of the eight nations to draft the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and an original signatory.
Global challenges in climate change, health, peace and security, trade and inclusive economic development compels our international community to look to the expertise and leadership of the world’s Indigenous Peoples.
Gender inequalities influence a person’s risk of being trafficked and exploited. Understanding and addressing the linkages between gender inequalities and trafficking in persons is crucial for effective, timely and survivor-centred responses.
Freedom of opinion and expression, including media freedoms and freedom online, is vital for keeping people safe, exposing human rights violations and abuses, seeking justice and accountability, resolving conflicts and maintaining peace.
We welcome the Special Rapporteur’s statement with the Special Rapporteur on extra-judicial summary or arbitrary executions on World Day Against the Death Penalty, recognising the interplay between the death penalty, torture and extrajudicial killings, in line with this year’s theme: a road paved with torture.
Human Rights Defenders are regularly on the frontlines of human rights advocacy, being the ones to document abuses and bringing the most serious violations and abuses to the attention of the international community, often at great personal risk.
For the first time in two decades, global trends point to a rise in child labour. In 2020, 160 million children globally were engaged in child labour. This is very concerning.
All women and girls – who are diverse in their identities and the intersecting inequalities they confront – must be able to fully and freely exercise what we hold to be universal human rights. And to live their lives with dignity, physical integrity, choice and opportunities, free of violence.
