26 June 2015
Spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human
Rights: Ravina Shamdasani
Location: Geneva
Subject:
Australia indigenous peoples
We warmly welcome the recommendation by a parliamentary
committee in Australia for a constitutional amendment that would for the first
time include an explicit reference to indigenous peoples in the country’s
Constitution. The Committee has rightly stated that constitutional recognition
would be "a vital step towards reconciliation and give a voice to
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples in a Constitution better aligned
with a modern Australia". The Committee called for a referendum on such a
constitutional amendment.
This and other valuable proposals by the Committee would
help strengthen the protection of human rights of Australia's indigenous
peoples. In particular, we very much welcome the proposal to remove section 25
of the Constitution, which contemplates the disqualification of all persons
"of any race" from voting in State elections. Such provisions, even
if not invoked, have no place in a modern-day Constitution. Also very important
are the proposals to include new anti-discrimination guarantees in the
Constitution and to introduce a reference to the UN Declaration on the Rights
of Indigenous Peoples in the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act of 2011.
We hope these recommendations will be put to the
Australian people and receive the fullest support. Constitutional recognition
and the legal reforms proposed would advance inclusion and help to address
human rights issues affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, including
those highlighted by the UN Human Rights Office. They would also be important
further steps towards longer term reconciliation.
ENDS
For more information and media requests, please contact
Ravina Shamdasani (+41 22 917 9169 / rshamdasani@ohchr.org ) or Cécile Pouilly
(+41 22 917 9310 / cpouilly@ohchr.org).
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