We Belong Here: Framework for Human Rights and Equity for People of African Descent
Creators: name: African Australian Advocacy Centre
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: policy
human rights
multicultural policy
African Australians
equity

description: Executive SummaryOn 12-22nd December 2022, the United Nations Working Group of Experts on People ofAfrican Descent (UN WGEPAD) conducted a fact-finding visit to Australia to assess thehuman rights situation of Africans and those of African descent. Its End of MissionStatement highlights concerns regarding “the prevalence of racial discrimination andthe human rights situation of Africans and persons of African descent in Australia”.[x]On 27th September, 2023 the UN WGEPAD released a final report:A/HRC/54/67/Add.2: Visit to Australia - Report of the Working Group of Experts onPeople of African Descent - Advance unedited version | OHCHRIn the report, the Working Group provides an overview of the current legal, institutionaland policy framework and measures taken to prevent racism, racial discrimination,xenophobia, and related intolerance faced by people of African descent in Australia,underscoring positive developments as well as gaps in implementation. Under theumbrella of manifestations of racial discrimination, the Working Group describes severalkey areas to be addressed:



Covid-19 response measures;

Hate speech and negative racial stereotypes;

Law enforcement, racial profiling, and impunity;

Immigration and Resettlement Policy;

Asylum, Mandatory detention, and Indefinite detention;

Structural discrimination;

Employment;

Education;

Health;

Cultural Rights: Theatre, Music, Food and Sport;

Intersectional and multiple forms of discrimination;

Children of African Descent.


Concluding the report, the UN WGEPAD highlights good practices and the main challenges identified and makes 107 concrete recommendations. You can watch the Australian report presentation from the UN Human Rights Council at 2:22 mins on UN Media: https://media.un.org/en/asset/k13/k13m8m5s4e. The Australian Government response is captured in the first chapter of proceedings: https://media.un.org/en/asset/k1b/k1b41nt7sf.These findings reinforce the need, as highlighted in the recent AAAC submission to the Australian Multicultural Framework review, for a National Human Rights Act that protects everyone’s rights, regardless of who they are and where they live. Subsequent to the release of the Final Report, the UN WGEPAD hosted the Regional Meeting for Asia Pacific on the International Decade for People of African Descent on the 15-16th January, 2024:https://www.africanaustralianadvocacy.org.au/regional-meeting-for-asia-pacific-on-the-international-decade-for-people-of-african-descent/. The AAAC submitted aspects of this submission to the proceedings which:



   highlighted the need for ongoing collaborative work in the region whilst understanding localised nuances;

supported recommendations to extend the decade for people of African descent due to limited awareness in some contexts;

recognised the commitment of governments and civil society to continue to work towards fundamental transformative reform in the areas of equality and human rights whilst highlighting examples of ideal practices.Strengthening collaboration and co-design is integral to the AAAC’s local and global impact.


With a focus on policy change, the purpose of this submission is a preliminary report, published to stimulate discussion with the Australian government through national, state, and local government platforms responsible for governance, participation, lawmaking and implementation of legislation. This submission responds to the UN WGEPAD's Final Report which identified several key issues that require urgent national attention. It is our intention that this submission marks an important stage in the proposal of the Australian government commissioning a National White Paper/s and strengthening ongoing collaboration to respond to the UN WGEPAD recommendations facilitated by the AAAC. The UN WGEPAD recommendations identified that people of African descent living in Australia have experienced significant inequity. They play a critical but often unrecognised and under-resourced role in society. There is limited but growing, sustainable research in this area, particularly from a lived experience perspective, resulting in significant policy and funding gaps and poorer outcomes for African diaspora communities and stakeholders supporting them. Increased recognition, representation, and resources for key African diaspora-led stakeholders, such as the AAAC, will lead to more robust and cohesive communities and more public awareness on societal issues such as systemic racism experienced by African diaspora communities.By articulating the gap in knowledge for African Australian experiences with Australian racialising discourses, this submission aids in the narration of the complexity of Australian Africans’ individual and community experiences as it pertains to their experiences in multicultural Australia.