The University of Chile School of Law and the Center for Human Rights hosted the 7th IHREC on 12-15 December 2016.     

The IHREC is an international event that has taken place in Australia, South Africa, Poland, Taiwan, the United States and The Netherlands. This time the conference was held for the first time in Latin America and the 2017 conference will be held in Canada.

The 7th IHREC was bi-lingual(in Spanish and English) and brought together some 250 experts, scholars and concerned individuals from different countries.

The summary of the conference may be viewed 2017-01-18 Record of the VII IHREC The papers and presentations from the panels are available on http://ihrec2016.org/en in the section with the program. As you go to the details of each panel, the presenter names are links to their papers. If you wish to download, for example, the papers from Panel 1, you go to this link http://ihrec2016.org/en/opalsingleevent-session/panel-1-human-rights-education-hre-in-formal-education-systems-part-1-challenges-and-analysis/ and select the papers you want to download. The final publication will be available in March 2017.

Dr Ozdowski, Foundation Convenor & Series Coordinator, International Human Rights Education Conferences, opened the conference (see  2016-12-12 7TH IHRE OPENING REMARKS BY SEV OZDOWSKI – speaking notes 2) delivered a paper on Australian Multiculturalism (see 2016-12-12 7IHREC CHILE – MULTICULTURALISM PAPER[1] ) and chaired the closing panel. Sev also presented to the Executive Director of the Museo de la Memoria y los Derechos Humanos a coper dove given him by political prisoners in August 1986 when he was visiting Chilean prisons on a human rights mission to Latin American countries.

For more information see: https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/equity_diversity/equity_and_diversity/conferences/international_human_rights_education_conferences

Below there are few photographs from the 7 th IHREC.

It was a pleasure to take part with Associate Professor Christine Inglis and Leticia Anderson at the Sydney University Election Nerds Show about multicultural Australia.  Thank you to Dr Peter John Chen of the Department of Government in International Relations for organising it.

The Multiculturalism Show is available online and via itunes – http://www.electionnerds.info/?p=733 – feel free to share this link on your social media sites.

On 8 November 2016, pursuant to section 7(c) of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011, the Attorney-General referred to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights the following matters for inquiry and report:

• whether the operation of Part IIA of the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Cth) (including sections 18C and 18D) impose unreasonable restrictions on freedom of speech; and
• whether the complaints-handling procedures of the Australian Human Rights Commission should be reformed.

My submission to the parliamentary inquiry into freedom of speech in Australia has been published on the inquiry website of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights.

To view it, please refer to the list of submissions on the inquiry website at:

http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/Human_Rights_inquiries/FreedomspeechAustralia/Submissions.

On 10 October 2016, to commemorate the fifties anniversary of Australia becoming a signatory to one of the world’s most profound declarations on human rights — the United Nations’ International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull moved a motion in Parliament to reaffirm Australia’s commitment to equality of rights for all and non-discrimination on the grounds of race, colour, creed or origin. The motion was supported by the Leader of the opposition and accepted by acclamation.

The motion stated:

1. Reaffirms its commitment to the right of all Australians to enjoy equal rights and be treated with equal respect regardless of race, colour, creed or origin;
2. Reaffirms its commitment to maintaining an immigration policy wholly non-discriminatory on grounds of race, colour, creed or origin;
3. Reaffirms its commitment to the process of reconciliation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, in the context of redressing their profound social and economic disadvantage;
4. Reaffirms its commitment to maintaining Australia as a culturally diverse, tolerant and open society, united by an overriding commitment to our nation, and its democratic institutions and values; and
5. Denounces racial intolerance in any form as incompatible with the kind of society we are and want to be.

The Prime Minister’s speech could be read on: https://www.pm.gov.au/media/2016-10-10/racial-tolerance-motion-address-parliament

On 16 August 2016 in the afternoon (Polish time) I gave an interview about the situation in Nauru to Ms Agnieszce Lichnerowicz, journalist working in Warsaw for radio TOK FM – program SWIATOPODGLAD.
The interview is titled “Incydenty w obozie dla uchodzcow na wyspie Nauru” and could be found on page 16 in the Radio TOK FM archives in Radio at:  http:/audycje.tokfm.pl/odcinek/40408

The issue of immigration and current refugee refugee crisis are of major interest to many Europeans. Attached is an interview Dr Ozdowski gave recently to Mr Marek Ostrowski, Editor in Chief of Polish Weekly Magazine “Polityka”, about Australian immigration system, refugee intake and multiculturalism.

Sev_Ozdowski_wywiad

Please join me for the next Western Sydney Open Forum for 2016, titled ‘Insurance, Genetic Testing and Discrimination’.

The guest speaker on the night will be Justice Christian Byk of French Commission for UNESCO.

The forum will be held on Wednesday, 20 July 2016 at the at Western Sydney University Parramatta South campus, Female Orphan School, Building EZ, with refreshments at 5:30 for a 6:00pm start.

I would greatly appreciate it if you could distribute this invitation through your networks.

Today I have attended an excellent 2014 Pulitzer Prize winning play “Disgraced” performed at the Riverside Theatre in Parramatta and chaired a discussion after watching it. The play was directed by Sarah Goodes, director at a Sydney Theatre Company.

When I arrived in Australia in 1975, Prof Alice Tay told me that in Australia polite dinner conversation should not touch the topics of politics, religion and sex. This was very different to my cultural background – about politics we spoke constantly and about religion and sex from time to time.

The play broke down all the wisdoms I was told by Alice and the established dinner conversation taboos. In fact, veneers of civility are being ripped away in a discussion on religion, politics and sex between characters from different cultural and religious backgrounds. There is a clear “clash of civilisations” taking place.

The play is relevant to those interested in contemporary Australian multiculturalism and islamophobia. The play is about a conversation we need to have! Recommended viewing.