-----Original Message----- From: Webcentral <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >22 March 2000 > >Federal government must act on CERD concerns > >Australian governments have nowhere left to hide following last night's >criticisms by a prominent UN committee. > >The Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) expressed >its astonishment over statistics that show that 70 per cent of the prison >population of the Northern Territory is made up of Aboriginal and Torres >Strait Islander people. > >The Committee also criticised the mandatory sentencing regimes as unfair and >unacceptable for the impact they have on Indigenous people, especially young >offenders. > >CERD members have made their concerns on this issue very clear. > >Australian government officials have attempted to charm CERD into believing >black is white and everything is all right and that CERD doesn't really >understand the way things are in a country that is about as far away from >Geneva as you can get. > >But the CERD is a group of well-informed individuals who work through issues >with rigour and integrity. > >CERD's judgment demands serious consideration. > >Australian governments must now act to recognise the concerns raised by >CERD. > >They must fulfil the obligations they have under the International >Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination and the >Convention on the Rights of the Child. > >Australian governments must also face up to the truth about their failures, >despite their repeated expressions of commitment, to implement adequately >the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in >Custody. > >The electorate marks government performance according to actions, not words. > >It is not enough to express disagreement privately. > >Where states and territories disgrace Australia's international standing, >the federal government must be prepared to act. > >We cannot continue to tolerate different standards of human rights in >different states and territories. >The Commonwealth must act on the concerns raised by CERD and move to >override the WA and NT mandatory sentencing provisions. > >Geoff Clark >Chairman >ATSIC > > Media inquiries: Martin Freckmann >0427 631 045 > Brian Johnstone 0419 >010 687 > > > > ------------------------------------------------------ RecOzNet2 has a page @ http://www.green.net.au/recoznet2 and is archived at http://www.mail-archive.com/ To unsubscribe from this list, mail [EMAIL PROTECTED], and in the body of the message, include the words: unsubscribe announce or click here mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20announce This posting is provided to the individual members of this group without permission from the copyright owner for purposes of criticism, comment, scholarship and research under the "fair use" provisions of the Federal copyright laws and it may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner, except for "fair use." RecOzNet2 is archived for members @ http://www.mail-archive.com/recoznet2%40paradigm4.com.au/
