Australian Human Rights Commission Submission to the UN Committee On The Elimination Of Racial Discrimination, 30 October 2017 Endnotes 1 United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Rules of procedure of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, UN Doc CERD/C/35/Rev.3 (11 January 2012). At http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=CERD%2fC%2f35% 2fRev.3&Lang=en (viewed 11 October 2017); International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, opened for signature 21 December 1965, 660 UNTS 195 (entered into force 4 January 1969), art 9(1). 2 Since the beginning of 2016, the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights has reviewed over 74 other legislative instruments. Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights, Index of Bills and Legislative Instruments. At http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/Human_Rights/Index_of_bills_and_i nstruments (viewed 11 September 2017). 3 Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011 (Cth), ss 8, 9. At https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2011A00186 (viewed 11 September 2017). 4 George Williams and Daniel Reynolds, ‘The Operation and Impact of Australia’s Parliamentary Scrutiny Regime for Human Rights’ (2015) 41(2) Monash University Law Review 469, 477, 506–7. At http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/MonashULawRw/2015/17.html (viewed 11 September 2017). 5 George Williams and Daniel Reynolds, ‘The Operation and Impact of Australia’s Parliamentary Scrutiny Regime for Human Rights’ (2015) 41(2) Monash University Law Review 469, 474–5. At http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/MonashULawRw/2015/17.html (viewed 11 September 2017). 6 Shawn Rajanayagam, ‘Does Parliament Do Enough? Evaluating Statements of Compatibility under the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act’ (2015) 38(3) University of New South Wales Law Journal 1046, 1069–1070. At http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/download.cgi/cgibin/download.cgi/download/au/journals/UNSWLJ/2015/37.pdf (viewed 11 September 2017). 7 Parliamentary scrutiny processes include the Senate Standing Committee on Regulations and Ordinances, Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills, Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights, Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs, Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security and Parliamentary Joint Committee on Law Enforcement. Other review mechanisms include the Australian Human Rights Commission, Independent National Security Legislation Monitor and Australian Law Reform Commission. See Australian Law Reform Commission, Traditional Rights and Freedoms — Encroachments by Commonwealth Laws (Final Report) (2016) Ch 3. At https://www.alrc.gov.au/sites/default/files/pdfs/publications/alrc_129_final_report_.pdf (viewed 11 September 2017). 8 Australian Law Reform Commission, Traditional Rights and Freedoms — Encroachments by Commonwealth Laws (Final Report) (2016) 75–76 [3.95]. At https://www.alrc.gov.au/sites/default/files/pdfs/publications/alrc_129_final_report_.pdf (viewed 11 September 2017). The ALRC’s suggestions include additional guidance to policy makers during policy development and legislative drafting stages; improving quality of explanatory material and statements of compatibility; effective and appropriate streamlining of overlapping work across scrutiny committees; increasing time available to conduct scrutiny; and improving extent to which Parliament considers the scrutiny reports. 9 Australia’s states and territories also have a variety of anti-discrimination and human rights legislation. For an overview of the Racial Discrimination Act and its history in Australia, see Tim Soutphommasane, I’m Not Racist But … 40 Years of the Racial Discrimination Act (NewSouth, 2015). 10 See, eg, Discrimination Act 1991 (ACT), Anti-Discrimination Act 1996 (NT), Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 (NSW), Equal Opportunity Act 2010 (Vic), Racial and Religious Tolerance Act 2001 (Vic), AntiDiscrimination Act 1991 (Qld), Equal Opportunity Act 1984 (SA), Equal Opportunity Act 1984 (WA). See Mutuma Ruteere, Report of the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance on his mission to Australia, UN Doc A/HRC/35/41/Add.2 (9 June 2017) 6. At http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/RegularSessions/Session35/Documents/A_HRC_35_41_Ad d_2_EN.docx (viewed 10 October 2017). 45