Each year the Centre convenes the Annual AHRC Public Lecture and a seminar program with Australian and international speakers on human rights issues of contemporary significance. The AHRCentre Annual Lecture series has featured David Malouf; LSE Professor of Human Rights law, Conor Gearty; South African constitutional and human rights lawyer, Professor Sandra Liebenberg; a transitional justice and human rights expert and Professor Stephen Parmentier from the Catholic University , Leuven.

Events hosted by the AHRC are posted here. Should you wish to be added to the AHRCentre mailing list and receive email alerts of upcoming AHRCentre events please proceed to CONTACT US

Coming Up

Sunday 12th February 2012 - AHRCentre in association with the Sydney Theatre Company present the Annual Lecture with Eve Ensler

Time: 6pm - 8pm
Date: Sunday 12 February 2012
Venue: Main Theatre, Sydney Theatre, Hickson Rd, The Rocks, Sydney


Download the invitation

Register to this event

Tuesday 14th February 2012- Justice for All Conference

In February 2012, the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Faculty of Law and the Australian Human Rights Centre at the University of New South Wales will host an international conference Justice for All? The International Criminal Court - A Conference: A Ten Year Review. The conference will mark the 10th Anniversary of the operation of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and discuss the work and impact of the ICC during its first decade. The President and  Registrar of the ICC will be attending the conference.

The two key objective of the Conference are to examine the role and success of the ICC in achieving gender justice, and to analyse the participation of the Asia Pacific region in the ICC regime. The Conference will review the circumstances and reasons for the Asia Pacific’s limited engagement with the ICC, and the key lessons from other regions about how to achieve ratification and full implementation of the Court’s mandate, including in the area of gender justice. Against the backdrop of the two main themes of gender justice and the Asia Pacific, the Conference will consider the operation of the Rome Statute of the ICC at three distinct levels: within the Court itself, as between states parties, and between the ICC and civil society.

The justice for All Conference will be held at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia, from 13th - 15th, February, 2012. The three day conference will include the Australian Human Rights Centre Annual Public Lecture. Speakers participating in the conference to date include the President of the ICC, Judge Sang-Hyun Song; The Registrar of the ICC, Ms Silvana Arbia; ICC scholars; and representatives from government departments and NGO's. The final day of the conference will be dedicated to capacity-building workshops with delegates from the region.

For more information please proceed to the conference website

Archived 2011

Monday 31st October 2011- Electoral Reform and the Quest for Democracy in Malaysia with Dato’ Ambiga Sreenevasan

Dato’ Ambiga Sreenevasan (LLB Exeter, 1979) is a practising litigation lawyer in Malaysia and a Director of the Securities Industry Dispute Resolution Centre. She was called to the English Bar at Gray’s Inn in 1980 and to the Malaysian Bar in 1982. She has long been an active member of the Malaysian Bar Council, and has been involved in drafting many memoranda on issues relating to the rule of law, the judiciary and the administration of justice, legal aid, religious conversion, the rights of Orang Asli (indigenous persons) and other human rights issues. On 25 September 2007, Dato’ Ambiga led the Malaysian Bar in its historic Walk for Justice, to express concern over the state of the judiciary. This action led directly to the setting up of a Royal Commission of Inquiry and ultimately to the establishment of a Judicial Appointments Commission. She served as President of the Malaysian Bar from 2007 to 2009, and is one of 8 recipients of the U.S. Secretary of State “International Women of Courage” Award for 2009. She was also awarded the Chevalier de Legion d’Honneur (Knight of the Legion of Honour) by France in September 2011. Dato’ Ambiga presently heads BERSIH 2.0, a citizen’s movement for free and fair elections in Malaysia.

Time: 1:00pm start (a light lunch will be served at 12:30pm)
Date: Monday 31st October 2011
Venue: Boardroom, Level 2, Law Building, University of New South Wales
Register: http://www.ahrcentre.org/ahrcevents.html
Map: www.facilities.unsw.edu.au/Maps/maps.html

Download INVITATION

Monday 7th November 2011 - The Abolition of Military Jurisdiction and Recent Developments at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights presented by Christina Cerna

The Australian Human Rights Centre and the International Law and Policy Group invite you to; The Abolition of Military Jurisdiction and Recent Developments at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights presented by Christina Cerna

Time: 1:00pm start (a light lunch will be served at 12:30pm)
Date: Monday 7 November 2011
Venue: Staff seminar room, Level 2, Law Building, University of New South Wales
Register: http://www.ahrcentre.org/ahrcevents.html
Map: www.facilities.unsw.edu.au/Maps/maps.html

Christina Cerna - B.A., New York University; M.A., Fulbright Scholar, Ludwig-Maximilian Universitaet (Munich); J.D., Dean’s Fellow,
American University; LL.M., Columbia University. Ms. Cerna is Principal Human Rights Specialist at the Inter-American Commission on
Human Rights (IACHR) at the headquarters of the Organization of American States (OAS) in Washington, D.C.. She has been with the
OAS since 1979 and is currently in charge of certain special cases and systematizing the IACHR’s jurisprudence. She taught international
human rights law as an Adjunct for the law schools at George Washington University, Penn State University and, since 2005, at
Georgetown University.

The AHRCentre and the ILPG would like to acknowledge the Social Justice Initiative at the University of Melbourne for facilitating Christina Cerna’s visit to Australia.

Download the INVITATION

Monday 17th October 2012- Sri Lanka after the War: Rights, Governance and the Law presented by Dr Deepika Udagama

Sri Lanka was once known for its high social indicators and tranquil way of life. Today, Sri Lanka presents a study in contrasts. While
still boasting high social indicators, it has nevertheless seen sustained violence and fractious ethnic politics for decades. In May 2009 a
nearly three decade long civil war came to an end with the government forces defeating the secessionist Liberation Tigers of Tamil
Eelam (LTTE). In her presentation the speaker will discuss human rights and governance issues facing post-war Sri Lanka, and critically
assess the role of law in facilitating national reconciliation.

Time: 1:00pm start (a light lunch will be served at 12:30pm)
Date: Monday 17th October 2011
Venue: Staff seminar room, Level 2, Law Building, University of New South Wales
Register: http://www.ahrcentre.org/ahrcevents.html
Map: www.facilities.unsw.edu.au/Maps/maps.html

Deepika Udagama had her early legal education in Sri Lanka and went on to the University California at Berkeley for graduate studies
where she earned both Masters and Doctor of Juridical Science degrees in international human rights law. On her return to Sri Lanka she
played a pioneering role in introducing human rights law into legal education in Sri Lanka. She was the Founding Director of the Centre
for the Study of Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka (1989- 2007) through which human rights education
was promoted both at university and school levels. She taught and served as Head of Department of Law (2002-2008) at the
University of Colombo before moving to the University of Peradeniya in Kandy, Sri Lanka. She currently
serves as Head of the Department of Law at Peradeniya University.

Download INVITATION

Register for this event.

Monday 17th October 2012- Prosecutions under Australia's anti-people smuggling legislation: The Real Stories

The Diplomacy Training Program & UNSW Migrant Refugee Rights Project (MRRP) with the
Indonesian Solidarity Network invite you to aSend a forum with: EDWINA LLOYD Blair Criminal Lawyers, Solicitor
defending Indonesian boys and adults charged with people smuggling GERRY GEORGATOS Human Rights Alliance,
Campaigner on behalf of Indonesian children in Australian jails

Time: 1:00pm - 2pm
Date: Monday 17th October 2011
Venue: G04 Thaeatre, Law Building, University of New South Wales
Register: Non
Map: www.facilities.unsw.edu.au/Maps/maps.html

Wednesday 28th September- AHRCentre lunchtime seminar with Professor Robert McCorquodale

Professor Robert McCorquodale is the Director of the British Institute of International and Comparative Law in London.
He is also a Professor of International Law and Human Rights, and former Head of the School of Law, at the University
of Nottingham. He has published widely in the areas of international law and in particular on business and human
rights issues. He has provided advice to governments, corporations, international organisations, non-governmental
organisations and peoples concerning international law and human rights issues.

Time: 1:00pm start (a light lunch will be served at 12:30pm)
Date: Wednesday 28th September 2011
Venue: Staff seminar room, Level 2, Law Building, University of New South Wales
Register: RSVP to b.mcdonald@unsw.edu.au by 26/09/2011
Map: www.facilities.unsw.edu.au/Maps/maps.html

Download INVITATION

Thursday 1st September- Truman Hoyle and AHRCentre invites you to a screening of A Common Purpose

Twenty-five people are convicted of the murder of one man, fourteen are sentenced to hang, one lawyer is assassinated and the other goes into exile. A Common Purpose is the dramatic story behind a notorious murder trial that marks South Africa's transition from apartheid to democracy.Told through the perspectives of defence lawyer, Andrea Durbach, Independent journalist John Carlin and the accused, the story unfolds to reveal one of legal history's biggest cases on the death penalty. A timeless and inspirational story about a struggle for justice in a country where injustice was entrenched in the law.

Winner Audience Award for Best Documentary
2011 Sydney Film Festival

After the screening, there will be a Q&A with Andrea Durbach and director,
Mitzi Goldman.

When: 6:00pm for a 6.45pm start (sharp), Thursday, 1st September 2011
Please join us for a pre-screening drink
Where: Dendy Opera Quays, Circular Quay, Sydney
Tickets: $25 can be purchased from the Box Office or
booked by telephone on (02) 9247 3800

Invitation

Thursday 18th August - AHRCentre invites you to a seminar with Khaled Abu Toameh

Khaled Abu Toameh will address the topic: Palestine in progress: contemporary human rights challenges
in the Palestinian territories

Khaled Abu Toameh is an award-winning, independent Israeli-Arab journalist who has been
covering Palestinian and Israeli issues in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza for over two decades. He is
one of the most highly regarded Palestinian Affairs analysts in the Middle East, offering unique
insights on the Israeli-Palestinian situation. Mr Toameh began his career as a writer for an official PLO
newspaper while attending Hebrew University. He now writes for the Jerusalem Post and works frequently
with American NBC and TV-2 Denmark television. He previously served as a senior writer for the
Jerusalem Report, and a correspondent for Al-Fajr. He has produced several documentaries on the
Palestinians for the BBC and other networks

Download the invitation

Friday 12th August - AHRCentre invites you to a seminar with Martha Nussbaum & Rosalind Dixon

They will address the topic: Children’s Rights & a Capabilities Approach: The Question of Special Priority

Professor Martha Nussbaum is a philosopher and influential intellectual in the fields of classical studies, philosophy, literature,
gender studies, education, and law. A graduate from New York University and Harvard University, Professor Nussbaum has taught
at Harvard, Wellesley College, and Brown University. Currently, she is Ernst Freund Distinguished Service Professor of Law and
Ethics at the University of Chicago, with appointments in the schools of law and divinity, as well as the philosophy department.
Her recent publications include Creating Capabilities: The Human Development Approach (2011), Not For Profit: Why
Democracy Needs the Humanities (2010), and From Disgust to Humanity: Sexual Orientation and Constitutional Law (2010).

Rosalind Dixon is an Assistant Professor in Law at the University of Chicago Law School and currently a Senior Visiting Fellow in the
UNSW Faculty of Law. She earned her BA/LLB from UNSW, and LLM and SJD from Harvard Law School where she served as a
Fellow in the Justice, Welfare, and Economics Program, and a Teaching Fellow in Constitutional Law, Constitutional History,
Comparative Constitutional Law, and Comparative Constitutional Engineering. Her teaching and research interests include
constitutional law, comparative constitutional law and design, international human rights, and
law and gender.

Download the invitation

Tuesday 2nd August- AHRCentre and the UNSW Law Staff Seminar Series invite you to a seminar with Professor Judy Fudge

Professor Judy Fudge will address the topic: The Precarious Migrant Status and Precarious Employment: The Paradox of International Rights for Migrant Workers

Professor Judy Fudge joined the University of Victoria Faculty of Law in January 2007 as the Lansdowne Chair in Law. She has been a visiting fellow at the European University Institute, McGill University's Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism, the London School of Economics, the University of Melbourne and the University of Oxford, and she has held visiting chairs at the University of British Columbia and the University of Saskatchewan. In 2009, Professor Fudge received the Bora Laskin National Fellowship in Human Rights for her research project "Labour Rights as Human Rights: Unions, Women, and Migrants".

Professor Fudge has worked with women’s groups and unorganized workers, and has been involved in law reform efforts to obtain greater equality and democracy in the world of work. She is a member of the Inter-University Research Centre on Globalization and Work. Her publications include Labour Before the Law: The Legal Regulation of Workers' Collective Action (with Eric Tucker, 2001), Privatization, Law and the Challenge to Feminism (with Brenda Cossman, 2002), Precarious Work, Women and the New Economy: The Challenge to Legal Norms (with Rosemary Owens, 2006), and Work on Trial: Canadian Labour Law Struggles (with Eric Tucker, 2010).

Download the invitation

Tuesday 21st June- AHRCentre and and the Network for Interdisciplinary Studies of Law
invite you to a public lecture by Professor Jan Tomasz Gross

Professor Jan Tomasz Gross will address the topic: On the periphery of the Holocaust - Jews and their Polish neighbours

Jan Tomasz Gross, Norman B. Tomlinson '16 and '48 Professor of War and Society, and Professor of History,
Princeton University, is the author of several books about state and society during World War II, including: Polish Society Under German Occupation (Princeton U. Press, 1979), and Revolution from Abroad - Soviet Conquest of Western Ukraine and Western Belorussia (Princeton U. Press, 1988).

His last three books, Neighbors: Destruction of the Jewish Community in Jedwabne, Poland (Princeton, 2001), Fear: Anti-Semitism in Poland after Auschwitz (Random House 2006), and (with Irena Grudzinska-Gross) Golden Harvest (Polish edition, Znak 2011; English edition forthcoming with Oxford University Press), have dealt with the phenomenon of robbing and murder of Jews by their fellow-citizens in Poland (and elsewhere) during World War II. These books have generated a great deal of discussion and controversy, particularly in Poland but also worldwide, and have spawned an unprecedented amount of research and debate on these themes over the last 10 years.

Discussant: Adam Czarnota is Associate Professor of Law, UNSW. He has written extensively on issues of ‘dealing with the past’, otherwise known as ‘transitional justice,’ and of collective memory, particularly in the context of central and eastern Europe. He has published widely on these matters and at present is editing a book on Transitional Justice and the Rule of Law.

Download the invitation

Tuesday 10th May - AHRCentre Annual Public Lecture: United States Ambassador Jeffrey Bleich

United States Ambassador Jefrrey Bleich will address the topic: The United States and Australia's
Commitment to Human Rights in the Asia-Pacific.

Jeffrey Bleich became the United States Ambassador to Australia in 2009. He previously served as Special Counsel to the President at the White House. From 1995 to 2009, he was a litigation partner in the San Francisco office of Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP, where he was recognised as one of the nation's top lawyers. After clerking for Judge Howard Holtzmann at the Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunal and acting as Special Rapporteur to the International Court of Arbitration, he assisted the Special Prosecutor for the International Tribunal for the Former-Yugoslavia. Ambassador Bleich received his B.A. from Amherst College, his Masters in Public Policy from Harvard University and his law degree from the University of California, Berkeley. He has taught international human rights at UC Berkeley School of Law, and written and lectured extensively on the international criminal court.

See the Lecture on YOUTUBE

Archived 2010

Wednesday 15th September - The art and architecture of the South African Constitutional Court with Albie Sachs

Former South African Constitutional Court judge, Albie Sachs, will screen and discuss a 30 minute documentary about the design of the South Africa’s ‘Court of Transformation’.

Time: 12.30pm - 2pm
Date: Wednesday 15 September 2010
Venue: Main Lecture Theatre (EG02), College of Fine Arts, cnr Oxford Street and Greens Road, Paddington
Cost: FREE
RSVP: ahrcentre@unsw.edu.au by Monday 13th September 2010
Enquiries: please call (02) 9385 1803 or email ahrcentre@unsw.edu.au

Wednesday 15th September - THIS EVENT IS NOW FULL. There is still space at the above event being held at COFA at 12:30pm on Wednesday 15th September.

Albie Sachs in conversation with Bob Debus

We are delighted to invite you to an evening with former South African Constitutional Court judge, Albie Sachs in conversation with Bob Debus. Bob Debus will also launch The Strange Alchemy of Life and Law by Albie Sachs.

Time: 5.30pm-7:30pm
Date: Wednesday 15 September 2010
Venue: Freehills, Level 38, MLC Centre, 19 Martin Place, Sydney
Cost: $25.00 or $55.00 (which includes a copy of The Strange Alchemy of Life and Law by Albie Sachs)
RSVP: Register online at www.ahrcentre.org/ahrcevents.html by Friday 10 September
Enquiries: please call (02) 9385 1803 or email ahrcentre@unsw.edu.au

For more information please download the INVITATION.

Thursday 19th August - Global Good Samaritans: Human Rights as Foreign Policy

The seminar Global Good Samaritans: Human Rights as Foreign Policy will be given by Alison Brysk, University of California
and include introductory remarks by Gillian Moon, AHRCentre and James Cox, World Vision, ACFID Human Rights Taskgroup.

Time: 1pm - 2pm (a light lunch will be served at 12;30pm)
Date: Thursday 19th August 2010
Venue: tba, Law Building, University of New South Wales, Kensington Campus
Cost: Free
RSVP: Monday 16/08/10 to ahrc@unsw.edu.au

Professor Alison Brysk is Mellichamp Chair in Global Governance at the University of California Santa Barbara. Professor Brysk has authored and edited numerous books on human rights, foreign policy and globalization, the most recent of which is Global Good Samaritans: Human Rights as Foreign Policy (OUP, 2009).

Tuesday 22nd June - The Fight against Terror

The Australian Human Rights Centre (AHRCentre) and the UNSW International Law and Policy Group invite you to, The Fight against Terror: Practical Dilemmas in applying the Laws of War. Prof. Abraham Bell of Bar-Ilan University (Israel) and Col. Sharon Afek, Deputy Military Advocate General for the Israel Defence Forces will present a seminar on the difficulties in applying the current international humanitarian laws in counter-terrorism operations. Since 11 September 2001, the nature of the terrorism threat to the global community has expanded both quantitatively and qualitatively to encompass private groups having a multinational presence and the capacity to inflict armed attacks against states. There is a growing awareness that the traditional laws of conflict did not foresee the new challenge of states fighting world wide terrorism networks. Difficult questions are raised as to the extent to which and the manner in which contemporary international humanitarian law applies to situations of international terrorism – and whether changes in the law may be necessary to allow effective regulation of this new form of terrorism compliance.

THIS EVENT IS NOW FULL AND CLOSED!

Time: 1pm - 2pm
Date: Tuesday, 22nd June 2010
Venue: G23, Ground Level, Law Building, University of New South Wales, Kensington Campus
Cost: Free
RSVP: Friday 18/06/2010 to ahrc@unsw.edu.au (essential, seating is limited)

Prof. Abraham Bell teaches in the Faculty of Law at Bar-Ilan University. Having graduated from Harvard Law School with a S.J.D, Prof. Bell now conducts research in the areas of international law, laws of war and legal aspects of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Prof. Bell has previously taught at the University of San Diego, Tel Aviv University, University of Connecticut and Fordham University.

In his role as Deputy Military Advocate General for the Israel Defence Forces, Col. Sharon Afek provides top level advice on the conduct of the Israel Defence Forces. He has previously held the positions of legal advisor for Judea and Samaria (the West Bank), Military Advocate General for the Israeli Air Force and, Head of the International Law branch of the IDF. Col. Afek holds a Masters in Law from Tel Aviv University focusing on law and humanities.

Thursday 27th May - Human Rights in an Age of Digital Media Seminar

On Thursday May 27th (1-2pm, UNSW Law School Staff Common Room - a light linch will be served at 12:30pm), Daniel Joyce, an associate of the AHRCentre will examine human rights in the age of digital media. Daniel will discuss the impact of new media witnesses (such as NGOs and international organizations) in the field of human rights and discuss the development of ‘citizen media’ as a promising avenue for international law.  The seminar will examine how new technologies can help actors connect with each other, engage new audiences, and potentially also assist with documentation, evidence gathering and compliance. Please rsvp by May 26th to ahrc@Unsw.edu.au

Daniel Joyce joined us as Centre Associate in 2010. He is currently teaching a course on international human rights law at UNSW. Daniel was recently the Erik Castrén Fellow in international law and human rights at the University of Helsinki and lectured at the University of Turku in Finland.  He previously taught at Columbia University and Seton Hall. Daniel has a PhD in international law from the University of Cambridge where he was the Whewell Scholar in international law and also a Senior Rouse Ball Student at Trinity College.  He is currently researching the area of new media and human rights witnessing.

Tuesday 18th May - Seminar: Human Rights in the Palestinian Occupied Territories with professor Bisharat

The next speaker in the Law School Seminar Series is Catherine Renshaw.  Catherine’s topic is: ‘The Role of Networks in the Implementation of Human Rights in the Asia Pacific Region’. The seminar will be held in t he Boardroom on Tuesday, 18 May at 1pm.  A light lunch will be available in the Boardroom from 12.30pm onwards for those who are coming to the seminar. Please rsvp by May 17th to ahrc@Unsw.edu.au

Catherine Renshaw BA (Hons)(Sydney) LLB (UNSW) LLM (Sydney).

Since 2008, Catherine Renshaw has been Director of the Project “Building Human Rights in the Region through Horizontal Transnational Networks: the Role of the Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions” based in the Australian Human Rights Centre at the Law Faculty of the University of New South Wales. Catherine was admitted to practice as a solicitor in New South Wales in 1996 and has worked in private practice at Allen, Allen and Hemsley and Sparke Helmore Solicitors, as then in the Civil Law Section of the Legal Aid
Commission of New South Wales, where she specialized in anti-discrimination law and received the NSW Premiers Award for public service in the Hunter and Illawarra region. As well as practicing as a solicitor, from 1997 until 2007 she held lecturing positions at the University of Newcastle.

Wednesday 12th May - Seminar: Human Rights in the Palestinian Occupied Territories with professor Bisharat

Professor Bisharat from the University of California, Hastings will be speaking on law and politics inthe Palestinian occupied territories. Professor Bisharat  was a trial lawyer for the Office of the Public Defender in San Francisco before joining the Hastings faculty in 1991.  Professor Bisharat studied law, anthropology, and Middle East studies at Harvard, and wrote a book about Palestinian lawyers working under Israeli military occupation in the West Bank.  He writes frequently on law and politics in the Middle East, both for academic audiences and for major media sources in the U.S. and abroad. The seminar will be held at 1:00pm (a light lunch will be served at 12:30pm) in the UNSW Faculty of Law staff common room please rsvp by May 10th to ahrc@Unsw.edu.au

Friday 30th April - AHRCentre Seminar:  Human Rights in the Congo

Anneke Van Woudenberg is a senior researcher with Human Rights Watch focusing on human rights issues in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Anneke will discuss  the role of research in human rights advocacy and use her extensive experiences in the Congo as a case study. The seminar will be held at the UNSW Faculty of Law staff common room on 30 April 1-2pm. Sandwiches available from 12.30. Please rsvp by April 26th to ahrc@Unsw.edu.au

Friday 26th February - Human rights, Democracy, and Peace Resolution in Indonesia

A Roundtable Discussion hosted by the Diplomacy Training Program and the Australian Human Rights Centre.

In the twelve years since the fall of President Suharto, human rights have been at the heart of political developments and change in Indonesia, with the human rights movement playing an important role.   There have been achievements in building democracy and free elections, separating the military from politics, and a peace settlement to resolve the 30 year conflict in Aceh.  But Indonesians still face many challenges, including continuing impunity of the police and military, corruption, poverty and destruction of the environment with impacts on Indigenous peoples.  Continuing conflict, human rights violations, social injustice and stalled political discussions in West Papua have created deep distrust among Papuans toward Jakarta’s policy, and growing concern inside Indonesia and internationally.    Indonesian Solidarity has invited two leading human rights advocates from Jakarta and West Papua to Australia to promote dialogue and understanding..  They will speak at several public forums in Sydney and Canberra. They will explore the developments in Indonesian democracy and human rights and the current situation in West Papua. 

Speakers
Usman Hamid is the Coordinator of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (KontraS) in Jakarta. He has been sued for criminal defamation by the retired State Intelligence Agency head, Gen. Muchdi Purwopranjono, alleged to have orchestrated the murder of a leading human rights lawyer, Munir Said Thalib. He will speak on the issue of democratic consolidation in Indonesia and legal impunity. 
Yan Christian Warinussy is a human rights lawyer and the Director of the Institute for Research, Analysis and Development of Legal Aid, known as LP3BH in Manokwari, West Papua.  He was the winner of the 2004 John Humphrey Freedom Award, to highlight his outstanding exemplary struggle to expose human rights violations in West Papua. He will speak about the prospect of political dialogue between Jakarta and the Papuans to address the social injustice in the province.

Please RSVP to dtp@unsw.edu.au by 23rd February.

Archived 2009

Tuesday 17th November 2009 - AHRCentre Annual Public Lecture/ Religious challenges to human rights - Can secularism contribute to peace-making in the Middle East?

with Professor Frances Raday

Frances Raday holds the Lieberman Chair in Labour Law at the Hebrew University and is Director of the Concord Research Institute for Integration of International Law in Israel. She was Chair of the Lafer Center for Women’s Studies and of the Academic Committee of the Minerva Center for Human Rights and Chief Editor of the Israel Law Review. She has been counsel in key legal proceedings on labour and discrimination issues and from 2000 - 2003, she was an Expert Member of the UN Committee for the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women.

Date: Tuesday, 17 November, 2009

Time: 6.15pm - 7.45pm (followed by a reception)

Venue: G04 Theatre, Law Building, UNSW

Cost: FREE

Friday 23rd October 2009 - Monitoring economic, social and cultural rights: the South African experience and its lessons for the Australia human rights debate

The Australian Human Rights Centre at UNSW invites you to a Roundtable on Monitoring economic, social and cultural rights: the South African experience and its lessons for the Australia human rights debate. Join us to discuss the South African experience, and to consider the proposals relating to the better protection of economic, social and cultural rights made by the National Human Rights Consultation Committee in its report of 30 September 2009 to the Commonwealth Government. The keynote presenter is Cameron Jacobs fromt he South African Human Rights Commission. .

Cameron Jacobs is a Senior Researcher in the Economic and Social Rights (ESR) Unit at the South African Human Rights Commission. He specifically conducts and manages the research activities in respect of the rights to land, housing and education as well as being responsible for the overall conceptualization and operationalisation of the research activities of the ESR Unit. He also assists in the writing of presentations and journal articles, is the Chairperson of the Commission's Human Rights Development Report. He holds degrees in sociology and public policy from the University of Cape Town and has a background in law. His research interests include land tenure reform, culture and identity and human rights.

Time:10am - 12:30pm
Date: Friday, 23rd October 2009
Venue: Boardroom, Level 2, Law Building, UNSW, Kensington Campus
RSVP: to ahrc@unsw.edu.au by Thursday 15th October 2009

Thursday 15th October 2009 - Civilising Globalisation: Human Rights and the Global Economy

The paper draws on the book of the same name recently published by Cambridge University Press. The paper analyses how human rights intersect with the three principal components of the global economy – trade, aid and commerce.  It adopts the twin perspectives that while the global economy is an essential civilising instrument, it nonetheless has within it tendencies and practices that themselves require civilising, according to human rights standards.  From this base, the paper chastens both extremes of the debate and constructs an argument for seeking out and promoting the ways in which the global economy advances the ends of human rights, while at the same time taming the undesirable excesses of capitalisme sauvage and containing the detrimental effects of market failures, such as we are presently witnessing in the global capital markets

David Kinley holds the Chair in Human Rights Law at the University of Sydney. He has taught at universities all over the world and held academic posts in the UK and the US, as well as Australia. He publications in the particular field of human rights and the global economy include: Commercial Law and Human Rights (2002, with Bottomley), Human Rights and Corporations (2009), and  World Trade Organisation and Human Rights (forthcoming, 2009, with Joseph and Waincymer), as well as many articles and reports. He has advised governments and multinational corporations on human rights issues, and has worked for and with agencies such as the UN, the World Bank, AusAID and various NGOs on human rights related projects, especially in countries across South East Asia.

David was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland.  He studied at the universities of Sheffield and Cambridge, and after obtaining his doctorate from the latter in 1990, he moved to Australia. 

Time:12:30 - 2:00pm
Date: Thursday 15th October 2009
Venue: Seminar Room, Level 2, Law Building, UNSW, Kensington Campus
RSVP: to ahrc@unsw.edu.au by Monday 12th October 2009

Thursday 8th October 2009 - After the War on Drugs - Norm Stamper

I am pleased to invite you to attend a talk by Norm Stamper, Ph.D, on Thursday 8^th October 2009, from 12pm – 1pm, in the Law Theatre, Ground Floor of the Law Building, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. Prof. David Dixon, Dean of the Faculty of Law, will be moderating this event.

Dr. Stamper is a major proponent of significant drug law reform believing the “war on drugs” has actually been a war on people. Having served as a police officer for 34 years, and Chief of the Seattle Police Department from 1998 to 2000, Norm Stamper is one of the strongest voices in the US advocating legalisation of illicit drugs.

Norm will be presenting his views on drug law reform, including:

He has also recently released a book called Breaking Rank: A Top Cop's Exposé of the Dark Side of American Policing.

Time:12:00 - 1:00pm
Date: Thursday 8th October 2009
Venue: G23, Law Theatre, Ground Floor, Law Building, UNSW, Kensington Campus

Tuesday 1st September 2009 - The right to health in Zimbabwe: interpreting Australia's transnational human rights obligations

The health system in Zimbabwe, once the envy of Africa, has virtually collapsed. Thousands have died of cholera in the past year and many more are at risk in future outbreaks of this and similar diseases that thrive where water and sanitation services are poor. The Mugabe/Zanu PF-led reign of terror has spawned massive inflation and diminishing salaries, declining transportation networks and deteriorating working conditions, with thousands of well-trained health workers migrating to other countries. Australia has been one of the major beneficiaries of this migration. Exploring the evolution of the doctrine of responsibility to protect, international law and human rights conventions, and development and aid objectives, the seminar will consider what, if any, are Australia’s legal obligations towards realising the right to health in countries where the health system is a casualty of political conflict and economic collapse.

Andrea Durbach is Director of the Australian Human Rights Centre and Associate Professor at UNSW Faculty of Law.

Beth Goldblatt is Research Fellow in the Disability Studies and Research Centre and Visiting Fellow at the Australian Human Rights Centre, UNSW.

Thursday 27th August 2009 - UCT/UNSW Student Exchange Launch (invitation only)

Student Exchange Program launch hosted by The Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of New South Wales,
Professor David Dixon and Deputy Dean, Internationalisation and Outreach, Faculty of Law, University of Cape Town, Professor Evance Kalula.

Tuesday 21st July 2009 - Justice Yvonne Mokgoro, South African Constitutional Court

The AHRCentre is delighted to be hosting an evening seminar with South African Constitutional Court judge, Justice Yvonne Mokgoro who will address the topic: 'The Role of Legislation and Courts in Promoting Socio-Economic Rights:  the South African experience"

Time: 6:30 - 8:00pm
Date: Tuesday 21st July 2009
Venue: Seminar Room, Level 2, Law Building, UNSW, Kensington Campus
RSVP: to ahrc@unsw.edu.au by Friday 17th July 2009

Download the Invitation

Thursday 21st May 2009 - Corporate responsibility: failed rhetoric or future remedy?

The Australian Human Rights Centre and Allens Arthur Robinsons invite you to a discussion on

Corporate responsibility: failed rhetoric or future remedy?

Corporate responsibility encompasses corporate ethics, workplace issues, and environmental as well as human rights concerns. In the context of the current financial crisis and moves by the Federal government to explore improved protection for human rights for Australia, the seminar will consider whether corporate social responsibility initiatives are effective or detract from notions of corporate accountability. The role of business in protecting human rights will be a key focus of the seminar.

The seminar will include speakers from the Office of the United Nations Special Representative on Business and Human rights, the Australian Human Rights Commission, the Cambridge Programme for Sustainability Leadership, Allens Arthur Robinson, the Australian Human Rights Centre and the Gilbert & Tobin Centre for Public Law.

Time: 5.30 for 6pm start. Concludes at 7.45pm.
Date: Thursday 21 May 2009
Venue: Allens Arthur Robinson
Level 28, Deutsche Bank Place
Corner of Hunter & Phillip Streets
Sydney NSW 2000
RSVP: to ahrc@unsw.edu.au by 14th May 2000

ITUNES PODCAST AVAILABLE

Thursday 14th May 2009 - Human Rights Opportunities Database Launch

Launched by: The Hon. John Hatzistergos MLC, NSW Attorney General and Minister for Industrial Relations. Keynote Speakers:

● Andrea Durbach - Associate Professor of the Faculty of Law, UNSW and
Director, Australian Human Rights Centre
● Kate Eastman - Human Rights Barrister and Co-Founder, Australian
Lawyers for Human Rights
● Jonathon Hunyor - Director of Legal Services, Australian Human Rights
Commission

and with a range of Human Rights practitioners available
to share their experiences with you during the evening.

Time: Thursday 14 May 2009
Date: 6pm - 8pm
Venue: The Strangers Dining Room, NSW Parliament House. Macquarie Street, Sydney
Cost: Donation at the door (Refreshments provided)

RSVP is essential as places are strictly limited. E-mail your RSVP to careers.hrc@younglawyers.com.au

Download Invitation

Friday 3rd April 2009 - University of Sydney and the ARC project present: Gender, Race and Reparations Workshop

The Institute of Criminology, Law School, University of Sydney and the ARC Project 'Legal Responses to Systemic Injuries: Towards a new Paradigm for Compensation' present a seminar:

Gender, Race and Reparations Workshop

Over the past decades, there have been numerous inquiries and revelations in Australia about the harms suffered by children in institutional care. In 1997, the Human Rights Commission published 'Bringing Them Home', reporting on the experiences of the Stolen Generations.  While the Prime Minister delivered an apology in 2008, thus far there has been no redress or reparations process established.  In other countries, bodies such as the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa have sought to respond to historical harms.  Canada has established a comprehensive program to respond to the treatment of indigenous people in "Indian Residential Schools." Some Australian states (Tasmania, Queensland and Western Australia) have now established (somewhat modest) redress schemes.

The purpose of this workshop is to analyse some of those programs, particularly from the point of view of their capacity to respond effectively to the most disadvantaged members of the community.   Questions to be addressed include:

*       What is the relationship between the traditional criminal and civil justice systems, and redress or reparations schemes?
*       Can the traditional criminal or civil systems take adequate account of race and gender?
*       Can the tort system ever respond effectively to historic harms?
*       Can a redress scheme ever be a 'healing package' (as one Canadian scheme has been described)?
*       What is the role of 'reconciliation'?
*       What is the role of therapeutic jurisprudence?
*       What is the role of restorative justice?
*       Is there such a thing as a feminist adjudication process?
*       Are these schemes really 'alternative' in approach?

Participants in the workshop will include:

*       Professor Anita Bernstein, Brooklyn Law School
*       Professor Chris Cunneen, UNSW Law School

*       Professor Andrea Durbach, UNSW Law School, Director of the Australian Human Rights Centre
*       Beth Goldblatt, Sydney Law School/ Honorary Senior Research Fellow, School of Law, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa
*       Professor Reg Graycar (convenor), Sydney Law School
*       Dr Ben Mathews, QUT Law School
*       Professor Julie Stubbs, Sydney Law School
*       Jane Wangmann, Sydney Law School/UTS Law School

Time: 12:30 - 4:30 pm
Date: Friday 3rd April , 2009
Venue: Common Room, New Law Building, Building F10, Eastern Avenue, University of Sydney
RSVP: e.r.miller@usyd.edu.au or 9351 0444 by Thursday, 2nd March 2009

For directions to the New Law Building please check the University of Sydney website:

Tuesday 24th March 2009 - Reframing the Israel-Palestine Conflict: A human rights perspective, featuring Jeff Halper

The Australian Human Rights Centre UNSW invites you to Reframing the Israel-Palestine conflict:
a human rights perspective with Dr Jeff Halper

Dr. Jeff Halper is a Professor of Anthropology formerly at Haifa and Ben Gurion universities. He received his PhD in Cultural and Applied Anthropology from the University of Wisonsin-Milwaukee and has taught
at universities in Israel, the US, Latin America and Africa. He is the author of 'Between Redemption and Revival', 'Obstacles to Peace' and 'An Israeli in Palestine'. Dr. Halper was Director and Head of the Middle East Center for Friends World College and Coordinating Director of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions. He is the recipient of the Olive Branch Award from Jewish Voice for Peace in the USA and he was nominated for the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize by the American Friends Service Committee.

Time: 6:00pm – 7:450pm
Date: Tuesday 24th March, 2009
Venue: Seminar Room, level 2, Law Building, UNSW
RSVP: ahrc@unsw.edu.au by Thursday, 19th March 2009

Download the PDF invitation

Wednesday 18th March 2009 - UNSWPress presents, In Conversation with Andrew Byrnes, Gabrielle McKinnon and Richard Acklan.

We accept the universal right to live in freedom and without oppression, but are our human rights adequately protected by Australian law? Is a national Bill of Rights necessary?

Andrew Byrnes and Gabrielle McKinnon in conversation with
Richard Ackland, SMH Columnist and law journalist.

Date: Wednesday 18th March, 2009
Time: 6:30 for 7:00pm start
Venue: Gleebooks, 49 Glebe Point Road, Glebe
RSVP: to book tickets ($10/$7 concession) call (02) 9660 2333 or www.gleebooks.com.au/events

Download the PDF invitation

Tuesday 17th February 2009 - International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: Implementation, National and International Monitoring with Professor Gerard Quinn.

The Australian Human Rights Centre, the Disability Studies and Research Centre and the Australian Human Rights Commission host this seminar featuring Professor Gerard Quinn. The Professor is the Director of the Centre for Disability Law and Policy at the National University of ireland, Galway, Ireland.

Date: Tuesday, 17th February, 2009
Time: 10.00am-4:00pm
Venue: Room 162, Law Building, UNSW, Kensington Campus
RSVP: Friday, 13th February, 2009 to disabdis@humanrights.gov.au

Download the PDF invitation

Friday 20th February 2009 - Can the UN Combat Racism: A Preview of the Durban Review Conference with Richard Clarke, Andrea Durbach and Tom Calma.

In April, the UN’s Durban Review Conference will assess the progress made since the 2001 World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance in South Africa, and determine new strategies for the future.  At the conclusion of the 2001 conference, a range of measures were proposed, including stopping the slave trade, preventing genocide and combating the continuing effects of colonialism and colonialist ideas perpetuating racial discrimination. The review process has proved controversial, however, with some states boycotting the conference, and certain commentators advocating a boycott.  The Review Conference will be discussed by the following three experts:

• Richard Clarke, Human Rights Officer in the Anti Discrimination Unit of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva, will outline the conference and its process.
• Andrea Durbach, the Director of the Australian Human Rights Centre, will discuss the most important racism issues likely to be raised at the conference.
• Tom Calma, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner and Race Discrimination Commissioner from the Australian Human Rights Commission, will discuss specific indigenous issues likely to be raised at the conference.

Date:   Friday 20 February 2009
Time:   6.00 to 7.30 pm
Venue:   Monash Law Chambers
RSVP:  castan.centre@law.monash.edu.au or call 03 9905 3327

Archived 2008

Wednesday 10th December 2008 - 60th Anniversary of the UN Declaration of Human Rights with Lord Bingham and Elizabeth Evatt AC.

The Australian Human Rights Centre, the Initiative for Health and Human Rights and the Diplomacy Training
Program invite you to a celebration of the 60th Anniversary of the UN Declaration of Human Rights with Lord Bingham, leading human rights jurist and former Master of the Rolls and Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales and Elizabeth Evatt AC, former member of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and the United Nations Human Rights Committee.

Date: Wednesday, 10th December, 2008
Time: 10.30am-12.00noon
Venue: Law Theatre, Law Building, UNSW, Kensington Campus
RSVP: Friday, 5th December, 2008 to ahrc@unsw.edu.au

Download the PDF invitation

Download Elizabeth Evatt speech.

Friday 28th November 2008 - Violence Against Women: the power of men, the power of rights

The Australian Human Rights Centre invites you to Violence Against Women: the power of men, the power of rights with Ineke Boerefijn and Penelope Andrews.

Ineke Boerefijn is an associate professor at the Netherlands Institute of Human Rights, School of Law, Utrecht University. Formerly the ‘Opzij Chair’ at the Centre for Gender and Diversity, Maastricht University, she is currently a Visiting Research Fellow at the Australian Human Rights Centre, UNSW Faculty of Law.

Penelope Andrews is Professor of Law at Valparaiso University Law School and Chair of Law at LaTrobe University. She has taught in the United States, Australia, Canada, South Africa and Europe and has held visiting positions including the Stoneman Professor of Law and Democracy at Albany Law School and the Ariel F. Sallows Chair in Human Rights, University of Saskatchewan.

Time: 12:30pm - 2pm (light lunch will be provided)

Date: Friday, 28th November 2008

Venue: Seminar Room, Level 2, Law Building, UNSW

RSVP: ahrc@unsw.edu.au by 24/11/08

Download the PDF invitation

Thursday, 25th September 2008 - AHRC Annual Public Lecture, Reconciliation and Human Rights with Stephen Parmentier

The Australian Human Rights Centre is pleased to announce that the AHRC Annual Public lecture this year will be given by Professor Stephan Parmentier form the Faculty of Law of the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium.  Professor Parmentier, an international expert in political crimes and transitional justice, will address the topic Reconciliation and Human Rights. 

Tom Calma, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner and Race Discrimination Commissioner, Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, will offer concluding observations

The lecture, on 25^th September 2008 at UNSW, will take place against the backdrop of the Australian government’s apology to the Stolen Generations and the Senate and Legal and Constitutional Committee Inquiry into Compensation for the Stolen Generations. 

Stephan Parmentier (1960) studied law, political sciences and sociology at the K.U. Leuven (Belgium), and sociology and conflict resolution at the Humphrey Institute for Public Affairs, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities (U.S.A.). He currently teaches sociology of crime, law, and human rights at the Faculty of Law of the K.U. Leuven, where he is the Head of the Department of Criminal Law and Criminology. He has been a visiting professor at the International Institute for Sociology of Law in Oñati (Spain) and the University for Peace (San José, Costa Rica) and a visiting scholar at the universities of Stellenbosch (South Africa), Oxford (United Kingdom), and New South Wales (Sydney, Australia). He is the editor-in-chief of the Flemish Yearbook on Human Rights and the co-general editor of the new Series on Transitional Justice. Stephan Parmentier has served as an advisor to the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture, the Belgian Minister of the Interior, the King Baudouin Foundation, and Amnesty International. His research interests include political crimes, transitional justice and human rights, and the administration of criminal justice, and he has conducted research in South Africa, Guatemala, Bosnia, Serbia, the DR Congo, Argentina, and Colombia.
Between 1999 and 2002, he served as the vice-president of the Flemish section of Amnesty International."

Further information about Stephen Parmentier please proceed to www.law.kuleuven.be/linc and www.transitionaljustice.be

Time: 6:15pm SHARP

Venue: Law Theatre, Law Faculty, UNSW

RSVP: Friday 19th September 2008

Cost: FREE

The Faculty Auditorium is on the ground floor of the Law Building, University Mall, Lower Campus, Kensington. Metered parking is available at UNSW Gate 14 on Barker Street or Gate 2 on High Street.

Download Invitation

Download press release

Thursday 14th August 2008

Movie Screening - Memory of the Cactus

Thursday 3rd July 2008

The Death Penalty: Why Should Australian Care?

An expert panel will discuss The death penalty: Why should Australians care? at an Amnesty International event at the Sydney University Law School Assembly Hall on Thursday July 3 at 6.30pm. 

 In statistics published in April, Amnesty International revealed that at least 1,200 people were executed in 2007 and expressed deep concern that many more were killed by the state, in secret, in countries including China, Mongolia and Vietnam.

The event is free and all are welcome to attend.

The panel includes:

• Professor Andrew Byrnes, Faculty of Law, University of New South Wales and Chair of the Australian Human Rights Centre
• Rachel Walsh, President, Reprieve Australia
• Michael Walton, Convenor of the Against the Death Penalty Sub-Committee, NSW Council for Civil Liberties
• Shannon Owen film-maker and co-creator of Just Punishment, an ABC documentary on Van Tuong Nguyen who was executed in Singapore in 2005

The moderator:

Associate Professor Andrea Durbach, lawyer for the Upington 25 (14 of whom were sentenced to death), South Africa; Faculty of Law, University of New South Wales and Director, Australian Human Rights Centre

Friday 28th April 2008

Professor Martin Scheinin

Time: 6:00pm for 6:30--7:30pm

Venue: Baker and McKenzie, Level 27, AMP Centre, 50 Bridge Street, Sydney , NSW, 2000RSVP: ahrc@unsw.edu.au by 21st March 2008 (essential)

Cost: $10 at the door (or $5 concession) - to cover the cost of refreshments

Professor Martin Scheinin is Professor of Constitutional and International Law, Director of the Institute for Human Rights, Åbo Akademi University, Turku, Finland.  He is a leading academic expert in the field of human rights, has served as a member of the United Nations Human Rights Committee, and currently serves as the Special Rapporteur of the UN Human Rights Council on the promotion and protection of human rights while countering terrorism. He also chairs the International Law Association's Committee on International Human Rights Law and Practice. His current research projects include the implementation of a human rights-based approach to development, constitutional issues of the international community, and preventive and reactive dimensions of international human rights monitoring. Professor Scheinin is in Australia on an academic visit.

3rd October 2007 - AHRC Annual Lecture: Sandra Liebenberg

Featuring Sandra Liebenberg, Stellenbosch UniversityProfessor Sandra Liebenberg has published widely regarding the enforcement of socio-economic rights under both the South African Constitution and under international human rights law and equality jurisprudence with particular emphasis on gender equality. She is editor of, The Constitution of South Africa from a Gender Perspective and has recently contributed to the field of socio-economic rights by writing for the journal, Law Democracy & Development on Socio-Economic Rights and Transformation in South Africa.

Archived 2007

Thursday 30th August 2007

Mr Morgan Tsvangirai, President of the Movement for Democratic Change (Leader of the Opposition), Zimbabwe.

Time: 1pm - 2pm, Thursday 30 August 2007

Venue: Law Auditorium, Ground Level, Faculty of Law, UNSW

RSVP: Amber Rowe at a.rowe@unsw.edu.au by 28th August 2007

Wednesday 13th June 2007

Malainin Lakhal – Secretary General of the Saharawi Writers and Journalists Union

Malainin Lakhal was born in 1971 four years before Morocco invaded his country, Western Sahara. He lived through the ensuing war (1975-1991), the UN brokered cease-fire and the preparations for a referendum for self-determination - which is yet to happen. In 1999, whilst being sought by security forces as a suspected leader of the Malainin resistance, he fled Moroccan-occupied Western Sahara for territory held by the national independence movement, the Polisario Front. He has since been living in a Saharawi refugee camp since, working as a teacher, translator and Secretary-General of the Saharawi Writers and Journalists Union, bringing the stories of human rights abuses in the Western-Sahara to the world.Time: 1pm (arrive at 12:30 for a light lunch) Date: Wednesday 13th June 2007Venue: Seminar Room, Level 2, Law Building, University of New South Wales RSVP: ahrc@unsw.edu.au by Friday 8th June 2007 (booking is essential)

Friday 4th May 2007

Archbishop Pius Ncube – Human Rights Activist, Zimbabwe

Pius Ncube, the Catholic Archbishop of Bulawayo, is a critical figure in Zimbabwe's civil rights movement and an outspoken critic of President Robert Mugabe. A prominent human rights and pro-democracy activist, Archbishop Ncube has been brought to Australia as a guest of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to address the current political and social situation in Zimbabwe.Time: 1pm (arrive at 12:30 for a light lunch)When: Friday 4th May 2007Where: Seminar Room, Level 2, Law Building, University of New South Wales, SydneyRSVP: ahrc@unsw.edu.au by Monday 30th April 2007 (essential as space is limited)

Wednesday 2nd May 2007 - 21st Anniversary Symposium: Securing the Environment

The symposium explored the environmental, health and legal consequences of climate change. Speakers highlighted research demonstrating that climate change and environmental degradation present critical challenges to the protection of human rights and the overall security of the nation. The speakers included:

• The Hon Peter Garrett AM MP - Shadow Minister for Climate Change, Environment, Heritage and the ArtsProfessor Matthew England - Climate and Environmental Dynamics Laboratory, UNSW Dr Hilary Bambrick - National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, ANU
• Dr Jane McAdam - Faculty of Law, UNSW

Tuesday 17th April 2007 - Reflections on the Death Penalty: A Panel Discussion

The discussion panel featured:

• Andrea Durbach - Director of the AHRC and author of, Uppington, about the trial of 14 South Africans sentenced to death for a policemans muder in apartheids final days.Peter Norden SJ AO - Convenor of the Victorian Criminal Justice Coalition and was the parish priest of Van Nguyen, executed in Singapore in 2006.
• Brian Morley - Journalist and witness to the last execution in Australia.

Download Invitation

Archived Events 2006

Tuesday 16th May 2006Annual Public Lecture: Human Rights, Human Security - Protecting Rights in the National Interest

On Tuesday 16th May a packed Metcalfe Auditorium heard Professor Conor Gearty, Rausing Director of the Centre for the Study of Human Rights and Professor of Human Rights Law, London School of Economics, give the AHRC Annual Public Lecture on Human Rights, Human Security - protecting rights in the national interest. The NSW Attorney-General, the Honourable Bob Debus, MP, opened the lecture and introduced Professor Gearty.

Tuesday 15th August 2006John Pace – Former Cheif of the Human Rights Office of the UN Assistance Mission, Iraq

The AHRC and the Faculty of Law are delighted to invite you to a seminar by John Pace, former Chief of the Human Rights Office of the UN Assistance Mission to Iraq (2004-2006). Faculty of Law Visiting Fellow and AHRC Centre Associate, Dr Pace will address the topic: Challenges for the UN Human Rights Office in Iraq

Time: 1pm (arrive at 12:30 for a light lunch) Date: Tuesday 15th August 2006Venue: Seminar Room, Level 2, Law Building, University of New South Wales