Human rights are something which every individual must have no matter which country he/she belongs. Human rights are a part of our lives, and most of us take it for granted. Australia is proud of its human rights, and though it is not perfect, many people are given privileges for various things.
Protection of human rights in Australia:
Very often the human rights are not given to people, and even though there is a law, the citizens are often withheld from it. The government of Australia tries so hard to protect the human rights of its land and to bring the human right standards on an international level to Australia; it has introduced these laws as domestic law. These laws cannot be overruled by any state in Australia.
State governments of Australia have a major role in altering the human rights in Australia. They have the power to make laws which relate to justice, education and health.
Human rights issues in Australia:
Australia is a vibrant country which has a multicultural democracy, and it believes in protecting the civil rights of its citizens. However, there have been some serious human rights issues which were raised in the country. Some people are denied some of the basic rights just because of their race and colour. People are discriminated by their sex, and there are groups in Australia who are never given the basic human rights just because of who they are. About 20% of Australians speak other languages at home other than English, and these people though being from different races need to be given basic rights.
International treaties signed by Australia:
The country is keen in developing its standards in international human rights and thus has signed many international treaties. Some of them include Civil and Political Rights, Discrimination against Women, Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination etc.
Indigenous rights:
When compared to non indigenous people, the indigenous people are said to be imprisoned and aborigines are said to be convicted for many crimes. Though there is a law which says that the indigenous people’s crimes can be a sanction of last resort, the imprisonment of these people has only increased in the past years.
Children’s rights:
In the year 2016, at a youth detention facility children were tear-gassed, stripped and shackled. There were many shortcomings in the juvenile detention centres and even though all these happened, no action was taken by the territory officials and thus the Prime Minister immediately had announce the Royal commission to the youth detention centres in the country.
Disability Rights:
In the year 2015, the senate of the country came to know that disable people are abused and neglected. The National Disability Insurance Scheme was introduced in the year 2016 to bring down the abuse that is done to the disable people.