Prof. James Anaya, the UN Special Rapporteur on Indigenous Human Rights is visiting various centres in Australia over the next two weeks. His task will be to report back to the UN.

Several thousand Aboriginal people from across the Northern Territory and other parts of Australia, indigenous organisations, church leaders and local parishes, community and church social justice groups, Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation (ANTaR) and other organisations, as well as many ordinary citizens have signed a letter to the UN Special Rapporteur.

The visit coincides with Government efforts to convince Aboriginal communities through a flawed consultation process, that special measures to restrict their human rights are acceptable.

The letter requests Prof Anaya to:

• encourage the Australian Government to respect and recognise the views of all Aboriginal people through new and genuine negotiation with Aboriginal elders
• insist that human rights principles as outlined in the UN Convention against Racial Discrimination be applied
• encourage the Government to re-instate the Racial Discrimination Act without discriminatory “special measures”

The letter notes that the existing “special measures” were imposed and are overtly discriminatory and would have been illegal had the Racial Discrimination Act not been suspended. It notes further that the Government should provide choice to individuals and communities, including the choice to accept or reject any or all of the special measures.

In June this year the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Ecumenical Commission asked for the right of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples to negotiate agreements with governments. “We are united against the NT Intervention in its current form”.

Irene Fisher, CEO at Sunrise Health Services in Katherine NT catering to 3500 Aboriginal people in surrounding communities said, “Current measures under the Intervention are discriminatory and are contributing to widening the gap not closing it or reducing disadvantage”.

Janet Hunt, president of ANTaR stated that, “Whilst ANTaR urges the Federal and NT governments to address the serious problems in the Northern Territory, we believe that the strategies that work will be ones which respect Indigenous people and engage in genuine and empowering partnerships with them. Current, belated efforts to make the NT Intervention legislation conform to the Racial Discrimination Act do not reflect this approach."

A small group of concerned Australians in Melbourne have organized signatures for the letter to Prof Anaya. Their spokesperson, Michele Harris said that the visit provides a great opportunity for the Government to eliminate legal discrimination against the Aboriginal community while demonstrating its intention to abide by the principles of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples for which it declared public support only four months ago.

Signatories to the letter come from every state and territory of Australia, and from the Northern Territory they include signatures from people in Darwin, Bagot Community, Larrakeyah, Alice Springs, Katherine , Yirrkala , Yuendumu, Nhulunbuy, Lajamanu, Milingimbi, Eva Valley, Beswick, Oenpelli, Barunga, Numbulwar, Groote Eyelandt, Nganmarriyanga, Peppimenarti, Gapuwiyak, Yilpara, Gove, Yarralin, Bulman, Black Tank, Batchelor, Ski Beach, Ngukurr, Dhalinubuy,
Ramingining, Galiwin’ku, Kintore, Utopia, Areyonga and Willowra.

Contacts:
Irene Fisher, Sunrise Health Service - 08 8971 1120
David Cooper, ANTaR - 0418 486 310
Michele Harris OAM, concerned Australian - 0414 296 861