Foreword - Human rights at your fingertips

Human rights at your fingertips

• Back to Contents
• 1 Foreword
• 2 Chart of Australian Treaty Ratifications as of May 2012
• 3 Chart of related rights and articles in human rights instruments
• 4 Universal Declaration of Human Rights
• 5 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
• 6 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
• 7 International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
• 8 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women
• 9 Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
• 10 Convention on the Rights of the Child
• 11 Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
• 12 United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
• 13 Principles relating to the Status of National Institutions (Paris Principles)
• 14 Useful resources

1 Foreword

Australia has a proud history of supporting human rights. Australia played a key role in the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights more than sixty years ago. Since then, Australia has been a leading voice for the implementation of human rights across the globe.

Closer to home, we also recognise that the promotion and protection of human rights in Australia ensures that we thrive as a nation. An important way that human rights are upheld is by ensuring that public sector officials understand human rights and ensure their status in legislative and policy development.

Human rights at your fingertips is a pocket guide for public sector officials and contains the text of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the seven international human rights treaties ratified by Australia and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The pocket guide also provides a table summarising the articles related to each right across the instruments.

Also included are the Paris Principles relating to the status of national institutions which provide guidance on the attributes of independent, robust national human rights institutions – of which the Australian Human Rights Commission has long been a leading example.

This pocket guide will assist in the promotion and protection of human rights by:

enhancing human rights knowledge and awareness of Australian’s human rights obligations within government

supporting the development of public policy, programs and legislation that are consistent with our international human rights obligations.

This booklet is the result of the joint effort of the Australian Human Rights Commission and the Attorney-General’s Department.

We hope that Human rights at your fingertips will enhance understanding of human rights and make a contribution to the promotion and protection of human rights in Australia.

The Hon. Nicola Roxon

Attorney-General

Australian Government

Gillian Triggs

President

Australian Human Rights Commission

^Top