National Human Rights Committee
The National Human Rights Committee was established in November 2013. It considers matters referred to it by the Executive and the Secretariat of the Law Council. The primary purpose of the Committee is to advise the Law Council on the domestic implementation of Australia's key human rights obligations, having regard to the rights and issues that are of priority interest to the legal profession.
The Committee:
- Responds to proposed or existing federal laws, programs or policies that seek to implement or fail to implement Australia's key human rights obligations
- Engages with or responds to inquiries, reports or findings of relevant international and national bodies concerning Australia’s domestic implementation of its human rights obligations
- Responds to requests for advice by other Law Council committees or sections that are confronted with human rights considerations in their work
- Develops and implements Law Council of Australia policy on human rights matters of interest to the legal profession
- As part of this work promotes the Law Council’s Policy Statement on Rule of Law Principles
Issues
The work of the National Human Rights Committee includes:
- Monitoring developments relating to asylum-seekers and national security
- Engagement with Business and Human Rights Working Group
- Contributing to various submissions, such as the Law Council’s response to the Australian Law Reform Commission’s Interim Report for Freedoms Inquiry
- Utilisation of the Law Council’s Special Consultative Status with the United Nations, including through preparing shadow reports and attending relevant conferences or sessions
- Development of closed symposium on death penalty with members of Criminal Law Committee
- Watching brief on: mandatory detention; Indigenous incarceration (including children in out-of-home care), preventative detention and criminal convictions for homosexual crimes
Members
- Mr Nicholas Cowdery AO KC (Chair)
- Mr Stephen Keim SC
- Mr Greg McIntyre SC
- Mr Kirk McKenzie
- Mr Emrys Nekvapil
- Dr Matthew Stubbs
- Professor Andrew Byrnes
- Ms Jacinta Lewin
- Dr Emma Phillips
Contacts
Dr Adam Fletcher
T. 02 6246 3708
E. adam.fletcher@lawcouncil.asn.au
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