The ACT Human Rights Commission is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the ACT’s Human Rights Act Bill 2003 by launching a collection of case studies exploring its impact on the lives of Canberrans.
Human Rights Commissioner Helen Watchirs said the 20th Anniversary of the Human Rights Bill collection demonstrated the application of human rights principles across a variety of issues, including housing, health care, discrimination, conditions for prisoners and Aboriginal cultural rights.
“These are real stories of human rights being brought home to peoples’ lives,” Dr Watchirs said.
“They show that the Human Rights Act has helped hold the Government and authorities to account, and has helped protect the fundamental rights and freedoms of people living in Canberra,” she said.
“It has improved both the actions and decisions of ACT Government, enhanced protections of our societal values of equality and freedom in ACT laws and enriched our lives and wellbeing.”
Dr Watchirs said the ACT was the first Australian jurisdiction to enact human rights legislation covering civil and political rights, with legislation later passing in Victoria in 2006 and Queensland in 2019.
She said other Western democracies such as the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, most European countries, and the United States all have some form of human rights legislation or Constitutional guarantee.
“This collection of 20 cases is just one of many activities undertaken by the ACT Human Rights Commission to foster a stronger culture and understanding of human rights in the community,” Dr Watchirs said.
The Commission’s 22-page collection can be accessed at this PS News link.
