Human Rights

During learning, the unit on Indigenous Rights covers modules containing rights of the indigenous communities. This unit discusses the privileges given to the aboriginal communities. Indigenous rights refer to the privileges granted to the ethnic people in acknowledgment with their situation as the native habitats of a nation.¹ Similar to other people, native inhabitants have all their rights in the human rights universal declaration, but their rights are detailed as they hold a distinctive position as the original occupiers of a region.  The rights not only involve the generally known mortal privileges but also the protection of their practices and beliefs.² Indigenous people refer to the original inhabitants of a region before the occupation of the territory by outsiders.

Throughout the unit on Indigenous Rights, I will engage my mind in learning activities that will help in improving my understanding of this unit. Participating in group discussions, for instance, will aid in gaining diverse knowledge concerning what my group members know. Having the underlying information on what aboriginal rights are is not enough as the world has changed and is recognizing these people’s rights exclusively. By the end, if this topic, I expect to have achieved a profound knowledge of the privileges granted to native communities. The other expectation is to understand mortal civil rights and how rights are safeguarded in Australia.³ Also; I should be able to explain what decolonization is and also the affirmations made by the United Nations concerning indigenous rights.

According to my understanding, human rights refer to the general privileges granted to the entire human race in the world, irrespective of their origin, beliefs or occupations. They include; the right being, the right to liberty, the freedom to be alive without judgment and liberty from captivity, to name a few.⁴ These rights are recognized throughout a person’s life right from when he or she is born till demise. Shared principles, for instance, parity, deference, liberation, and poise are the foundations of human rights. No one is authorized to snatch the mortal privileges from people as they are a fundamental element in ensuring the well-being of individuals. In case a person defies the rules in a country, he or she automatically limits the extent to which he or she can enjoy the social privileges.

Throughout the world, the rudimentary privileges of humans are contained in an intercontinental article called The Human Rights Universal Declaration. It was established in Paris in December 1948 by the General Congress of the United Nations. Its main agenda was to signify the mortal rights elementary doctrines. The affirmation elaborates the responsibilities that the member nations should exercise regarding the human rights.⁵ it also has different privileges that everyone should enjoy including, liberty from cruelty, demeaning behavior and freedom to exist.

The protection of human rights in Australia

In my opinion, protection of mortal rights refers to how the state practices and safeguards the privileges of its population. Security could be through laws that are formulated in a country regarding its people and their interests.

Most liberal republics safeguard the rights of people in a single document containing Bill of rights. However, in Australia the privileges are listed in the constitution, laws approved by Commonwealth Legislature and also in the judge made rule. According to the Australian High Court Chief Justice, Murray Gleeson,  in his Boyer Lecture broadcast on the day of the rights of humans, (10 December 2000), the Constitution of Australia is massively involved with practicality instead of philosophy.⁶  Nonetheless, the constitution contains privileges of individuals in its different sections. Examples of these rights include; liberty of conviction contained in Section 116, right to the ballot that is found in Section 41 and also the prevention of discernment regarding the region of nationality in Section 117. There was a decision by the court in 1992 that the notations of the constitution entail liberty for residents to examine matters of politics.⁷

The common law is also referred to as the judge made law and was innate from the United Kingdom. Most of the Australian adjudicators use the shared law standard to safeguard social rights. An instance is when; a court of law is committed to forbid a discriminating hearing to proceed even if there is no respect of liberty for open lawful representation in an illegal court-martial.⁸ under the legislature, there are acts like those of the Commission of Human Rights and Discrimination which is accountable for safeguarding mortal rights.

In Australia, the anti-discrimination doctrine is crucial in preserving rights stating that, every individual should relish their privileges irrespective of infirmity, gender or ethnicity.

Decolonization refers to the process by which a country gains its liberation by triumphing over the colonist. In this case, the aboriginal culture is given preference and recognized over the governing interests.⁹ Decolonization helps people regain their individuality, region, and values. Through decolonization, even the non-indigenous inhabitants are brought to the point of recognizing and promoting the rights and culture of Aboriginal individuals.

In all the Commonwealth nations, Australia is the only country that has refrained from an agreement with its indigenous people.  As a result, the natives are not yet officially acknowledged in the Australian constitution. There have been instances of discriminations that affect the original community negatively.¹⁰ among them is the denial of having an Aboriginal representative in the Legislature by the Turnbull’s regime. Through decolonization, both the aboriginal and no-indigenous residents in Australia have been brought together to rebuild their country and to recognize native culture.

Decolonization

On September 13, 2007, the General Assembly implemented the UNDRIP which received favor from a hundred and forty-four states while four states including Australia were against it. After nine years down the line, the rejecting nations have now embraced UNDRIP.¹¹ The UNDRIP forms a basis by which the rights of aboriginal people are recognized and practiced. It set the principles that govern respect for the welfare, existence, and poise of natives. Its articles expound on the prevailing mortal privileges and liberties that concern the aboriginal individuals.  For instance, Article 3 of the UNDRIP has it that, the aboriginal people have the right to autonomy and this allows them to follow their ethnic, commercial, governmental and communal developments. Article 9 gives the natives the privilege to fit in a nation in harmony with the traditions of that nation without being victimized.¹²

All the items have a clear indication that, the UNDRIP articles recognize the aboriginal communities with regard as the other individuals and hence enjoy the same rights.

Reforms are made in the constitution to amend its elements.  The Australian law has no remarks or considerations on the indigenous people.  In the pursuit for acknowledgment of the indigenous people, the act for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People was initiated on March 27, 2013.¹³ The establishment document in Australia authorizes the Commonwealth to enact ethnically discerning laws that exclude people from voting by their ethnicity. There have been recommendations on adjusting the constitution by eliminating sections that promote racism.¹⁴ For instance, the removal of section 51(xxvi) which helps the Commonwealth ethnic supremacy and section 25 that rejects voting of individuals based on their ethnicity.

Slattery, Brian, “Understanding aboriginal rights,” Can. B. Rev. 66 (1987)

Marks, Greg, “Sovereign States vs. Peoples: Indigenous Rights and the Origins of International Law.” Austl. Indigenous L. Rep. 5 (2000):

Keenan, Sarah, “Moments of decolonization: Indigenous Australia in the here and now.” Canadian Journal of Law & Society/La Revue Canadienne Droit et Société 29, no. 2 (2014): 163-180.

Anaya, James, and Robert Williams Jr, “The protection of indigenous peoples’ rights over lands and natural resources under the Inter-American human rights system.” Harv. Hum. Rts. J. 14 (2001): 33.

Chesterman, John, Civil rights: how indigenous Australians won formal equality. Univ. of Queensland Press, 2005.

Champagne, Duane, “UNDRIP (United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples): human, civil, and Indigenous rights.” Wicazo Sa Review 28, no. 1 (2013): 9-22.

Cowan, Anna, “UNDRIP and the intervention: Indigenous self-determination, participation, and racial discrimination in the northern territory of Australia.” Pac. Rim L. & Pol’y J. 22 (2013): 247.

Williams, George. “A Bill of Rights for Australia,” (2003)

Mathew, Penelope, “International Law and the Protection of Human Rights in Australia: recent trends.” Sydney L. Rev. 17 (1995): 177.

K Magney and J Garden, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples Recognition Act 2013, Bills Digest, 74, 2012-13, Parliamentary Library, Canberra, 2013.

Chief Justice Murray Gleeson, “Boyer Lectures-Four Aspects of the Constitution”, ABC Radio National, 10 December 2000.

Australian Capital Television Pty Ltd v Commonwealth (1992) 177 CLR 106.

Dietrich v R (1992) 177 CLR 292