Documentos de Académico
Documentos de Profesional
Documentos de Cultura
abolition of slavery:
slavery type of forced labour where a person is considered to be the legal
property of another
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way to fill certain roles in society for little cost since wages do not have to
be paid
treated as objects, rather than subjects, of the law
Iceland abolished slavery in 1117
abolitionism: worldwide political movement that sought to abolish
slavery
political movement against slavery in the 18th century
Europeans began to conquer the New World and their empires expanded
required more resources to grow and support their new colonies
during colonial times slave labour was sought from new
populations/ races within new territories, particularly from trade
posts in Africa
conventional labour was the only legal means of securing large groups of
workers
employment law is a relatively recent development
universal suffrage:
suffrage legal right to vote in a democratic election
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self-determination:
self determination a people of a territory or national grouping have the right to
determine their own political status; the group has the right to choose how it will
be governed without undue influence from another country
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universal education:
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environmental rights:
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peace rights:
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1919: countries that emerged victorious from the WWI held a peace
conference at Versailles, France
Paris Peace Conference
parties of the conference achieved the treaties that officially ended
the WWI i.e. Treaty of Versailles
established for the first time in history a world body with the
primary aim of preventing war ( League of Nations)
main purpose of the League of Nations is to promote international cooperation and to achieve international peace and security
failed and WWII broke out due to failure of Treaty of Versailles
failed to achieve the membership of the US
UN formed after the WWII
UN Charter was signed on the 26th of June 1945
explicitly made peace the primary purpose of the UN
Article 1 (1) of the Charter makes the maintenance of peace its primary
purpose
gives UN power to make measures to prevent and remove threats to
peace
effectively outlawed war
declare the right of every state and individuals within those states
to live in peace
until recently war was generally seen as a legal and legitimate means of
solving disputes and determining political and economic control over
territories and populations
1984: UN General Assembly adopted a Declaration on the Right of Peoples
to Peace
proclaimed all people have a sacred right to peace and that
promoting and implementing the right to peace is a fundamental
obligation of states and that government policies should be directed
towards:
elimination of the threat of war
renunciation of use of force in international relations
settlement of international disputes by peaceful means on
the basis of the UN charter
although treaties and international bodies have been established, war has
still broken out
Korean War
Iraq War
right of peace is balanced against the right of self-defence
Article 51 of the UN Charter declares that the states have an inherent right
of individual/collective self-defence if an armed attack occurs against them
Article 39 of the UN Security Council can authorise actions to maintain or
restore peace
establishment of ICC has jurisdiction for trials against war crimes
state sovereignty:
state sovereignty ultimate law-making power of a state over its territory and
population including independence and freedom from external interference
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when a state has manifestly failed to protect its citizens and where
peaceful means are inadequate, the international community must
take action to prevent harm
UN are there to keep an eye on governments; Sri Lankan government
wanted UN out (acts as watchdog) to reduce accountability; good at
promoting and monitoring human rights abuses however fails in
enforcement
General Assembly: consisting of representatives from all member states
with equal voting power
forum for international discussions, deliberations, declarations and
recommendations
UNHRC reports directly to the General Assembly
Security Council: maintenance of international peace and security
exercises its power through legally binding resolutions and can
authorise military actions, sanctions or peacekeeping operations
5 permanent members with power to veto decisions and 10 nonpermanent members with two-year terms
power to intervene in the most serious of human rights abuses by
states
sending UN peace-keeping troops in troubled regions requires the
consent of the state or states involved and will fail if the state
refuses intervention
UN Charter allows members to take military/non-military actions to
restore international peace or security provides power to intervene
without a states consent
criticised for reluctance to use its intervention powers to prevent
mass atrocities or intervene where serious abuses are occurring
Economic and Social Council: 54 rotating members meeting annually to
assist in promoting international economic and social cooperation and
development
various committees and acts as the central forum for discussion of
economic, social, environmental and humanitarian issues
Secretariat: main administrative body of the UN with over 40, 000 staff
working worldwide
provides various information, studies, tasks and facilities needed by
the UN including the Office of the High Commissioner for
Human Rights
International Court of Justice: principal judicial organ of the UN
has jurisdiction under the UN Charter to settle international disputes
submitted to it by member states
provide advisory opinions when requested on matters of
international law
rarely relate to issues of human rights
Office of High Commission of Human Rights: administrative agency
under the UN Secretariat that works to promote and protect the human
rights contained in the UDHR and international law
advancing universal ratification and implementation of the UDHR
and human rights standards and treaties
intergovernmental organisations:
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African Union: aims include achieving peace and security in Africa and
promoting democratic institutions, good governance and human rights
Organsization of American States: oversees regional human rights
the media:
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signing a treaty means the country will have to act in the spirit of the
treaty but it is not directly binding (ratification)
treaty will on be binding on citizens if introduced under domestic
law
monist system: legal system that deems treaties enforceable in
domestic law as soon as they have been signed
words of treaty automatically become law in the country as if it was
an act of parliament
dualist system: legal system that does not deem treaties enforceable
domestically but requires incorporation into domestic law, usually by
passing similar legislation
arrangement for how the powers between the federal and state
government are divided
heads of power: areas that the Commonwealth can legislate on
residual powers: powers not listed in the Constitution for the
Commonwealth to legislate on, that are deemed to remain the
power of the states
external affairs power in s51 (xxix) gives Commonwealth authority
to legislate on external affairs which includes Australias treaty
obligations
express and implied rights:
express rights rights that are expressly included in a document
e.g. freedom of religion, right to vote, right to a trial by jury or right
to just terms
implied rights rights that can be implied through the text,
structure or purpose of a document e.g. Lange v Australian
Broadcasting Corporation (1997) held that the Constitution contains
an implied right to freedom of political communication (a type of
freedom of speech)
finding implied rights by judiciary has often been
controversial and the ability of the Constitution to act as a
protector of human rights is very limited (most Australian
human rights are found in other sources of law)
common law:
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statute law:
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non-government organisations:
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media:
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piecemeal operation
rights are able to be overturned by the simple passing of a statue of
parliament
bill/charter of rights aims to restrict the power of future parliaments to
reduce/infringe rights
criticised for conferring too much power on the judiciary
rights given constitutional force as provisions; ensures fundamental status
in legislation
without charter, lacks full force of constitutional provisions
allows potential for future flexibility while still declaring protection of
the wide range of rights and giving judiciary the power to declare
any inconsistent legislation incompatible
legislative bill of rights: passed as ordinary acts of parliament and requires
courts to interpret acts to be consistent with the Bill of Rights
do not empower courts to overrule parliaments laws
does not impinge on parliamentary sovereignty to the degree that
entrenched Charters of Rights
used in UK and NZ
April 2010: Australian government rejected the key recommendation of
the National Human Rights Consultation Committee report to implement a
legislative Charter of Human rights
instead adopted human rights framework such as education
initiatives and enhanced parliamentary processes
only Western democracy without comprehensive legal protection of
human rights
2 June 2010:, the Attorney-General introduced the Human Rights
(Parliamentary Scrutiny) Bill 2010 and the Human Rights (Parliamentary
Scrutiny) (Consequential Provisions) Bill 2010 in the House of
Representatives
The Bills comprise key elements of the Governments new Human
Rights Framework and have been referred by the Senate to the
Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee for inquiry
and report
Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Bill 2010 establishes a Joint
Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights, to be comprised of five
members of the House of Representatives and five Senators, with two
primary functions:
examine Bills, legislative instruments and existing Acts for
compatibility with human rights and to report to both Houses of
Parliament on that issue; and
inquire into any matter relating to human rights which is referred
to it by the Attorney-General, and to report to both Houses of
Parliament on that matter
each new Bill introduced to parliament be accompanied by a
Statement of Compatibility which includes an assessment of
whether the Bill is compatible with human rights
Bob Carr: give too much power to judges who will want to rewrite
societys rules
National Human Rights Consultation: chief issues examined was whether
Australia should have a Bill of Rights (entrenched in a constitutional
setting) or a Federal Human Rights Act (enshrining rights in legislation)
Australia in any one year who have been brought here to work as
prostitutes and most have their passports removed and are subjected to
violence and rape
women brought to Australia under the pretence of other jobs and being
forced to into prostitution to pay off contracts
International Labour Organisation has pointed out that forced labour
represents a severe violation of human rights and a restriction of human
freedom
Article 6 of 1979 Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of
Discrimination Against Women requires:
all parties shall take appropriate legislative measures to suppress all
forms of traffic in women and exploitation and prostitution of
women.
1990 Convention on the Rights of the Child requires signatories to:
prevent the abduction, sale or trafficking of children (Article 35) and
to protect children from economic exploitation (Article 32) and from
sexual exploitation and abuse (Article 34)
Legal Responses
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Slavery and Sexual Servitude Act 1999 (Cth) enacted to address the
problem of sex slavery within Australia
first prosecutions brought under the Act brought against Daniel
Sweeseang Kwok in June 2003
had created the offences of slavery, sexual servitude and deceptive
recruiting, but failed to include trafficking in persons
issue of human trafficking first entered into the mainstream of Australian
public debate in 2001 with the death of Puangthong Simaplee in Villawood
Detention Centre on 26 September 2001
case was a turning point in Australias attitude to sex slavery
March 2003, the Deputy State Coroner suggested noted the lack of
understanding about human trafficking and highlighted failures in the
Australian legal system to provide justice for victims
law reform:
death of Simaplee combined with the formation of the Protocol to
Prevent and Punish Trafficking in Persons Especially women and
Children (The Trafficking Protocol) provided a compelling case for
law reform
Australia ratified the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organised Crime which in 2004 and further ratified the
Trafficking Protocol in September 2005.
led to the passage of the Criminal Code Amendment
(Trafficking in Persons Offences) Act 2005 (Cth)
act was passed after a long period of review and consultation
including deliberations by the Senate Legal and
Constitutional Legislation Committee and the Australian
Crime Commission Report
Government further refined these measures and added more
specific human trafficking offences to the Federal Criminal Code in
2010 Roundtable further funding for the four NGOs was announced to the
total value of $1.4 million ($350,000 each) to support their work from
2011-2014
Anti-Slavery Australia, a specialist legal and policy centre focused
on slavery, trafficking and extreme labour exploitation, is using
these funds to raise awareness of all forms of labour trafficking and
to provide trafficked people with information about their rights
under Australian law
Project Respect is a non-profit, feminist community-based organisation
that aims to empower and support women in the sex industry including
women trafficked to Australia; help prevent the exploitation and
enslavement of women, by the industry through:
empowerment
education
advocacy
activism
Scarlet Alliance, Australian Sex Workers Association, through objectives,
policies and programs, aims to achieve equality, social, legal, political,
cultural and economic justice for past and present workers in the sex
industry, in order for sex workers to be self-determining agents, building
their own alliances and choosing where and how they work
media plays a role informing the public about the existence and nature of
modern slavery
SBS documentary Trafficked watched by over 500, 000 views and
acted as a catalyst for victims of trafficking to lodge compensation
claims
Australian universities crucial in researching and reporting on trends in
human trafficking in Australia
UTS Anti-Slavery Project dedicated to elimination of modern slavery
in all its forms through collaboration with government agencies and
community groups
University of Queenslands Human Trafficking Working Group
established in 2008
international level the UN, ILO and various NGOs are involved in combating
slavery and human trafficking
UN established Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking with the
aim of mobilising non-state actors to help ride the world of human
trafficking
ILO: implement and reporting on workers rights 2001 established
Special Action Programme on Forced Labour to attempt to raise
global awareness of forced labour
NGOs report on and expose abuses by researching and informing the
public and governments on incidents and patterns of abuse or by working
to combat incidences of human trafficking
Anti-Slavery International: draws attention to continuing problem of
slavery worldwide and campaign for recognition and action in
countries most affected
main factors contributing to the risk of people trafficking and slavery and
difficulty in preventing:
limited resources and effectiveness of developing states to combat
forms of exploitation and transnational crime
socio-political and economic factors that underpin the movement of
people form on place to another
concern has been that focus on human trafficking as a criminal justice
issue may result in the victim being viewed primarily as a prosecution
witness
People Trafficking Visa Framework (the Visa Framework) developed in
Australia in 2003 only provided protection to those women willing to assist
in criminal prosecutions
UN recommended Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights and
Trafficking states that protection and care shall not be conditional
upon the capacity or willingness of the trafficked person to
cooperate in legal proceedings
Australian Government Anti-People Trafficking Strategy implemented
changes to the visa processes in July 2009
Support Program is now available to all victims of trafficking with a
valid Australian visa, whether or not they are assisting the police
with a criminal prosecution; step towards a more victim-centred
approach to the issue of human trafficking and sex-slavery
difficulties for victims have been addressed somewhat by the Support for
Victims of People Trafficking Program (the Support Program) administered
by the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and
Indigenous Affairs
March 2009 this has been contracted to the Australian Red Cross for
delivery and their case managers help clients access support
services such as accommodation, medical treatment and
counselling (importance of non-legal means) "
SBS documentary Trafficked: 2007 - Ning became the first slave in history
to win victim of crime compensation when she was awarded $50,000 by
the Attorney General's Department of NSW for the multiple child rapes
committed against her in 1995