The Australian Human Rights Register is an annual publication that records the collective stories of human rights developments – both positive and negative -from across Australia.
The purpose of the Register is to collect stories and evidence from NGOs to audit human rights developments across Australia. The publication is an important tool that seeks to provide a better picture of the human rights situation across Australia and a basis to generate systemic change to human rights laws, policies and practices.
The Register requires NGOs to share their experiences of human rights stories on the ground that arise from case work and service delivery. These developments may be both positive and negative. The sharing of negative experiences will assist to highlight gaps in human rights protection, while the positive experiences will demonstrate where developments are being made.
The data collected from the Australian Human Rights Register will be compiled in an annual publication that can be used for advocating for improved human rights situations in Australia.
History of the Register
The Australian Human Rights Register previously operated from 1999-2003. The idea for the Register originally emerged after concerns were raised in 1997 by NGOs about the number of changes in government policy and legislation that were affecting people in Australia.
The need for an audit of Australian Human Rights developments was also made more pressing in 1997 because the Australian government was at least four years overdue in making its report to the United Nations under the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights. Even so, these UN reports by government largely deal with commentary on a governmental level and do not address the policies and legislation of governments as they impact on grass roots communities.
The Register provides a forum to report on instances where human rights are upheld or denied so that the government can be aware of the impact of their policies and legislation at a grass roots level. In addition, bodies that are vested with the responsibility of monitoring Australia’s compliance with human rights, such as United Nations human rights mechanisms and the Australian Human Rights Commission, can receive the Register as an alternative view point to the official reports made by the Government.
A number of NGOs expressed concern in the 1997-1998 Register that if they provided information they might lose government funding. This concern was also communicated in relation to the 1999 and 2000 Registers. The register is now structured such that NGOs are permitted to provide information without the details of the NGO being disclosed publically, if they so desire. We have continued our undertaking that in order to provide a voice for those affected by negative developments and ensure that related public interest matters surrounding Australia’s human rights are articulated.
The copyright for concept of the Human Rights Register is in the name of Liz Curran. The idea of the register is based on her work work when she was at the Catholic Commission for Justice Development and Peace (CCJDP) and afterward.
