Universal Declaration Of Human Convention â€Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss About The Universal Declaration Of Human Convention? Answer: Introduction Australia is a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Convention and has ratified to the other conventions associated with the UDHR. The Declaration and the associated conventions aim at safeguarding the rights and freedoms of the individuals. Australia is a democratic country that does not have Bill of Rights and the question whether the country should introduce a Bill of rights has been subject to several controversies. Although there have been arguments against and in favor of the introduction of a National Charter of Rights, but there are instances that makes it evident that the Government of the country have been engaged in human right violations and such human rights are not effectively safeguarded by the prevailing human rights legislations of the country. The arguments against the introduction of the National Charter are based on the contention that the elected governments and politicians have enacted legislations with a view to safeguard the rights and freedoms of the citizens and such laws adequately safeguarded. Such individuals who strongly express their voices are the politicians and those individuals whose rights have not been infringed and hence they consider the prevailing human rights framework to be efficient. However, the arguments in favor of the introduction of the national Charter of Rights are substantially more convincing. This is because Australia is the only western democratic country that does not have National Charter, and for reinstating its position as a country that respects and shields the freedoms and rights of the people and renders social justice, it is imperative for the country to adopt a National Charter. Arguments in favor of introducing a National Charter in Australia Rights protected by the Constitution The Australian Constitution safeguards five individual rights including the right to vote (s.41), right to trial by jury (s. 80), right to protection against acquisition of property (S. 51), freedom of religion (s. 116) and prohibition of discrimination (s. 117). Further, with the implementation of the Common Law, the judges often safeguard several rights that are recognized as human rights by applying the principles of Common Law. There is no human rights legislation in any state or territory except the ACT and Victoria. National Legislation In order to enforce the international legislation, it must be implemented through domestic legislation such the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (cth) which implements the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination) and the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth) which implements the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women. The Australian Human rights Commission has been set up by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Act 1986 (Cth) plays a significant role in safeguarding the human rights. State Legislation The states and territories have anti-discrimination legislation and human rights agencies to safeguard the human rights of the citizens. In case of violations of human rights, the aggrieved are entitled to lodge a complaint before the Commission provided such complaint relate to the any misconduct on part of the Commonwealth. Even under circumstances, where the Commonwealth violates the human rights, the Australian Court is not empowered to award a remedy against such violations. The Commission can report such complaints to the Parliament and suggest recommendations. However, the Australian Government is not obligated to adopt the recommendations made by the Commissioner before the Parliament. Need for introducing the National Charter One of the fundamental purposes of introducing a National Charter is to safeguard the human rights of the community from the abuse or misuse of power by the government. Several people in the community are debarred from the human right protection and the individuals, in particular, the vulnerable and the disadvantaged such as the indigenous, children, elderly, homosexuals and other minorities. It is imperative that the country adopts a national charter to ensure protection is granted to the disadvantaged and vulnerable. The significance of introducing a National Charter in Australia is discussed below: A charter would improve the accountability and quality of the of the Australian government The introduction of the Charter would set out the responsibilities of the Governments, Ministers and other governmental departments. The courts would enable these authorities and bodies to respect and value the rights of the Australian citizens. The benefits of introducing a national Charter is evident from the experience of other countries such as the UK Human Rights act 1998, New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990, USA Bill of Rights 1971, which states that it focuses more on the experience of the individual ensuring protection of their human rights. Intensification of the Human rights protections for all Australians Several critics have stated that the country is a signatory to several important, international human rights agreements. However, in practice, such international human rights cannot be enforced through the domestic legal system as they are often not incorporated intp Australian Law. The enforcement of such international law has been restricted and the individuals mainly rely on the fair treatment practice executed by the Common law principles and the executive. These legislative provisions may be fragile and inconsistent at times owing to the incline in the power of the executive, which makes remedying human rights violations difficult and intricate. Social Justice According to critics, the politician o the country should be trusted and if necessary , vote them out as the democratic system of the country provides best protection of human rights. However, there are several policies that have been formulated without having due consideration about the human rights standards, such as detention laws, NT emergency response, immigration laws etc. The need for human rights in the social inclusion policies is pertinent as it emphasizes on fairness and the Charter shall lay the foundation for resolving issues related to fairness, in particular under those circumstances where the prevailing the legislations fail to provide effective remedy against the unfair treatment. The Charter shall aim at rendering social, economic and cultural justice for all the citizens of the country. Gaps in the existing Australian human rights legislation In regards to the aboriginals or the indigenous communities, there have been alarming instances in the past, which is evident to establish that the aboriginal have been subject to discrimination. The recent laws passed by the Australian government with respect to the indigenous community such as, the Native Title Act or the Northern Territory Emergency Response (NT intervention) legislation failed to secure protection for the aboriginals. In the NT intervention, the Federal Government suspended the stipulated provisions of the Racial Discrimination Act for applying the certain rules, which is non-applicable for the non-indigenous people. In regards to the asylum seekers, the High Court was compelled to rule in the Behroozs case that the imprisonment of the asylum seekers for a long time irrespective of the conditions of their detention was legal. Further, in Woolleys case, the court was unable to pass an order for releasing the detained children because the domestic law of the country did not recognize the children human rights. it is also evident in the case Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs v Teoh, where the High Court accepted Australias statutory obligations under the UN treaty of the Rights of the Child even though such Treaty has been ratified but has not been implemented. A federal Human Rights Act would ensure that the issues related to human rights are taken into careful considerations while formulating the policies. The Parliament shall take into consideration how the enacted legislations would affect the human rights of the citizens. The parliament should set up agencies and Committees that would act as watch dogs to ensure en effective implementation of the human rights. This would provide the indigenous people a means of drawing the attention of the government towards the discriminatory treatment that the indigenous are subjected to before the enactment of the legislations. Conclusion If the Country adopts a National Charter, it would provide the citizens of the citizens of the country with an opportunity to have a say about the violation of their human rights and expect that their violations shall be remedied. The National Charter would enable the Commission to make significant contribution to the national consultation and ensure that such consultations made comply with the human rights obligation of the country. The introduction of the Bill of Rights shall be beneficial to the country and it is imperative for the country to put it in line with the other democratic countries and the meet the obligations of the countries with respect to the several treaties that it has ratified. Further, the enactment of a National Charter would also establish that fact that every individual is entitled to enjoy their human rights irrespective of their ages, caste, race, sex,, nationality and the human rights should be placed above politics and ensured that such human rights are s afeguarded form being exploited and misused by the government. The introduction of the Bill of Rights would ensure that policies are formulated with an objective to the promote social justice and to focus on the fairness of the treatments to which the individuals are entitled. The bill shall promote acceptance and respect for the fundamental liberties and rights and encourage awareness and tolerance within the community. It would ensure that the vulnerable and the disadvantaged are guaranteed equality in all aspect without being subject to discrimination. From the arguments discussed above, the country must introduce a National Charter, as it would be in the interest of the public. Although, it is still acknowledgeable that the National Charter is not the only way to safeguard the human rights and there is a need for the protections provided by the States and territories, prevailing legislations and the common law system. Given the gaps in the existing legislation, the country should consider introducing a National Charter to reinforce the human rights legislations with a view to safeguard the citizens from violations, thus promoting social justice. Reference list Australian Human rights Commission [1986] (Cth) Behrooz v Secretary of the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous affairs [2004] HCA 36 Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Act 1986 (Cth) Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs v Teoh [1995] 183 CLR 273 Native Title Act [1993] (Cth) New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990, Northern Territory Emergency Response (NT intervention) legislation2007 Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Cth) Re Woolley [2004] HCA 49 The International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination) The Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth) UK Human Rights act 1998, USA Bill of Rights 1971