Australian Human Rights Commission
Submission to the UN Human Rights Committee, 18 September 2017
Recommendation 24: That the Australian Government, through the
Council of Australian Governments, encourage the removal of surgery
and marital status requirements in births, deaths and marriages
registration legislation.
Recommendation 25: That the Australian Government implement the
recommendations of the 2013 Senate Community Affairs Committee
inquiry into the involuntary or coerced sterilisation of intersex people.
Recommendation 26: That the Australian Government legislate to enable
two people to marry, irrespective of sex, sexual orientation, gender
identity or intersex status, while enabling a minister of religion to refuse
to solemnise a marriage in accordance with the doctrines, tenets and
beliefs of the minister’s religious body or organisation.
Women
Recommendation 27: That the Australian Government undertake further
work to understand the nature and prevalence of family and domestic
violence, and sexual assault and sexual harassment for women
experiencing intersectional discrimination.
Recommendation 28: That all Australian Governments commit to
strengthening national family and domestic violence data collection and
reporting mechanisms.
Recommendation 29: That the Australian Government encourage
universities to implement the Change The Course report
recommendations to reduce the prevalence of sexual assault and sexual
harassment in Australian universities.
Recommendation 30: That the Australian Government continue to
ensure there are adequate protections in place to address sexual
harassment in the workplace, with consideration of the identified
strategies in the Working without fear report and the forthcoming
outcomes of the Commission’s 2017 survey.
Recommendation 31: That the Australian Government continue to
encourage cultural reform and enhance the participation of women in the
Australian Defence Force, consistent with the initiatives in Pathway to
Change.
Immigration and citizenship
Recommendation 32: That the Australian Government ensure that the
human rights of people subject to third country processing are
adequately protected.
Recommendation 33: That the Australian Government continue to
expand the use of alternatives to closed detention and, where
immigration detention is necessary, ensure that it is time limited, strictly
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