Attorney-General to deliver 2023 Human Rights Day Oration
Commission – General
Published:
Topic(s): Commission – General
Commonwealth Attorney-General the Hon Mark Dreyfus KC MP will deliver this year’s Human Rights Day Oration at the 2023 Australian Human Rights Awards in Sydney on 8 December.
The Attorney-General will join 21 Awards finalists and up to 600 guests to honour some of Australia’s leading human rights heroes and to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the landmark document setting out human rights and responsibilities for everyone, everywhere, everyday. The Attorney-General will talk about the significance of the Declaration in both an Australian and international context.
Commission President, Emeritus Professor Rosalind Croucher AM, said: “It’s wonderful to have the first law officer of our Commonwealth involved in commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Declaration, which Australia played a key role in drafting in 1948. We look forward to his remarks in relation to this.
“The Australian Government is also currently conducting an inquiry into updating Australia’s human rights framework, so the views of the Attorney-General about this will be of significant interest, especially for workers in the community, government, legal and education sectors.”
Each year the Commission presents the Human Rights Day Oration to mark Human Rights Day, the day the Declaration was adopted by the United Nations (10 December 1948). The Oration is delivered by a leading Australian working in the field of human rights and social justice or whose work protects and promotes human rights in Australia.
Previous Orators include First Nations academic and activist Larissa Behrendt AO, Deputy Chief Justice of the Family Court of Australia and former federal Attorney-General Justice Robert McClelland, Royal Commissioner and NSW Supreme Court judge Justice Peter McClellan, UNSW law professor Dr Christine Forster and disability advocate Rosemary Kayess.
The Oration will be followed by the presentation ceremony for the 2023 Australian Human Rights Awards. Five awards will be presented, including the prestigious Australian Human Rights Medal (presented annually since the Award’s inception in 1987). This year’s Awards will form a key part of Australia’s commemorations for the Declaration’s anniversary.
Attendees at the gala ceremony and reception will include community, government, legal, media and entertainment representatives. The event will take place at the UTS Great Hall in Sydney on Friday 8 December, 5:30pm – 9:30pm. Tickets start at just $40 and include all drinks, canapes and entertainment. Tickets are available at: https://events.humanitix.com/human-rights-awards-2023
ENDS | Media contact: media@humanrights.gov.au or +61 457 281 897