Commentary

Research Fellow Dr Allison Henry takes stock of how Australia is travelling in the lead up to the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

Dr Dion Kagan & Scientia Associate Professor David J Carter examine efforts to identify and eliminate the legal issues causing harm to people living with HIV and hepatitis B in Australia.

Institute Associate and UNSW Law & Justice Professor Luke McNamara examines the development of hate speech laws in Australia.

Institute Associate and UNSW Scientia Professor Carla Treloar co-authors this new article on rising inequality in Australia and the need for a new understanding of how people live, not just economics.

The leadership team behind the new Centre for Sex and Gender Equity in Health and Medicine write for The Conversation about the landmark statement advocating for sex, gender, variations of sex characteristics and sexual orientation to be routinely considered in health and medical research.

Institute Associate Sherine Al Shallah writes for The Conversation on why recognising a refugee’s cultural heritage both in their home country and after they’ve fled is essential.

Institute Associate and Founding Director of the UNSW Tax and Business Advisory Clinic, Associate Professor Ann Kayis-Kumar, writes The Conversation on how perpetrators of violence can effectively weaponise the Australian tax system.

This Human Rights Explainer examines how the fast fashion industry impacts human rights and the environment, and the approaches of some governments and companies to tackle these impacts.

Institute Associate Dr Ye In (Jane) Hwang looks at how prisons can better prepare inmates for life once they’ve served their time.

Associate of the Australian Human Rights Institute Professor Lucas Lixinski unpacks the debate over religious discrimination laws in Australia in the latest of our 'Human Rights Explainer' series.

Institute Director, Professor Justine Nolan, co-authors this article for The Conversation on why Australia needs an Anti-Slavery Commissioner.

Australian Climate Accountability Project lead Gillian Moon gives her wrap of this year's COP 28 conference in Dubai.

Samuel Pryde and Professor Justine Nolan look at the unethical (and sometimes unlawful) practices of 'greenwashing' and 'bluewashing' in our latest human rights explainer.

Research Associate Ran Yi explores the linguistic human rights for migrants and minorities in justice-critical settings, such as courts, public and social services.

A lack of integrity and accountability has fuelled record-low trust in brands and government, writes Emeritus Professor Andrea Durbach and Institute Director, Professor Justine Nolan.

A Q&A document by Human Rights Watch and the Australian Human Rights institute addressing key questions on the Voice as they relate to the fulfilment and enjoyment of basic human rights principles.

Institute Associate Dr Noam Peleg writes for The Conversation on the recent UN statement that clearly stipulates why and how the rights of children are compromised by climate change.

Institute Research Fellow Dr Allison Henry writes the Institute's latest 'Human Rights Explainer', looking at the attempts to address and reduce sexual violence on campus.

Institute Research Fellow Dr Allison Henry writes for The Conversation about the federal government's release of an interim report for the Universities Accord.

Institute Associate Emma Buxton-Namisnyk examines the need for greater community involvement in homicide review processes in Australia.

Institute Associate Professor Helen Dickinson co-authors this piece for The Conversation looking at a decade of the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

Olympian and Institute Associate Nikki Dryden writes the latest in our 'Human Rights Explainer' series looking at some of the human rights issues surrounding the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand. 

Institute Associate Ruth McCausland and Deputy Vice Chancellor Equity Diversity and Inclusion Eileen Baldy explore what social factors increase a person’s chance of ending up in prison, and how we can use that to improve policy and reduce the harms and costs of incarceration.

Institute Associates Dr Andy Kaladelfos and Professor Lucas Lixinski look at the wave of anti-trans bills sweeping through the United States and examine how Australia compares with its own laws and protections for trans and gender-diverse people.

Amal Naser and Professor Luke McNamara look at the current state of play regarding the right to protest in Australia.

Institute Associates Suzanne Varrall and Sarah Easy reflect of the proceedings of the 21st Session of the Assembly of States Parties of the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

How athletes perceive their human rights is, at last, getting attention, says Nikki Dryden, Olympian and Associate at the Australian Human Rights Institute.

Emeritus Professor Andrea Durbach worked as a lawyer with victims of South African apartheid laws in the last years of its reign. She writes about One Nation Senator Pauline Hanson's attempts to equate an Indigenous Voice to Parliament with South Africa’s racist and brutal apartheid regime. 

Institute Associate Christopher Michaelsen examines the result of a mix of wide-ranging diplomatic and economic sanctions imposed on Russia by countries like the United States, as well as the European Union.

Australian Human Rights Institute Associate, Dr Lydia Gitau, writes about her work with a group of young South Sudanese community members from Western Sydney to explore ways of addressing the topic of suicide in their community.

Director of the Australian Human Rights Institute, Professor Justine Nolan, writes for The Conversation on a long-awaited report from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights about the Chinese regime’s treatment of Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim groups in the province of Xinjiang.

Institute Associate, Professor Helen Dickinson, writes for The Conversation about the difficulties some NDIS participants find in using their funding as opposed to getting into the scheme.

Institute Associate, Professor Helen Dickinson, writes for The Conversation about how an NDIS fraud report shows the service needs a significant commitment to co-design any solutions with – not just for – NDIS participants.

Director of Australian Human Rights Institute, Professor Justine Nolan, writes for The Conversation on how to restore faith in government appointments after a string of political handpicks.

Institute Associate Dr Bridget Haire explains if we should be worried about monkeypox in Australia and looks at what can be done to educate against discrimination and protect vulnerable groups during any outbreak.

Australian Human Rights Institute Associate, Dr Natasha Ginnivan, explores the undesired effects of the social media craze of capturing supposed “random acts of kindness”.

Institute Associate Sophie Yates co-authors this article for The Conversation, exploring the service gaps for people in prison with disability, and what can be done to improve supports.

Institute Associate and Professor of AI Toby Walsh writes for The Conversation on how he ended up being banned from Russia.

Institute Associate Dr Dani Larkin examines progress on the implementation of the Uluru Statement from the Heart and likely next steps following the election of a new Australian government.

Dr Natalie Galea writes for The Sydney Morning Herald on the NSW government’s decision to reverse its plan to allow construction work on Sundays and the need to support workers’ rights to enjoy the weekend.

Institute Associate Dr Allie Carter and UNSW Centre for Crime, Law & Justice's Professor Luke McNamara look at the impact of sexual consent law reforms which have come into effect in NSW.

Scientia Professor Louise Chappell, a former Director of the Australian Human Rights Institute, and Claire Annesley, Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Design & Architecture at UNSW Sydney, examine Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s first cabinet -- Australia’s most diverse ever.

Executive Director of the World Players Association Brendan Schwab writes for our Human Rights Explainer series on the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

Australian Human Rights Institute Associate Bassina Farbenblum and UTS' Laurie Berg look at the need for meaningful reform to repair the damage caused by Australia’s treatment of migrant workers during COVID-19.

Director of the Australian Human Rights Institute Professor Justine Nolan and Associate Professor Martijn Boersma write for The Sydney Morning Herald about the Australian government's decision to ratify the International Labour Organisation’s Protocol on Forced Labour.

Australian Human Rights Institute Associate Allison Henry writes for The Conversation on the results of the National Student Safety Survey report. 

Australian Human Rights Institute Associate, Professor Anthony Zwi, writes for The Conversation on the need to respond to attacks on health facilities and health workers in conflicts such as Ukraine.

Institute Associate and children's rights expert Dr Noam Peleg reflects on the overturning of a court decision that previously ruled the Minister for the Environment had a duty of care to protect children from future environmental harms.

Australian Human Rights Institute Associate Dr Sally Baker co-authors a piece for The Conversation on the impacts of COVID-19 on university education and what we can learn from the many changes made over the past two years.

Australian Human Rights Institute Associate and Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations at UNSW Sydney, Dr Penny Griffin, explores 2022's International Women's Day theme of #BreakTheBias.

Based of a series of interviews, Natalie Galea and Phillippa Carnemolla uncover what may help spark greater interest in the construction sector among female students.

Australian Human Rights Institute Associate Dr Christopher Michaelsen looks at the role and effectiveness of sanctions against Russia in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

Australian Human Rights Institute Associate, Professor Lucas Lixinski, explains the hotly contested Religious Discrimination Bill, its controversial aspects and its future prospects. 

Institute Associate Dr Noam Peleg looks at the potential effects of the Federal Government's Religious Discrimination Bill on children and their rights.

Muhammad Syukron Anshori writes on the need for recognition and respect of Indonesia's Indigenous peoples, and how that recognition has important consequences for human rights.

Institute Associate Kerryn Drysdale and Rochelle Aylmer examine some unique solutions to the challenges associated with transitioning from prison to community post-release for people with a history of injecting drug use.

Institute Associate Katharine Booth and Dr Joseph Wilde-Ramsing write on the Australian National Contact Point and reforms made to its ‘functional equivalence’ under the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.

Institute Associate Dr Noam Peleg looks at the recent international shifts in children's rights as they relate to climate change and a healthy future.

Emeritus Professor Andrea Durbach and Professor Sofia Gruskin look at the health and human rights impacts of climate change, and how treating it like a disease may help encourage solutions.

Not only is the government failing to listen to children, it is now evident that it does not protect any of their internationally recognised rights, says Institute Associate Dr Noam Peleg.

Director of the Australian Human Rights Institute, Professor Justine Nolan, looks at the impact of the government's process of handpicking Australia's next Human Rights Commissioner.

Former Australian Human Rights Commissioner Chris Sidoti looks at the health of national human rights institutions, their history and whether they have a future role to play in the accomplishing change.

Ketan Joshi looks at a scenario in which Australia chose to treat climate change as an emergency, and examines the results of other jurisdictions in the world that have followed that path.

Institute Associate Dr Noam Peleg compares international 'Back to School' pandemic plans with some of those in Australia, and explores whether children themselves deserve more input into how we live with COVID-19.

Dr Briony Lipton, Professor Rae Cooper and Dr Meraiah Foley explore the future of work for women in the retail and legal industries, which are now experiencing rapid work intensification and technological change, driven by increased digitalisation, workplace fissuring, and employment flexibilisation. 

Keenan Mundine, the Co-Founder and Ambassador for Deadly Connections, looks back at 30 years since the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, and the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Teddy Cook takes a look at some of the history of trans advocacy in Australia and the importance of defending the human rights of trans people.

Professor Jacinta Ruru, the first Maori Professor of Law in her country, looks at the recognition in some legal quarters of not just the human rights of Indigenous peoples in the collective sense, but also their embodied ancestors in lands and waters.

Rodney Croome AM looks back at 30 years of progress on LGBTQI+ rights in Australia and the challenges still to come.

Executive Director of the Human Rights Law Centre Hugh de Kretser writes on the need for human rights supporters to look back and reflect on how change is won. 

Institute Associate Dr Noam Peleg, an expert in international children’s rights law, looks at the unique risks that the COVID-19 Delta Variant poses to children and the need for a plan to protect them

Rebecca Peters AO explores 30 years of action (and inaction) on gun control in Australia and the United States.

Professor Justine Nolan discusses the need for empathetic regulatory responses to the COVID-19 pandemic as lockdowns look set to continue.

Institute Associate Nikki Dryden looks at the latest decision by the IOC over freedom of expression at the Olympics

Ben Lee has worked in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria. He explains what you need to know before a career in human rights in challenging locations.

Dr Noam Peleg examines the case of eight climate campaigning teens vs the Environment Minister.

Director of the Australian Human Rights Institute Professor Justine Nolan talks to The Wall Street Journal about the COVID-19 travel ban on people entering Australia from India.

Australian Human Rights Institute Associate Dr Daniel Joyce writes for The Guardian about Attorney-General Christian Porter's defamation suit.