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Commission – General

Human Rights Day Address

I would like to acknowledge the Gadigal people of the Eora nation, the traditional owners of the land on which we meet today, and pay respect to their elders.

Disability Rights

Mental health and human rights: the state of play in 2005

Comprehensive Area Psychiatrists Special Interest Group Rozelle Hospital Dr Sev Ozdowski OAM Human Rights Commissioner and Acting Disability Discrimination Commissioner May 17 2005

Rights and Freedoms

"HUMAN RIGHTS: A REPORT CARD FOR AUSTRALIA AND TASMANIA": DR SEV OZDOWSKI OAM (2004)

Firstly I would like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which we stand and by so doing remind ourselves that Australia's cultural traditions stretch back many thousands of years. The acknowledgement also expresses our aspiration for a just and inclusive Australia for all.

Rights and Freedoms

"THE REFUGEE CONVENTION - WHERE TO FROM HERE?": Dr Sev Ozdowski OAM (2001)

Thank you for inviting me to speak today. Firstly I would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which we are now meeting, the Gadigal people.

Commission – General

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Set against the wreckage and the unthinkable horror of the Second World War, the Declaration was something of a phoenix rising from the ashes, a document which sought to rekindle a human dignity which had been gravely debased in the preceding ten years.

Commission – General

A Revitalised National Human Rights Framework for Australia

Marking the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Fraser Oration Emeritus Professor Rosalind Croucher AM FAAL FRSA FACLM(Hon) Introduction Vice-Chancellor, Duncan Maskell, Dean Matthew Harding, Mrs Tamie Fraser and the Fraser family, Melbourne Law School staff, distinguished...

Rights and Freedoms

“The Relevance of Human Rights in Contemporary Australia”: Dr Sev Ozdowski OAM (2003)

1. Introduction 2. Emergence of International Human Rights 3. Impact of international human rights law on federal law 4. Moving forward on human rights protection

Commission – General

Strengthening Human Rights Education in the National School Curriculum

Read this speech by the Hon Catherine Branson QC on strengthening human rights education in the national school curriculum.

Rights and Freedoms

Speech for launch of Information for Students page: John von Doussa QC (2006)

The promotion of human rights and education go hand in hand. At the international level human rights education is an essential function of the work of the UN and its many agencies. And it is fundamental to the work of a National Human Rights Commission.

Rights and Freedoms

Association of Childrens Welfare Agencies Conference

I am delighted to be invited to speak today at the Biennial Conference of the Association of Childrens Welfare Agencies, in association with partner organisations dedicated to the wellbeing of children.

Commission – General

Past Achievements and Future Strategies in Educating the Public about Human Rights

Let me preface my remarks today with the assertion that, generally speaking, Australia has a strong and proud record on human rights. The Australian Government is formally committed to supporting the universal observance of human rights both at home and abroad saying that this policy helps to achieve a more stable and just international order, which benefits the security and prosperity of everyone. In this statement, the Government links peace to the observance of human rights, a topic to which I shall return.

Commission – General

President speech: Human Rights, Refugees and Asylum Seekers

I would like to begin this morning by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet, the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation. I pay my respects to their elders past and present.

Rights and Freedoms

"Immigration Detention - the Current Position"

The Australian HR protection system is a direct result of the history and development of white settlement in this country. If you compare us with the United States, we Australians had no free settlement, no War of Independence and little or no nation building by private entrepreneurship; rather it was done by way of British government fiat.

Commission – General

20 Years of Mandatory Immigration Detention: the imperative for community-based arrangements for those who seek Australia’s protection

Thank you for your kind introduction. I wish to start today by acknowledging the Kaurna People of the Adelaide Plains, the traditional owners of the land on which we are meeting. On behalf of the Australian Human Rights Commission, I pay my respects to their elders past and present.