Sixty years of Human Rights

Although much needs to be done, because the UDHR sets clear standards, can and does inspire to action, and continues to occupy high moral ground, I think the improvements in human rights are achievable.

Back in 2001, as Federal Human Rights Commissioner I began working on the situation of children in immigration detention. Allow me to make two points:

First, when it was explained to Australians what the Government is doing to children in Immigration detention - Australians stopped supporting government policy of indefinite mandatory detention of children; they changed their mind.

Second, during the 2000-2004 period I witnessed the emergence of a great people power coalition around the mandatory detention issue. This led to a win in the battle of ideas which lead to the Howard government stopping the indefinite and mandatory detention of children.

To secure a bill of rights for Australia, both our government and our civil society leaders need to provide leadership and stay engaged with the Australian public during the period of consultations on the human rights bill.

Australia also needs to give a higher priority to the human rights education at our schools. Culture around human rights is not automatically acquired at the birth. To add to such a culture there needs to be focus on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, its history, and the principles it exposes.

However, the ultimate test of our commitment to human rights as a nation is not what we aspire to, not the conventions we sign, and not even the laws that are set in place. Rather it is how we treat our most vulnerable and powerless.