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2017 was a ‘Dismal’ Year for Human Rights in Australia

2017 was a “dismal” year for human rights in Australia, according to a report card which found the country significantly lagged behind in areas including disability rights, Indigenous rights and the rights of refugees and people seeking asylum.

The 2017 Human Rights Report Card from Australian Lawyers for Human Rights (ALHR) graded Australia in a number of areas and also graded each state and territory, with mixed results.

Australia was graded F in refugees and people seeking asylum rights, and in women and girls’ rights, and graded F minus for Indigenous rights, while performing best in the area of business and human rights (with a grade of C).

Looking at individual Australian states and territories, Western Australia and the Australian Capital Territory performed best with a grade of B, whereas New South Wales with “several knee-jerk anti-terror proposals” and the Northern Territory with the recent findings from the Royal Commission were graded E plus and E respectively.

ALHR president Benedict Coyne told Pro Bono News that the state of human rights in Australia continued to suffer.

“It’s been another quite dismal year for human rights in Australia unfortunately,” Coyne said.

To view the full Pro Bono article, click here.

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