Finalised Y12 Human Rights Flashcards

Human Rights are…

inalienable, universal, human dignity, equality, non-discrimination, interdependent, indivisible, responsibilities

Universal Suffrage

Universal Suffrage: the right of all adult citizens to vote in free and fair elections without discrimination 

History: 

• 1820: Women’s suffrage movement with New Zealand enacting it in 1893 

• 1962: Indigenous people could vote 

Current Recognition: 

• Article 21, UDHR → “everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country”

• Australia: Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 (Cth) amended to remove racial exclusions

• In 2011, only 45% of the world was a democracy 

• Saudi Arabia (no women can vote), UAE (men nor women can vote)

Universal Education

Universal Education: the right to free and compulsory education and accessible secondary/higher education 

History: 

• 1890-1900 US compulsory education under state legislation

• 1800-1900 Industrial revolution with concerns of child exploitation

Current Recognition: 

• Article 26, UDHR → “everyone has a right to education”

• Article 28, UN Convention on the Rights of a Child (1989)

• UNICEF calls Taliban to provide women with education (2025)

• Sustainable Goal 4 by 2030

Australia: 99% literacy rate, anti-discrimination laws

Abolition of Slavery

Abolition of slavery: freedom from forced labour in which a person is considered a property of another

History: 

• Iceland first country in 1177

• Slavery Abolition Act 1823 where UK ended Slavery 

• US 13th Amendment 1865 

Current Recognition

• Article 4, UDHR → “no one shall be held in slavery”

• Slavery Convention (1926) → legally binding abolishing treaty adopted under league of nations

• Modern Slavery still exists (49.6 million)

Australia: Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth) → requires large companies to report annually on actions taken to address modern slavery risks

Trade unionism and Labour rights

Trade unionism and labour rights: protects workers’ rights to form and join trade unions, collectively bargain & strike 

History: 

• Tolpuddle Martyrs founded the movement (1836) 

• British Trade Union movements improved wages in 1920 

• International Labour Organisation (ILO) founded in 1919 

Current Recognition

• Article 23, UDHR→ everyone has the right to work in just conditions

• Australia: Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) → Protects workplace rights, union activity etc.

• Australian Council of Trade Unions v Commonwealth (1945) → confirmed the right of unions to exist and represent workers

• ⅓ of Australian employees are exploited (ABC, 2025)

Self-determination

Self-determination: the right of people to determine their own political status and to pursue their economic, social, and cultural development

History: 

• American Revolution (1776) → Declaration of Independence or French Revolution (1789) where the doctrine of popular sovereignty was created (similar to democracy) 

• Gained prominence after WWII where countries like Ukraine and Holland needed to restore 

Current Recognition

• Article 1 ICCPR (1966) and ICESCR (1966) → people have the right to freely determine their political status and pursue development

• UN Declaration of Rights of Indigenous Peoples (2007) → strengthens indigenous self-determination rights

Australia: Ongoing constitutional reform debate (e.g Indigenous Voice to Parliament 2024)

Environmental rights

Environmental rights: the right to a safe, clean and sustainable environment, recognising that environmental damage directly impacts human survival, health and dignity 

History: 

• 1970 US passes clean air agreements 

• Stockholm Agreement 1972 → protects human health and the environment from the effects of persistent organic pollutants (114 signatories)

• Montreal Protocol 1987 → an international agreement to phase out the production and consumption of ozone-depleting substances (198 countries)

• Kyoto Protocol 1997 → aims to achieve greenhouse gas emission reductions (192 parties)

• Paris Agreement 2015 → to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees (195 parties)

• Ecocide → proposal to be added to the Rome Statute so the ICC can officially persecute 

Current Recognition

• July 2025 ICJ recognised environment rights as a human right (countries have an obligation to provide)

Australia: Tuvalu advocacy at COP conferences → argues that climate change threatens its very statehood and its citizens’ human rights

Peace rights

Peace rights: the right of all peoples to live in peace and security, free from war, armed conflict and violence 

History: 

• Recognised after the devastation of WWII

• 1969 International Conference of the Red Cross's Istanbul Declaration

• UN Charter (1945) Article 1 → purposes of UN include maintaining peace and security

• UN Declaration on the Right of Peoples to Peace (1984) → affirms that the promotion of peace is a human obligation 

Current Recognition

• Syria 2011-2024

• Ukraine 2022-ongoing

• Philippines: Former President Duterte’s arrest a monumental step for justice (Amnesty International, 2025)

Australia: Australia’s participation in UN peacekeeping operations i.e. East Timor 1999 & Ratification of disarmament treaties like the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (1973)

Formal Statements of Human Rights

UDHR, ICCPR, ICESCR

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)

• Outlines minimum conditions for a dignified life, most fundamental document for human rights, unanimously adopted in 1948

  • Covers: Right to life, Right to freedom of religion

• While it is not binding, many countries have incorporated principles of the UDHR into their constitutions, inspiring the formation of over 200 treaties

• Contributed to the creation of the ICCPR → The ICCPR took the civil and political rights outlined in the UDHR and made them legally binding for ratifying states

  • The Convention of the Rights of a Child (1989) 

  • The Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (2006)

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966)

• Legally binding multilateral treaty that obligates signatory nations to respect the civil and political rights

  • Covers: Self-determination, Right to Life, Freedom from Torture

• Incorporated into domestic law in the Privacy Act 1988 & constitution section 116 

• Toonen v Australia (1994) → a homosexual man complained to the HRC that the Tasmanian Criminal Code’s provisions criminalising private ‘gay’ sex violated his rights under the ICCPR

International Covenant on Economic, Social and Civil Rights (ICESCR)

International Covenant on Economic, Social & Civil Rights (1966)

• Legally binding multilateral treaty committed to the economic, social and civil rights 

  • Covers: Right to health, Right to education, Right to Work 

• Many nations incorporated into domestic law 

  • The Fair Work Act 2009

• Uighur people in China violates right to work, right to education, right to health → the OHCHR published a report stating that serious human rights violations may constitute crimes against humanity.

Legal Bodies for Human Rights: United Nations

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) 

• Role: Established in 1993, promotes universal ratification and implementation of human rights treaties→ universal cooperation 

  • Case 1: OHCHR Assessment of Human Rights Concerns in Xinjiang (2022), found reasonable grounds that there was an abuse against human rights i.e. arbitrary

Human Rights Council 

• Role: Established in 2006, with the main goal of strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights around the world

  • Case 1:Myanmar Rohingya Crisis which investigated the genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes committed by Myanmar’s military against the Rohingya in 2017

Legal Bodies for Human Rights: IGOs

Council of Europe

• Role: Regional IGO founded in 1949 to promote democracy, human rights, and the rule of law in Europe → normally sends cases onto European Court of Human Rights

  • Case 1: GRECO (Group of States against Corruption Reports, 1999) is a Council of Europe monitoring body that evaluates how member states implement anti‑corruption and integrity standards

Commonwealth of Nations

• Role: Established in 1949, voluntary associations that are former members of the British empire i.e. UK, India, Australia focused on human rights and democracy

Africa Union

• Role: Established in 2001, the AU is a continental organisation consisting of 55 African countries with the main goals of promoting unity, solidarity and political integration between states

  • Case 1: Involvement with the al-Bashir case as the former President of Sudan (2009) for alleged war crimes, tensions between AU and ICC

European Union

• Role: Established in 1993, a political and economic union for European nations with common policies on trade 

  • Case 1: Brexit (2016-2022) where the UK held a referendum which enabled them to exit from the EU under Article 50 (52% said yes to leave)

Legal Bodies for Human Rights: Statutory Bodies

UN Human Rights Committee (HRC)

Role: Established in 1976, monitors implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Human Rights (ICCPR)

Case 1: Toonen v Australia (1994) → led to decriminalisation of homosexuality in Tasmania

Legal Bodies for Human Rights: Courts

International Criminal Court 

• Role: Permanent court established by the Rome Statute (1998) to prosecute individuals for genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and aggression when national courts are unwilling and unable to act 

  • Case 1: Prosecutor v Thomas Lubanga Dyilo (2012) → first conviction for conscription of child soldiers

    • Article 4 of UDHR (against slavery) setting global precedent

  • Case 2: Prosecutor v Germain Katanga (2014) → conviction for war crimes including attacks on civilians in the DRS 

International Court of Justice (ICJ) 

• Role: Established in 1945 as the principal judicial organ of the UN; settles disputes between states and gives advisory opinions 

  • Case 1: Bosnia v Serbia and Montenegro (2007) - ICJ ruled Serbia failed to prevent genocide, reaffirming the prohibition of genocide under international law

  • Case 2: Australia v Japan (2014) → ICJ ruled Japan’s whaling program was not for scientific purposes and breached the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling 

  • Case 3:Treaty of Westphalia (1648)  → foundational treaty of the UN; emphasizes state sovereignty

European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) 

• Role: Enforces the European Convention on Human Rights for Council of Europe member states 

  • Case 1: Handyside v. United Kingdom (1976), where the court found that some of the restrictions of the books for obscene content did violate free speech under Article 10, limiting national discretion

  • Case 2: Bulgaria v Velkov (2020), where court found that Bulgaria violated Article 6 (right to fair trial) of the European Convention due to unreasonable delays

Legal Bodies for Human Rights: Tribunals

International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) 

• Role: Established in the 1990s, prosecutes war crimes committed during conflicts in the Balkans in the 1990s

  • Case 1: Prosecutor v. Mladić (2017) → Former Bosnian-Serb military leader responsible for genocide and sieges, sentenced to life imprisonment

  • Case 2:  Prosecutor v. Ante Gotovina → Croatian general during the Croatian War of Independence responsible for war crimes, sentenced to nothing because of insufficient evidence

International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) 

Role: Established in 1994 to prosecute those responsible for genocide and other serious violations of international humanitarian law in Rwanda

Case 1: Prosecutor v Jean Kambanda (1998) plead guilty to genocide and was sentenced to life imprisonment (former PM), provides binding judgments; compliance varies between states

NGOs role in promoting human rights

NGOS & promoting human rights: NGOs are independent non-profit groups that operate locally, nationally or internationally to promote and protect human rights 

Roles include: 

• Pressure & lobby 

• Raising awareness 

• Monitoring & reporting 

• Direct assistance

Non-Legal Bodies for Human Rights: NGOs

Amnesty International - Global death penalty 

• Role: Established in 1961, campaigns for a worldwide moratorium on executions and the abolition of the death penalty 

  • Case 1: Pressured countries like Malaysia to review capital punishment laws; influenced the UNGA to adopt resolutions calling for a moratorium. In 2018, Malaysia announced a moratorium on the death penalty and plans to abolish it.

  • Case 2: Contributed to the United Nations General Assembly adopting a series of resolutions on a global moratorium on the death penalty, starting in 2007 and renewed every two years since. 

Human Right Watch - Refugees and asylum seekers rights 

• Role: Established in 1978, publishes investigative reports on conditions in detention centres 

  • Case 1: In 2023, HRW reported that Australia evacuated the last refugee held on Nauru under its offshore processing policy. However, Australia resumed sending new asylum seekers to Nauru later that year.

  • Case 2: AAustralia’s Migration Amendment (Evacuation to Safety) Bill 2023, which HRW supported as a step towards ending human rights violations associated with Australia’s offshore processing policy

International Crisis Group - Uphold peace and rights

• Role: Committed to preventing and resolving deadly conflict, documenting human rights abuses during conflicts, and advocating for policies

  • Case 1: In 2021, the International Crisis Group reported that Myanmar’s military coup created a deadly stalemate, with widespread violence, civilian displacement, and a collapsing humanitarian system.

  • Case 2: ICG’s 2023 report analyzed how Israeli airstrikes in Syria escalated after the Assad regime's weakening, raising concerns about regional instability and civilian harm.

Australia: In Favour of Charter Rights

Ensure accessibility
Align Australia with international community

Consistent protection 

Stronger accountability 

Public awareness

Australia: Against Charter Rights

Parliamentary sovereignty 

Existing protections 

Judicial activism concerns 

Flexibility

Potential vagueness

Constitution: Expressed Rights

• Right to trial by jury for an indictable offence

  • Section 80

• Freedom of religion 

  • Adelaide Company of Jehovah’s Witnesses v Commonwealth (1943), where HCA breached this by banning Jehovah’s Witnesses during WWII

Constitution: Implicit Rights

• Freedom of political communication 

  • Lange v ABC (1997), where the HCA held that media have the right to free political communication

• Right to vote as a part of representative government 

  • Rowe v Electoral Commissioner (2010), where HCA considered whether changes to the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 (Cth) breached the constitutional requirement for representative government

Constitution: Separation of powers

Separation of powers 

Legislation

• Role: Enacts laws and passes legislation that governs the country

  • Case 1: Marriage Amendment Act 2017, Legalised same-sex marriage, showing how Parliament uses its legislative powers to reflect societal values.

Executive 

• Role: Implements and enforces laws, includes the Prime Minister, cabinet, and government departments.

  • Case 1: Australia’s Biosecurity Act 2015, during Covid-19 the executive used its powers to close borders and impose quarantine measures

Judiciary

• Role: Interprets laws and protects rights through judicial decisions and ensures laws comply with constitutional and common law principles.

  • Case 1: Mabo v Queensland (No 2) (1992): The High Court recognised native title rights for the first time, overturning the doctrine of terra nullius (not explicitly in the constitution ever though)

Constitution: Division of power

Division of powers

Exclusive

• Role: Federal jurisdiction

  • Case 1: Racial discrimination Act (1975) → enacted to prevent racism

  • Case 2: Commonwealth v Tasmania (1983) → High Court upheld federal power to stop the dam project under the external affairs power, enforcing environmental treaty obligations despite state opposition.

Residual

• Role: State jurisdiction

  • Case 1: Education Act (1990) → local education policy

  • Case 2: Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) → NSW state legislation that defines and regulates criminal offences, punishments, and legal procedures within the state.

Constitution: Common & Statute law

Common Law 

• Role: Law developed by judges through decisions in individual cases, creating legal precedents that guide future rulings.

  • Case 1: Dietrich v Queen 1992 → Established the right to a fair trial, including access to legal representation in serious criminal cases.

  • Case 2: Giller v Procopets 2008 → Recognised damages for psychiatric injury in a breach of confidence case, expanding tort law in personal injury claims.

  • Case 3: Donoghue v Stevenson (1932) (UK case, but very influential in Australia)

  • → Established the modern law of negligence, setting the foundation for duty of care in tort law.

Statute law 

• Role: Law created by Parliament through legislation, which overrides common law and provides clear legal rules.

  • Case 1: Racial Discrimination Act (1975) → enacted to prevent racism

  • Case 2: Sex Discrimination Act → prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex

  • Case 3: Education Act 1990 → governs the provision and regulation of education at the state level

  • Case 4: Aged Care Act 1997 (with recent reforms) → establishes rights and standards for aged care services

Australia: Courts

Australian Human Rights Commission 

• Role: Receive and act on complaints

  • Case 1: Australian Human Rights Commission 1986 → Established to promote and protect human rights in Australia through complaint resolution

  • Case 2: In 1997 conducted an inquiry on the Stolen Generations and only acted in 2008 (time lag = ineffective) — The Bringing Them Home report was tabled in 1997, but many recommendations took years to be addressed, showing delays in implementing justice.

  • Case 3: Race Discrimination Case 2004 → The Commission investigated racial discrimination in workplaces and public institutions, leading to stronger anti-discrimination policies and awareness campaigns.

High Court 

• Role: Sets binding precedents

  • Case 1: Australian Communist Party v Commonwealth (1951) → The High Court struck down the Communist Party Dissolution Act 1950, ruling it unconstitutional.

  • Case 2: Mabo v Queensland (No 2) (1992) → Recognized native title rights of Indigenous Australians, overturning terra nullius.

  • Case 3: Roach v Electoral Commissioner (2007) → The Court ruled that the Commonwealth law restricting prisoner voting rights was unconstitutional in part.

Australia: NGOs & Media

NGO 

Human Rights Law Centre

• Role: Established in 2006, advocates for human rights including stopping child abuse in detention centres and other vulnerable populations

  • Case 1: Biloela Family Case (2018–2022) → The Centre advocated for the rights of the Biloela family, focusing on preventing the deportation of asylum seeker children and protecting them from detention.

Media

4Corners 

• Role: Established in 1961, exposes social, political, and human rights issues through investigative journalism.

  • Case 1: “Australia’s Shame” (2016) → Exposed abuse of children in the Don Dale Youth Detention Centre, leading to a royal commission and reforms in youth detention.

  • Case 2: “The Killing Season” (2015) → Investigated Australian military conduct in Afghanistan, raising questions about war crimes and accountability.