1. Universal Periodic Review – Australia 2015 Anna Brown 22 October 2014 www.hrlc.org.au

2. Overview About the Universal Periodic Review Australia’s review from an NGO perspective Outcomes and strategy for this review

3. About the Universal Periodic Review Human Rights Council All nations Nature – political / diplomatic

4. UN Human Rights System Security Council Tribunals ICTY, ICTR UN Charter UN Specialized Agencies ie: UNDP UNHCR UNICEF ECOSOC Secretary- General & UN Secretariat Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights General Assembly International Criminal Court (ICC) CCPR, CESCR, CERD, CEDAW, CAT, CRC, CMW Human Rights Council Special Rapporteurs Periodic Review Treaty bodies

5. What’s the point? Why use the international human rights system? Civil society plays a crucial role

6. Australia’s review - timeline 23 March 2013 – NGO reports due Compilation of UN information Compilation of ‘stakeholder information’ (10 pages maximum) 20 July 2015 – Government report due 5 – 9 October 2015 – Pre-session Info session November 2015 – Australia’s appearance at HRC Jan / Feb 2016 – Adoption of the ‘Outcomes Report ’

7. What really happened? Coalition building Report writing Meeting embassies and consulates Lobbying – Australia and Geneva

8. Lobbying in Geneva

9. Briefing country missions Formal and informal briefing of missions Mission briefing video The Australian mission’s event AFL address Questions in advance Human Rights Council session

10. Networking

11. The United Nations

12. The Human Rights Council

13. Australia’s review Interactive dialogue Australia’s presentation Statements / Questions from 50 countries Favourite nations

14. Outcomes 145 recommendations Australia’s response (90% accepted in whole or in part) Key areas: Human Rights Act, recognise same-sex marriage, abolish mandatory immigration detention and entrench the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the Constitution

15. Example: Outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples: Conditions of detention - OP-CAT Discrimination laws Social inclusion and poverty reduction Police use of force Land rights Compensation for Stolen Generations Constitutional Reform and Treaty Participation in Government

16. Group discussion Insights / learnings from last UPR What worked? What didn’t work? Who isn’t at the table? (eg. older people last time)

17. What happened next? Additional voluntary commitments UPR recommendations went into National Human Rights Action Plan Follow up by AHRC on implementation Mid-term report in June 2013 NACLC report Now: ambivalent status of NHRAP

18. AHRC Presentation Implementation of recommendations Group discussion: how much of this UPR should we focus on failure to implement vs new, emerging issues

19. Facilitated discussion Thematic areas Intersectional issues Joint vs separate reports Advisory committee process Templates for input Increasing sector engagement Increasing domestic political impact

20. The end Questions?