On Human Rights Day 2024, we reflect on human rights in a Victorian public sector context.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, says, “human rights have the power to unify us at a time when we need to come together to contend with the existential challenges we face as humanity”.

Human Rights Day commemorates the day that the UN General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in 1948. The theme for Human Rights Day 2024 is “Our rights, our future, right now”. It recognises that human rights can empower and guide us. Human rights can be a preventive, protective and transformative force for good.

The theme builds on the Human Rights: A Path for Solutions Vision Statement (published 26 February 2024), which emerged from the Human Rights 75 Initiative commemorating the 75th anniversary of the UDHR.

But how do these ideas fit into our local context?

Human rights as preventative

“By defending human rights, we can prevent harm before it happens. Human rights are the common thread that binds us all together to foster peace and stability.”

In Australia, human rights are protected through federal, state and territory laws, the Constitution and the common law. Currently, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory, and Queensland have Human Rights Acts.

In our Human Rights Day 2023 blog, we foreshadowed upcoming reforms to Australia’s human rights framework.  The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights published a report in May 2024, following a national inquiry into Australia’s human rights framework. The report endorsed models proposed by the Australian Human Rights Commission for a new human rights framework and a Human Rights Act. At the time of writing, the Australian government had not responded to the report’s recommendations.

In Victoria, the International Human Rights treaties to which Australia is a party are enshrined in the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006. This legislation sets out the human rights that Parliament specifically seeks to protect and promote. Although it is an Act of the Victorian Parliament, it is known as the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities (the Charter).

In January 2024, the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission (VEOHRC) released its third edition guide for Victorian public sector workers on the Charter. The guide includes case studies and additional Victorian resources.

To understand and apply the Charter in a Victorian public sector context, the guide recommends that employees maintain a list of tasks that may engage human rights in the course of their work. Examples include:

• Drafting policies for families (Protection of families and children (s17))
• Determining use of public land (Aboriginal cultural rights (s19))
• Survey data collection (right to privacy (s13)).

Human rights as protective

“By protecting human rights, we protect our future. Human rights are not abstract ideas. They offer protection, ensuring everyone, everywhere can live in dignity and respect.”

All of us have a role to play in understanding and respecting human rights. This includes governments, businesses, and individuals.

Governments have an additional obligation to proactively ensure that human rights are protected and fulfilled, by translating rights into laws, policies and systems accessible to the population. For example, to protect the right to education, governments build schools, develop a curriculum, and shape the settings to ensure that schools are resourced to educate tomorrow’s leaders.

Section 38 of the Charter requires public authorities to give proper consideration to human rights when making decisions. VEOHRC guidance states that “as best human rights practice, where possible and appropriate, people who may be affected by the decisions and actions of public authorities should have the opportunity to participate in the process”.

Human rights as transformative

“By advancing human rights, we create a fairer world. Upholding human rights isn’t only about addressing present injustices, it's about reshaping unjust societies and empowering marginalised groups.”

VEOHRC’s Charter guide for Victorian public sector workers highlights numerous benefits of a human rights culture, including that it:

• improves the quality of service design, in particular for the most marginalised, excluded and disadvantaged in our community
• connects Victoria with international efforts to translate human rights goals and standards into results for the people of Victoria
• mutually reinforces other lines of effort, like promoting safety, equality or multiculturalism
• contributes to a fairer and more inclusive society.

Conclusion

With growing momentum for a national Human Rights Act, we look forward to monitoring developments in 2025.

Resources

• Human Rights Day 2024
• Human rights: A path for solutions
• Universal Declaration of Human Rights
• CourtHeath Consulting’s 2023 Human Rights Day Blog
• The Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission
• The Australian Human Rights Commission

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A participant in the UN Global Compact, CourtHeath seeks to raise awareness about the Sustainable Development Goals and the principles of the Global Compact with business and government organisations in Victoria.

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IMAGE (detail): UN Photo/Greg Kinch – An early draft of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.