Foundations of Human Rights
What does the term human rights mean?
Basic, inalienable freedoms and entitlements that belong to all humans.
What does UDHR stand for?
Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Which South African leader’s trial and imprisonment highlighted the struggle against apartheid?
Nelson Mandela
Name one human right protected by the Constitution.
Freedom of religion (s.116), right to vote (s.41), trial by jury (s.80).
Name one current human rights issue.
Asylum seekers, human trafficking, Indigenous rights.
Name one civil and one political right.
Civil: equality before the law.
Political: right to vote.
Which year was the UDHR adopted?
1948
Name one Australian campaign that advanced Indigenous rights.
1967 Referendum, Mabo campaign, or Uluru Statement from the Heart.
What is the role of the Australian Human Rights Commission?
Investigates complaints, educates, advises government.
Which treaty protects children’s rights?
Convention on the Rights of the Child (CROC).
Which historical document signed in 1215 limited the power of the monarch and influenced later human rights ideas?
The Magna Carta.
Name one binding UN human rights treaty.
ICCPR or ICESCR.
What was the significance of the Wik Peoples v Queensland (1996) case?
It found that native title could coexist with pastoral leases in Australia.
How do common law and statutes protect rights?
Statutes codify rights; common law fills gaps (e.g., right to silence).
How can the media influence human rights?
By explosing abuses and pressuring governments.
Explain the principle of universality.
Rights apply equally to all people everywhere.
What is the role of the ICCPR?
Protects civil and political rights; binding on ratifying states.
Give an example of a global NGO-led human rights campaign.
Amnesty International’s campaigns against torture or Greenpeace campaigns.
Why doesn’t Australia have a national Bill of Rights?
Belief that existing protections are adequate.
Which UN instrument addresses the rights of Indigenous peoples worldwide?
The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP, 2007).
Name two historical movements that helped shape modern human rights.
The abolition of slavery and the women’s suffrage movement.
What is the main role of the UN Human Rights Council?
To monitor, investigate, and address human rights violations globally.
What was the significance of the Mabo case in Australia?
It recognised native title and overturned the legal doctrine of terra nullius.
Name two ways that human rights are protected in Australia without a Bill of Rights.
Through the Constitution, statute law, common law, and the Australian Human Rights Commission.
Which human rights issue is linked to human trafficking?
The right to freedom from slavery and forced labour.