Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission
Annual Report 2003 - 2004
Chapter 11: International Activities
In 2003-04, as in past years, much of our international work was in the form of bilateral technical cooperation programs with the national human rights institutions of other countries, or related agencies. These programs, which are based around sharing knowledge and expertise, are generally delivered through the framework of the Australian Government's development cooperation program, which is administered by the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID).
The fact that the Commission has a role in the delivery of international human rights programs is due to the expertise we have developed in fulfilling our domestic mandate. In some cases, regional countries wish to access this expertise in pursuit of their own human rights objectives. In other cases, the Australian Government wishes to use our expertise in pursuit of its development cooperation objectives.
The Commission's most substantial international program involvement is with the China-Australia Human Rights Technical Cooperation Program (HRTC), which is an integral part of the annual Dialogue on Human Rights with China. The Commission participated in dialogue meetings held in China in July 2003.
The HRTC program encompasses three principal themes: protection of the rights of women and children; protection of ethnic minority rights; and reform of the legal system. Each year, HRTC undertakes a series of activities intended to assist China to promote and protect human rights. In 2003-04, the program included providing scholarships for Chinese officials to study human rights in Australia, and community level workshops on subjects such as measures to combat trafficking in women and children. The Commission also sponsored a visit by Chinese authorities to Thailand and Vietnam to study their anti-trafficking strategies.
The Commission has hosted visits to Australia by Chinese officials working in areas relevant to human rights protection to work with their Australian counterparts. These visits have included Chinese judges, prison system officials and officials involved in development of educational policies for minority groups.
The Commission also participated in the second session of the annual Australia-Vietnam Dialogue on International Organisations and Legal Issues, held in Canberra in June 2003, and the third session, held in Vietnam in June 2004, which included discussion of human rights issues.
As part of the dialogues, the Commission hosted a study visit by officials of the Government of Vietnam in July 2003. The study visit examined Australian systems for the protection of human rights and their relevance to Vietnamese priorities and explored options for a longer term program of technical cooperation. The possibility of such a program is being considered by Vietnamese and Australian authorities.
In addition to these bilateral international programs, the Commission maintained our involvement in a number of multilateral bodies concerned with the protection and promotion of human rights. The Commission participated in the following international conferences and meetings:
- National Human Rights Institutions and the Administration of Justice Roundtable Conference, Copenhagen, Denmark, November 2004
- International Race Relations Round Table for Race Relations and Race Discrimination Commissioners, Auckland, New Zealand, February 2004
- Eighth Annual Meeting of the Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions, Kathmandu, Nepal, February 2004
- 12th UN Asia Pacific Workshop on Regional Cooperation for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights in the Asia Pacific Region, Doha, Qatar, March 2004
- 60th Session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, Geneva, Switzerland, April 2004
- Annual Meeting of the International Coordinating Committee of National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (ICC), Geneva, Switzerland, April, 2004, and
- Pacific Islands Human Rights Consultation, Suva, Fiji, June 2004.
