ANTaR today calls on the Federal Government to act on the findings and recommendations of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD).

‘The CERD report has raised a number of concerns about racial discrimination against Indigenous Australians. These are serious concerns and they require a serious Government response’, said Dr Janet Hunt, ANTaR President.

The CERD report welcomes positive steps taken by the Labor Government to improve protections against racial discrimination, including the National Apology, support for the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Government’s ‘Closing the Gap’ strategy to address Indigenous disadvantage.

However, the report recognises that these are only a ‘first step towards genuine reconciliation and reparations to be made in recognition of the history of gross violations of human rights.’

‘The Committee made a number of critical recommendations on the NTER which are consistent with the concerns raised by many Indigenous and human rights organisations across the country.’

‘Despite some improvements to the NTER laws, they currently fail to meet our international human rights obligations. This should be a cause of national shame. It should also prompt Government action to address these human rights breaches’, said Dr Hunt.

ANTaR calls on the Federal Government to act on the Committee’s recommendations to strengthen protections against racial discrimination, including by fully reinstating the Racial Discrimination Act to all Northern Territory Emergency Response (NTER) measures.

The Committee expressed concern about the high rate of Indigenous incarceration, and called on the Australian Government to adopt a Justice Reinvestment Strategy.

‘Justice Reinvestment strategies offer an innovative and evidence-based alternative to incarceration that pays social and economic dividends’, said Dr Hunt.

ANTaR is the pre-eminent non-Indigenous national advocacy organisation dedicated specifically to the rights - and overcoming the disadvantage - of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. .

Media contact: Dr Janet Hunt – 0408 170 448