The Human Rights Awards are a series of awards for achievements in the field of
human rights
Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...
in Australia, bestowed by the
Australian Human Rights Commission
The Australian Human Rights Commission is the national human rights institution of the Commonwealth of Australia, established in 1986 as the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) and renamed in 2008. It is a statutory body fu ...
at the
Human Rights Day
Human Rights Day (HRD) is list of minor secular observances#December, celebrated annually around the world on 10 December every year.
The date was chosen to honor the United Nations General Assembly's adoption and proclamation, on 10 December ...
Ceremony in December in each year.
History
The Human Rights Awards were established in 1987 by the then Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) "to recognise the contributions of individuals across the nation who made it their life's mission to champion human rights, social justice, and equality for all". The award began as an event to recognise human rights in film, television and literature, but covers a wider spectrum. Of the original categories, only the Human Rights Medal has endured.
In 2020, owing to the
COVID-19 pandemic in Australia
The COVID-19 pandemic in Australia was a part of the COVID-19 pandemic, worldwide pandemic of the coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by SARS-CoV-2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first confirmed case in Aust ...
, instead of the awards ceremony, ten "Human Rights Heroes" were recognised as finalists, including the
Torres Strait 8 and
Corey Tutt.
Past categories
In 1990 categories included:
*Poetry Award
*Drama Award
*Prose Award
*Film Award
*Songwriting Award
*Television Drama Award
*Television Documentary Award
*Radio Documentary/ Current Affairs Award
*Metropolitan Newspapers Award
*Regional Newspapers Award
*Magazines Award
The Literature Award, Print and Online Media Award, Radio Award, and Television Awards were discontinued in 2015.
In 2018 the categories included:
* Human Rights Medal (Highest in this awards)
* Young People's Human Rights Medal (from 2008)
* Law Award
* Business Award
* Government Award (from 2018)
* Racism. It Stops With Me Award (from 2015)
* Tony Fitzgerald Memorial Community Individual Award
* Community Organisation Award
* Media Award
* Government Award (created 2018
Description
, there are three award categories:
[
* Human Rights Medal
* Young People's Medal (for under-25s)
* Community Human Rights Champion
The Australian Human Rights Commission receives nominations for the Human Rights Awards and Medals categories, with the choice of recipient made by an independent panel. The individual Human Rights Award and Medal is awarded only to an individual who, to be eligible, must have made an outstanding contribution to the promotion and protection of human rights in Australia in at least one of the following areas:][
* Taking action to overcome discrimination or infringements of human rights within Australia
* Encouraging greater social harmony within Australia in a range of areas such as race relations, gender equality and the treatment of children and young people
* Enhancing the rights of ]Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of contemporary Australia prior to History of Australia (1788–1850), British colonisation. The ...
* Promoting equal opportunity for people with a disability in Australia or countering discrimination on the basis of age or sexuality.
* Increasing awareness of issues of injustice or inequality in Australia.
In addition, the entrants must be a lawful resident of Australia.[
The awards are usually bestowed by the AHRC on ]Human Rights Day
Human Rights Day (HRD) is list of minor secular observances#December, celebrated annually around the world on 10 December every year.
The date was chosen to honor the United Nations General Assembly's adoption and proclamation, on 10 December ...
(10 December) each year, with a ceremony prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, and announced online since then.
Human Rights Medal
Recipients include:Ron Merkel
Ronald Merkel is an Australian jurist, who was formerly a Judge of the Federal Court of Australia.
Education
Merkel was educated at Melbourne High School and the University of Melbourne, where he obtained a Bachelor of Laws in 1963.
Career
M ...
QC
*2012 - Ian Thorpe
Ian James Thorpe (born 13 October 1982) is an Australian retired swimmer who specialised in freestyle swimming, freestyle, but also competed in backstroke and the medley swimming, individual medley. He has won five Olympic gold medals, the se ...
*2013 - Sister Clare Condon
*2014 - Dorothy Hoddinott
*2015 - Peter Greste
*2016 - Pat Anderson
*2017 - Johnathan Thurston
*2018 - Justice Peter McClellan AM - Chrissie Foster
*2019 - Rosemary Kayess
Young People’s Human Rights Medal
Recipients include:[
*2008 - Alan Huynh
*2009 - Venay Menon
*2010 - Jack Manning Bancroft
*2011 - Tshibanda Gracia Ngoy
*2012 - Krista McMeeken
*2013 - Mariah Kennedy
*2014 - Daniel Haile-Michael and Maki Issa
*2015 - Yen Eriksen
*2016 - Arash Bordbar
*2017 - Georgie Stone
*2018 - Saxon Mullins
*2019 - Vanessa Turnbull-Roberts][
*2020 - ''No Medal''
*2021 - Chanel Contos
*2022 - Caroline Cecile Fletcher]
Tony Fitzgerald Memorial Community Individual Award
Named to honour Tony Fitzgerald
Gerald Edward "Tony" Fitzgerald (born 26 November 1941) is an Australian former Australian judge, who presided over the Fitzgerald Inquiry. The report from the inquiry led to the resignation of the Premier of Queensland Joh Bjelke-Petersen, a ...
. Recipients include:
* 2011 Lola Edwards
* 2012 Pat Anderson
* 2013 Carolyn Frohmader
* 2014 Damian Griffis
* 2015 Ludo McFerran
* 2016 Jane Rosengrave
* 2017 Barbara Elizabeth Spriggs
* 2018 Catia Malaquias
* 2019 Jasmine Cavanagh[
]
Racism. It Stops With Me Award
Finalists and recipients have been:
* 2015 Tasmanian Students Against Racism (Winner), Football Federation Victoria, Multicultural Development Association, All Together Now
* 2016 National Ethnic and Multicultural Broadcasters Council The National Ethnic & Multicultural Broadcasters’ Council (NEMBC) is the peak body for Australia's ethnic and multilingual community broadcasters. The NEMBC develops national policy, advocates and lobbies on behalf of its members and organises a ...
(Winner), Welcome to Australia, Beyondblue, All Together Now, Fadzi Whande, Hobsons Bay City Council
* 2017 Cohealth Arts Generator Sisters and Brothers Program (Winner), Clinton Pryor, Sean Gordon, ActNow Theatre
ActNow Theatre is a theatre company based in Adelaide, South Australia. Founded in 2007, it is a community-based company whose work focuses on social justice issues and techniques. From 2007 until 2020, the artistic director/CEO was Edwin Kemp ...
and Reconciliation SA (joint), Multicultural Communities Council of Illawarra and Why Documentaries (joint)
* 2018 Nyadol Nyuon (winner), Mariam Veiszadeh, Welcoming Cities, E-Raced, ActNow Theatre
ActNow Theatre is a theatre company based in Adelaide, South Australia. Founded in 2007, it is a community-based company whose work focuses on social justice issues and techniques. From 2007 until 2020, the artistic director/CEO was Edwin Kemp ...
and Reconciliation SA (joint)
* 2019 '' The Final Quarter'', documentary film by Shark Island Productions (winner)[
]
Business Award
*2018: Konica Minolta Australia, recognised for its leadership on the issue of modern slavery.[
*2019: STREAT][
]
Law Award
*2019: Kate Eastman[
*2022: Jane McAdam]
Government Award
*2018:
*2019: Armidale Regional Council
The Armidale Region is a local government area in the New England and Northern Tablelands regions of New South Wales, Australia. This area was formed in 2016 from the merger of the Armidale Dumaresq Shire with the surrounding Guyra Shire.
T ...
[
]
Community Organisation Award
*2018: Australian Marriage Equality
*2019: Just Reinvest NSW[
*2022: Andrea Comastri ]
Media Award
*1992: Katherine Cummings, for her non-fiction work ''Katherine's Diary''
*2019: Jess Hill
Jesse Terrill Hill (January 20, 1907 – August 31, 1993) was an American athlete, coach, and college athletics administrator who was best known for his tenure as a coach and athletic director at the University of Southern California (USC). His ...
, for her non-fiction work, ''See What You Made Me Do'', about domestic violence
Domestic violence is violence that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes r ...
References
External links
*
{{Human Rights Awards
Human rights awards
Awards established in 1987
Australian humanitarian and service awards