back to UN Permanent Forum pages
DAILY BULLETIN – DAY SIX
29 April 2008
Produced for the Aboriginal Peoples and Torres Strait Islander Peoples of Australia Compiled by FAIRA on behalf of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Caucus at the UNPFII
CONTENTS
- Traditional Owners Fight to Defend Lake Cowal Against Gold Mine
- Tom Calma Talks of the Independence of the Human Rights Commission
Traditional Owners Fight to Defend Lake Cowal Against Gold Mine
'Chappy' Neville Williams, Wiradjuri traditional owner, called upon the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to investigate the rights of Aboriginal Peoples to their natural resources and traditional lands.
He took the floor today at the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, under the agenda item on Human Rights, to highlight the abuse of the rights of traditional owners in Australia.
Declaring that Australia oppresses Aboriginal spirituality and religious freedom, Chappy said that many of the rights in the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples are being abused through mining on sacred lands.
He said that the Aboriginal Peoples must have the fundamental freedom to retain connection with 'country'.
'Ours are the oldest living cultures in the world based upon the law of the Dreaming, with song lines and dreaming tracks interweaving across the country,' he said in his statement to the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.
'We have absolutely no power within the colonial legal system.
'We have no right of veto; there is no recognition of Aboriginal sovereignty over natural resources.
'The National Native Title Tribunal told us that if we claim the minerals in the earth as part of our inheritance, our native title claim will not pass the registration test,' Chappy said.
Barrick Gold, a Canadian gold mining company, is bringing 6,000 tonnes of cyanide a year onto the floodplains of Lake Cowal as part of the mining operations.
Chappy claimed that Barrick Gold undertook consultations with some Aboriginal people before mining, but it did not consult with the traditional owners.
He said that the traditional owners did not give their 'free, prior and informed consent' to the mining, and that they are continuing their case through the Federal Court of Australia.
'Our oppression is a health hazard,' he said.
'Our spirituality is bonded with our lands and waters, and denial of access severely harms our spiritual, mental, social and physical well- being.
'Racism is a health hazzard.
'Our people have some of the worst social indicators in the world,'
Chappy claimed in the statement.
He called for the High Commissioner on Human Rights to evaluate whether Aboriginal Peoples in Australia could exercise their human rights.
Chappy said that the relationship between the Government of Australia and the Aboriginal Peoples can be determined by assessing the issues of sovereignty, the Australian Constitution, genocide, reparations and the need for a treaty.
Tom Calma Talks of the Independence of the Human Rights Commission
Today Tom Calma took a short break from his busy schedule to talk to young Aboriginal leaders attending the seventh session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.
The young leaders are examining the way the United Nations operates and how Indigenous Peoples around the world are participating in the UN and international meetings to address the needs of their communities.
Their experience at the UN headquarters in New York follows training received in Australia, under the Diplomacy Training Program, to familiarise people with the human rights system in Australia and universally.
Tom Calma, who hold the position of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner and also the position of Race Commissioner in the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, explained how Australia has established the Commission in conformity with the 'Paris Principles' established at the international level.
The Paris Principles includes the requirement that a national institution be vested with the competence to protect and promote human rights.
They call upon the institution to have as broad a mandate as possible, to report independently to the parliament, to take up situation where human rights are violated, and encourage ratification of international human rights instruments.
Tom Calma's role is to independently examine the situation of human rights in Australia, consistent with his appointed portfolio of responsibilities, and report to the Parliament of Australia each year.
It is then up to the Parliament to consider his report and recommendations to ensure that the human rights of everyone, and especially the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population, are being promoted and protected in accordance with Australia's obligations under international human rights treaties.
Tom Calma's two reports for last year, on social justice for Aboriginal Peoples and on the Native Title laws, were tabled in the Australian Parliament last month.
Listening to Tom's explanations the young leaders are able to make the strong connection between the promotion and protection of human rights at the global level and at the domestic level.
Australia has had a very good reputation at the international level on its role in human rights.
Currently, in the Asia and Pacific region, only New Zealand and Australia have a national human rights institution which meets the standard set by the Paris Principles.
The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission is helping other countries in the region to establish similar mechanisms for the protection and promotion of human rights in those countries.
Many countries look to Australia to take the lead in ensuring that democratic and effective mechanisms are in place to maintain universal human rights standards, but Australia's relationship with the Aboriginal Peoples is inconsistent with Australia's overall performance.
The Rudd Government has already mended and improved its standing with the international community by making a formal apology to the Aboriginal people devastated by the 'Stolen Generations' policies of the past, an event which featured around the world.
At the Permanent Forum the question on everyone's lips is 'when will the Australian Government announce its support for the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples'?
ENDS
