Castan Centre for Human Rights Law

Tag: Commonwealth

  • The 2015 Human Rights Report – Is the Pacific a Tropical Paradise? Not if you are LGBT

    By Paula Gerber This piece is featured in the 2015 Castan Centre Human Rights Report. We will be featuring the articles on the blog throughout the month of May.  Most of us know that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people face dire threats in countries like Russia, Uganda, Nigeria and Iran.  The media is filled with…

  • Commonwealth Games: is it time to stop playing?

    By Paula Gerber Barely six months ago, international anger and calls for a boycott of the Winter Olympics in Russia drew nearly as much news coverage as the games’ sporting achievements. And as the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow get under way, it is worth remembering that although Scotland has nothing to match Russia’s gay propaganda laws, the…

  • 2014 Castan Human Rights Report: LGBTI rights around the world, A rollercoaster ride!

    By Paula Gerber In 2014, one can barely read the news without coming across a story about lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people. These stories range from celebrations that yet another jurisdiction has legalised marriage for same-sex couples, to despair at the violence, discrimination and persecution inflicted on individuals because of their sexual…

  • Is the criminalisation of homosexuality in the Commonwealth a relic of the British Empire?

    By Associate Professor Paula Gerber Last week The Conversation published an article by Timothy Jones entitled ‘Colonialism, Homophobia and the legality of gay sex in the Commonwealth’. Jones was highly critical of a recent report published by the Kaleidoscope Trust, entitled Speaking Out: the rights of LGBTI citizens from across the Commonwealth. He states that…

  • Decriminalising homosexuality worldwide: should Australia get involved?

    By Paula Gerber, Monash University and Joel Gory, Monash University In Australia, there is an ongoing debate around the right for same-sex couples to marry. The majority of laws discriminating against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people were repealed in 2008. Earlier this year, the Sex Discrimination Act (1984) was also amended to prohibit…

  • The High Court and the Freedom of Political Communication

    By Melissa Castan What do Australian charities’ tax exemptions, #Twitdef and Wikileaks all have in common? Give me a moment. Last week the High Court held that Aid/Watch is a charitable organisation for the purposes of tax assessment. This would be unremarkable, but Aid/Watch is an organisation that campaigns for effective foreign aid policies through…

Blog at WordPress.com.