Institute of Advanced Studies

Children’s rights in Australia. 20 years after the Convention on the Rights of the Child – Are children any better off?

by Chris Sidoti, Human Rights Lawyer, Activist and Teacher

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child was ratified by Australia 19 years ago after intense campaigns for and against, especially in Western Australia.   

Those that believed in the Convention saw it as the final resolution to all of the problems Australian children encountered, while others claimed it would destroy families and ultimately ruin children’s lives. Today, 19 years after it was adopted, we can assess whether the Convention has achieved what it set out to accomplish or if any of the fears of its critics have been realised.

About Chris Sidoti

Chris Sidoti is a human rights lawyer, activist and teacher. He currently works from Sydney, Australia, as an international human rights consultant, specialising in the international human rights system and in national human rights institutions. He was director of the International Service for Human Rights, based in Geneva, Switzerland, from 2003 to 2007. He has been Australian Human Rights Commissioner (1995-2000), Australian Law Reform Commissioner (1992-1995) and Foundation Director of the Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (1987-1992). He has also worked in non-government organisations, including the Human Rights Council of Australia and the Australian Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace. In 2007-2008 he was the independent chair of the United Kingdom Government’s Northern Ireland Bill of Rights Forum. He is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Western Sydney, Griffith University (Queensland) and the Australian Catholic University, a Fellow of the Castan Centre for Human Rights Law at Monash University and an Affiliate at the Sydney Centre for International Law at the University of Sydney.

This lecture, held during 2009 Children’s Week, was sponsored by Commissioner for Children and Young People and The University of Western Australia.

Monday, 26 October 2009