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 prominent in Australia’s legal and policy landscape, with references to the Declaration being made in Parliament, 12 parliamentary committee reports, 13 court decisions 14 and in policies developed by Indigenous NGOs. 15 23. However, the Government has yet to develop an action plan for the ‘full realization of the provisions of [the] Declaration’ (art 41). Such an action plan should be developed with the active participation of, and in full partnership with, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. 24. The Commission supports the use of the Declaration as a guide for interpreting Australia’s obligations under the ICERD as they relate to Indigenous peoples. This is consistent with the interpretative mandate of the Committee outlined in the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties and the ICERD Committee’s recommendation to the United States of America. 16 25. Further, the Commission considers that the Declaration should be used to frame the Government’s engagement with Indigenous peoples. In particular, the Commission considers that the Australian Government should consult and cooperate with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in order to obtain their free, prior and informed consent before adopting and implementing legislative or administrative measures that may affect them. Recommendation 11: That all legislation, policies and programs be reviewed for consistency with the rights affirmed by the Declaration. 17 6.3 Ratification of international human rights instruments Recommendation 12: That the Australian the Government ratify the ILO Convention No. 169 (1989) concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries. 18 Recommendation 13: That the Australian Government sign and ratify the Optional Protocol on Economic Social and Cultural Rights. 19 6.4 Indigenous disadvantage (ICERD Article 5 and Declaration Articles 3,4,19,21) 26. There continues to be a significant gap between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Indigenous peoples in terms of the realisation of human rights and fundamental freedoms. Indigenous peoples face a comparative disadvantage and discrimination across a range of indicators including life expectancy and health, housing and homelessness, education, welfare, employment, incarceration rates and child abuse and family violence. See Annex 3 for indicators of Indigenous disadvantage. 27. As discussed above (para 13), the Government has set targets to address this disadvantage under the COAG National Integrated Strategy for Closing the Gap in Indigenous Disadvantage, supplemented by budget commitments under the National Indigenous Reform Agreement and associated National Partnership Agreements. 20 10