International engagement

The role of international engagement

The Commission is Australia's national human rights institution (NHRI). The Commission works to promote and protect human rights in Australia and internationally.

This section explains how the Commission engages internationally, including through

• UN human rights mechanisms
• Other NHRIs
• Other countries (though technical cooperation programs).

Engagement with the United Nations

Responsibility to cooperate

As Australia's accredited NHRI, the Commission has an important role to play at the UN. The Commission has a responsibility to cooperate with

• the UN
• any organisation in the UN system
• regional institutions
• other NHRIs

to support the promotion and protection of human rights.

Monitoring Australia's human rights

The Commission monitors when Australia's human rights performance is reviewed by UN human rights bodies. Where possible, the Commission participants in these reviews and provides independent reports on Australia's human rights progress and shortcomings. This includes reporting on whether Australia is meeting its international human rights obligations and identifying areas for improvement.

Examples of UN engagement

The Commission regularly engages with a range of UN mechanisms, including by

• taking part in treaty body periodic review processes.
• taking part in the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process.
• taking part in sessions of the Human Rights Council and other sessions of the UN including the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and the Commission on the Status of Women.
• engaging with Special Rapporteurs, other Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council and assisting with country visits to Australia.
• responding to calls for submissions, questionnaires and requests for information from UN agencies.
• participating in working groups for the drafting of new human rights instruments.

UN Human Rights Treaty Bodies

Who Australia must report to

Australia has agreed to 7 core UN human rights treaties.

How the reporting process to UN human rights treaty bodies works

These committees have varying modalities, but generally include the development of a list of issues, an appearance before the committee and the development of concluding observations. The Commission is invited to provide input during each part of this process. Access a list of the reporting status for Australia's human rights treaties.

Submission made by the Commission to UN treaty bodies can be found on the submission page.

The Universal Periodic Review

The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a process undertaken by the UN Human Rights Council. It involves review of the human rights records of all 193 UN Member States once every four and half years.

Australia's UPR appearance occurred in 2011, 2015 and 2021. The fourth cycle will take place in 2026.

Detailed information on the UPR process, and the Commission's submission to the fourth UPR cycle, is available on the Commission's UPR webpage.

Participation in the Human Rights Council and other UN bodies

As an accredited NHRI, the Commission can:

• make an oral statement under all substantive agenda items of the Human Rights Council
• participate through video messages in the HRC plenary debates, panels or annual discussions
• submit documents, which will be issued with UN document symbol
• take separate seating in all sessions of the HRC.

The Commission also has participation rights with UN bodies in New York, most notably:

• the Commission on the Status of Women
• the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
• the Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
• the Open-ended Working Group on Ageing
• the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Engagement with Special Rapporteurs

Special Rapporteurs are independent human rights experts appointed by the Human Rights Council. Special Rapporteurs have a specific country or thematic mandate and can visit countries to identify and address issues relevant to their mandate.

Australia has a standing invitation to all Special Rapporteurs who have thematic mandates. The Commission provides information to relevant Special Rapporteurs and provides support for any country visits to Australia. For example, the Commission made a submission to the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants in June 2025.

Commission engagement with National Human Rights Institutions

Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions

The Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI), formerly the International Coordinating Committee of National Institutions for the promotion and protection of rights (ICC), is the international association of NHRIs from all parts of the globe. The Commission is a bureau member of GANHRI and regular engages with the GANHRI secretariat and the GANHRI chair (currently the NHRI of Germany) on the development of statements and submissions to UN bodies. The Commission's President attends GANHRI annual conferences and bureau meetings.

GANHRI also undertakes accreditation of NHRIs to ensure that they are in accordance with the Paris Principles. Accredited NHRIs are given an 'A-status' which grants participation rights at the Human Rights Council and other UN bodies. The Commission last underwent a reaccreditation process in 2022 and retained its "A-status" accreditation status.

Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions

As a founding member of the Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions (APF), the Commission works in partnership with other NHRIs to explore the pressing human rights issues facing our region. The APF is the official regional network of NHRIs and facilitates engagement with GANHRI and other NHRIs. The Commission President is a forum councillor of the APF and attends APF general meetings. The Commission regular consults with the APF in sharing best practices and building capacity of NHRIs across the Asia Pacific region.

The APF currently has 18 full members and 8 associate members.

Commonwealth Forum of National Human Rights Institutions

The Commission is a member of the Commonwealth Forum of National Human Rights Institutions (CFNHRI). At the end of June 2013, the Commission formally concluded its two-year term as chair of the CFNHRI. During its term as Chair, the Commission built the CFNHRI's capacity to support and strengthen the work of individual NHRIs in promoting and protection human rights across the Commonwealth.

The Commission achieved important outcomes at the administrative and functional level. These outcomes relate to building the new website and facilitating the sharing of information; as well as substantive human rights issues such as disability, sexual orientation and gender identity, and climate change and human rights.

The CFNHRI has 46 members.

Technical Cooperation

Working with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Commission engages in human rights technical cooperation activities with other countries.

The Commission currently engages in human rights cooperation programs with Lao PDR, Vietnam and the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights.

Further information on our technical cooperation activities is available in the Commission's Annual Reports.

Further reading

• Read revitalising Australia's commitment to human rights, the final report of the Commission's major, five year Inquiry into Australia's human rights framework. It recommends a National Human Rights Act for Australia and a framework to support it.
• Review the latest News from the Australian Human Rights Commission.
• Have Your Say on the current inquiries, projects and conversations about human rights in Australia.
• Review accurate and easy to understand statistics about key areas of human rights in Australia.
• Find out more about how the Australian Human Rights Commission was established.