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 Affairs develop publicly available research frameworks that identify in respect of migrant communities and indigenous communities respectively (I) current research and data collection priorities and (II) research and data gaps relevant to migrant communities and Indigenous communities respectively. Recommendation 6: That the Department of Immigration and Citizenship fund an independent biennial report on migrant disadvantage based on the Overcoming Indigenous Disadvantage report model. Recommendation 7: That the Australian Government conduct a major national study on the experiences of temporary migrants in Australia (workplace experiences, safety, experiences of racism, social inclusion) Recommendation 8: That the Australian Government conduct research on the international student population in Australia in the following key areas: • income and expenditure • living and working conditions • experiences of discrimination • strategies to support safe international student experiences. Recommendation 9: That the Australian Bureau of Statistics work in partnership with state and territory police agencies to collect national data on racially motivated crime. 5 Positive developments 5.1 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities 13. Positive developments in addressing racism against Indigenous peoples and in the promotion and protection of Indigenous peoples’ rights in Australia have included: • the National Apology by the Prime Minister in the Australian Parliament to the Stolen Generations, for the past policies and practices of forcibly removing Indigenous children from their families on 13 February 2008. 3 • the formal endorsement by the Australian Government of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (Declaration) in April 2009. 4 • the affirmation by the Council of Australian Government (COAG) of the National Integrated Strategy for Closing the Gap in Indigenous Disadvantage, which identified six Closing the Gap targets in the areas of health, education and employment in July 2009. These targets have been supplemented by substantial budget commitments under the National Indigenous Reform Agreement and associated National Partnership Agreements. 5 6