Commission
welcomes new chair of
UN Commission on Human Rights
The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) has welcomed the election of the Australian Ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, Mike Smith, to the Chair of the UN Human Rights Commission for 2004.
HREOC hopes Mr Smith, who was the Vice-Chair of the UN Commission in 2003, uses this opportunity to show leadership and set standards for protecting and promoting human rights throughout the world.
Australian Human Rights Commissioner Dr Sev Ozdowski said that the UN is an essential element of international relations in the new millennium and the UN Human Rights Commission was an important component of the UN and its role in the protection of human rights worldwide.
“It is important that Mr Smith uses this position to promote better observance of human rights standards and emphasise the importance of national human rights institutions throughout the world,” said Dr Ozdowski.
HREOC continues to foster greater understanding and protection of human rights in Australia and to address human rights issues facing a broad range of individuals and groups.
The Commission has also played a significant role in the development of human rights protection in the Asia-Pacific region through the Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions.
President John von Doussa QC will be representing the Commission at the 8th Annual Meeting of the Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions in Kathmandu, Nepal from 16 to 18 February 2004.
The theme for this year’s annual meeting is National Human Rights Institutions and the Primacy of the Rule of Law in Countering Terrorism.
Media contact: Paul Oliver (02) 9284 9880 or 0408 469 347
Last updated 22 January 2004.
