Australian Human Rights Commission Australia and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), Shadow report to the CERD Committee – 8 July 2010 worker scheme and (II) employer compliance with the working conditions and standards protecting vulnerable migrant workers from exploitation. Recommendation 42: That the Australian Government routinely provide targeted information about the rights of migrant workers, including options to lodge complaints and seek remedy without intimidation. Recommendation 43: That the Australian Government ratify the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families. 7.11 Freedom of Religion and Belief (ICERD Article 5) 136. The Commission is concerned by the limited protection of the right to freedom of religion and belief under Australia’s existing equality framework. The Commission’s 1998 report, Article 18, thoroughly reviewed the protection of the right to freedom of religion and belief under Australian Commonwealth, State and Territory law. It found that the Commonwealth Constitution does not provide a complete guarantee of protection for the right to freedom of religion and belief. Section 116 restricts only the legislative powers of the Commonwealth and falls far short of providing positive protection to the rights of the individual to freedom of religion and belief. The report also noted that: Some Australians are protected from discrimination on the basis of religion and belief by State and Territory laws but many others are not. Laws providing protection from discrimination on the basis of religion and belief are patchwork across Australia (p 105). 137. In a submission to the Commission for the UPR, the Australian Bahá’í Community note that: While members of our own community report only occasional and isolated incidents of religious discrimination in Australia, we recognise that for some other communities, such discrimination has become more frequent and widespread in recent years, despite the changes in some State and Territory legislation that have occurred in the past decade. Accordingly, we support the Commission’s previous conclusion (in the Article 18 report) that “to comply with international human rights commitments Australia should enact federal legislation to make unlawful in Australia discrimination on the basis of religion and belief” (p 105). 138. The ICERD Committee has expressed this concern regarding this issue on several occasions. See further: UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination: Concluding observations: Australia (2005), paragraph 9; UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination: Concluding observations: Australia (2000), (paragraphs 6-10). 139. The Article 18 Report is available online at: http://www.humanrights.gov.au/human_rights/religion/index.html. 37