Castan Centre for Human Rights Law

Category: Auslaw

  • Preventing asylum seekers’ return to harm through the High Court

    By Maria O’Sullivan Later today, the High Court is due to hear a challenge to the screening and transfer of a boatload of Sri Lankan asylum seekers back to Sri Lankan authorities. Under international law, return of persons to their country of origin without properly ascertaining if they are refugees is clearly in breach of…

  • Handing over Tamils to the state they fled breaks international law

    by Azadeh Dastyari Australia appears to have reached a new all-time low in its violation of international obligations and its treatment of vulnerable people seeking Australia’s protection. If widespread media reports are true, Australia is preparing to hand over to the Sri Lankan Navy a group of Tamil asylum seekers who fled Sri Lanka. The group reportedly includes 37…

  • Child workers in Vietnam face further exploitation

    Vietnamese children as young as 11 are working for up to 18 hours a day in harsh and abusive conditions, often unpaid and denied communication with their families, a study shows. The study, led by Professor Susan Kneebone of Monash University’s Castan Centre for Human Rights Law in collaboration with the children’s foundation Blue Dragon, looks at the causes and…

  • Freeing the RDA ‘Free Speech’ submissions

    Some submissions on the proposed amendments to S18C & D, Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Cth): by Melissa Castan The Australian Government is currently considering amendments to section 18C and D of the Racial Discrimination Act 1975, and in March 2014 called for submissions on an exposure draft (available here). It has been estimated that over 5000…

  • Deterring and denying asylum seekers in Australia

    By Azadeh Dastyari Australia has long prided itself on its commitment to fairness. It is a signatory to a range of international conventions intended to protect the vulnerable and has in the past provided sanctuary for those seeking refuge, most notably in the wake of the Vietnam War. In recent years, however, successive Australian governments…

  • As region’s homophobia turns deadly, let’s stand up for rights

    By Associate Professor Paula Gerber Although Australia does not yet allow same-sex couples to marry, it is not a country that is generally described as homophobic. The days of it being a crime to be gay here are, thankfully, a relic of a bygone era. By and large, Australian laws protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender…