Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women's Parallel ...

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Article 21:1. Indigenous peoples have the right, without discrimination, to the improvementof their economic and social conditions, including, inter alia, in the areas ofeducation, employment, vocational training and retraining, housing, sanitation,health and social security.2. States shall take effective measures and, where appropriate, specialmeasures to ensure continuing improvement of their economic and socialconditions. Particular attention shall be paid to the rights and special needs ofindigenous elders, women, youth, children and persons with disabilities.Article 22:1. Particular attention shall be paid to the rights and special needs of indigenouselders, women, youth, children and persons with disabilities in theimplementation of this Declaration.2. States shall take measures, in conjunction with indigenous peoples, to ensurethat indigenous women and children enjoy the full protection and guaranteesagainst all forms of violence and discrimination.The Declaration recognises the serious challenges facing indigenous women, explicitlysaying that states must take measures, together with indigenous peoples, to ensurethat indigenous women enjoy full protection against all forms of violence anddiscrimination. 11We recommend that the CEDAW Committee:Commend the Australian Government for its formal support for the UnitedNations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.Ratification of the Optional Protocol to CEDAWIn November 2008, the Australian Government acceded to the Optional Protocol to theConvention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (OptionalProtocol to CEDAW). We congratulate the Australian Government for this significantstep, which will provide Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women with aninternational avenue to seek justice where their rights have been violated.We recommend that the CEDAW Committee:Commend the Australian Government for acceding to the Optional Protocol toCEDAW.11 See M Davis, 'International Human Rights Law, Women's Rights and the Intervention' (2009) 7(10)Indigenous Law Bulletin.20
Challenges in implementing Articles 1-3Entrenchment of human rights protectionsAustralia is the only developed nation without comprehensive constitutional orlegislative protection of basic human rights at a national level. In 2008 the Attorney-General announced a broad-ranging community consultation on whether, and if so how,human rights should be better protected in Australia. There are concerns that theprocess has not given adequate consideration to the issues of Aboriginal and TorresStrait Islander women who would be well served by a broad ranging equality provisionin any bill or charter which is adopted.We recommend that the CEDAW Committee:Recommend that the Australian Government ensure that any national charter orbill of human rights includes a broad-ranging equality provision to enable therights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women to be protected.Stolen GenerationsBringing Them Home ReportIt is now 12 years since Australia’s national human rights institution, the Human Rightsand Equal Opportunity Commission (now the Australian Human Rights Commission),released Bringing Them Home - Report of the National Inquiry into the Separation ofAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families (Bringing themHome Report). 12The Bringing Them Home Report detailed the national shame of generations ofAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children being forcibly removed from their families,communities and culture by various government agencies and church missions fromaround 1910 to 1970. These people are the stolen generations. The report found that atleast 100,000 (between 10 and 30 per cent) of our children were removed in this way,with devastating personal, community and cultural effects.The Bringing Them Home Report made 54 recommendations aimed at providing justicefor the stolen generations and to help fix the ongoing inter-generational effects of familyseparation. However, many of the recommendations have not been implemented by theAustralian Government. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are the primarycare givers in communities, and thus disproportionally affected by the ongoingcommunity and personal trauma associated with the removal of children.Lack of compensation fundDespite the national apology, we are concerned that the Australian Government has notcommitted itself to establishing a compensation fund for the people and families of thestolen generations. The establishment of a compensation fund was one of the keyrecommendations of the Bringing Them Home Report 13 and would provide substance tothe Australian Government's apology.12 Bringing Them Home Report, above n 7.13 Bringing Them Home Report, above n 7, Appendix 9 Recommendations, [15-20].21
Page 2 and 3: August 2009Prepared byKoorie Women
Page 7 and 8: 2. EndorsementsThis report is endor
Page 9 and 10: 4. Our recommendationsWe recommend
Page 11 and 12: 26. Recommend that all Australian G
Page 13 and 14: 5. Methods: consultation and feedba
Page 15: 8. IntroductionThis report focuses
Page 18 and 19: 10. Articles 1 to 3: Definition of
Page 22 and 23: We recommend that the CEDAW Committ
Page 24 and 25: In recent years, some state governm
Page 26 and 27: • The compulsory acquisition and
Page 28 and 29: • There is a need for government
Page 30 and 31: 12. Article 5:Sex Roles and Stereot
Page 32 and 33: We recommend that the CEDAW Committ
Page 34 and 35: 14. Article 8:International partici
Page 36 and 37: Challenges in implementing Article
Page 38 and 39: Extinction of Aboriginal and Torres
Page 40 and 41: Indigenous students. Also, more tha
Page 42 and 43: 16. Article 11:Employment/workCEDAW
Page 44 and 45: in mainstream communities and organ
Page 46 and 47: Conditional nature of social securi
Page 48 and 49: The current system fails to assist
Page 50 and 51: Screening programs have seen some s
Page 52 and 53: AlcoholThe consumption of alcohol i
Page 54 and 55: supplies of clean water, functionin
Page 56 and 57: communities not connected to an org
Page 58 and 59: applying for private rental accommo
Page 60 and 61: 19. Article 14:Rural women43 per ce
Page 62 and 63: 20. Articles 15 and 16:Equality bef
Page 64 and 65: We have also been told that when th
Page 66 and 67: One of the major issues with provid
Page 68 and 69: July to December 2007 and January t
Page 70 and 71:
• that victims of child abuse are
show all

Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women's Parallel ...

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?