Statement on 26 January
26 January is not a day to celebrate.
This day marks invasion, the violent dispossession and attempted erasure of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ sovereignty is inherent and self-existent. Sovereignty was never ceded, and this land always was and always will be Aboriginal land.
As a legal organisation, we acknowledge the role of the colonial legal system in establishing, entrenching, and continuing the oppression and injustice experienced by First Nations peoples.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are leading the resistance to fight laws, policies, and systems that continue to oppress Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people know what is best to achieve justice and self-determination. We stand with First Nations people, communities and organisations in the fight for systemic change.
The time is long overdue for governments to listen and act.
Show your support
Learn about some of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander legal services and organisations fighting for justice:
Australia’s racist youth justice policies taken to the UN
The Human Rights Law Centre has supported Associate Professor Hannah McGlade to submit an urgent action complaint to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
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International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
Today is the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, which Australia pledged in 1975 to do in accordance with international law. It’s a timely reminder that we must combat racism, wherever and whenever it arises, to challenge injustice and promote equity.
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The Age Of Innocence
No child should ever grow up in a prison cell. Children belong in schools and playgrounds. Funnelling children into prisons does not make communities safer, it undermines them.
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Acknowledgement of Country
The Human Rights Law Centre acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the lands across Australia, including the lands of the Wurundjeri, Boon Wurrung, Gadigal, Ngunnawal, Cammeraygal, Darug, Wadawurrung, Turrbal and Jagera people where we work from.
We pay our respect to Elders past and present. This land always was, and always will be Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander land. Sovereignty has never been ceded.
WARNING: This site contains images or names of people who have passed away.