P&L12 - Accountability & Rights: Human Rights Protection Australia & USA

Australia ratified the ICCPR on 13 August 1980. It then took more than a Decade for Australia to recognise the individual communications procedure under the First Optional Protocol.

There are federal, state and territory laws in Australia to protect people from discrimination and harassment.

Human rights are codified in international agreements or treaties between governments, called conventions or covenants. International human rights treaties provide an agreed set of human rights standards and establish mechanisms to monitor the way that a treaty is implemented.

The main role of the Australian Human Rights Commission, an independent statutory body, is to promote and protect human rights in Australia.

The Constitution of the United States of America is the supreme law of the United States. Empowered with the sovereign authority of the people by the framers and the consent of the legislatures of the states, it is the source of all government powers, and also provides important limitations on the government that protect the fundamental rights of United States citizens.

The Bill of Rights is the first 10 Amendments to the Constitution. It spells out Americans’ rights in relation to their government. It guarantees civil rights and liberties to the individual—like freedom of speech, press, and religion.