Australian Government: Attorney-General's Department
Australian Government: Attorney-General's DepartmentAchieving a Just and Secure Society

Australia's Universal Periodic Review

What is the Universal Periodic Review?

The Universal Periodic Review is a new process undertaken by the United Nations Human Rights Council. It involves review of the human rights records of all 192 Member States once every four years. The ultimate aim of the review is to improve the human rights situation in all countries and address human rights violations wherever they occur. Australia’s Universal Periodic Review will take place in early 2011.

Draft National Report – public consultation

Each Member State under review must produce a 20 page National Report which is submitted to the Human Rights Council before the review. Member States are encouraged to prepare the report through a broad consultation process at the national level with all relevant stakeholders.

The Attorney-General’s Department is coordinating preparation of the Australian Government’s National Report.

The Attorney-General’s Department is now seeking public comment on the draft National Report. The draft report is available in Word, PDF and HTML formats. If you require further assistance in accessing the report, please contact us on the upr@ag.gov.au.

The Universal Periodic Review Draft National Report has been tabled into HTML and is available on the links below. Part 1 will be made available following the consultation.

The strict page limit set by the United Nations Human Rights Council means that we will not be able to add significantly to the National Report. However, we welcome your comments on the proposed content of the draft National Report.

We would appreciate it if you could limit your submissions to 5 pages.

Please send any comments to upr@ag.gov.au by 20 August 2010. Due to the need to finalise the report, we are unable to extend the deadline for submissions.

Where can I find more information?

For more information about the UPR visit the Australian Human Rights Commission or UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights - UPR website.

Contact:
Office of International Law
Phone: 02 6141 3382
Email: upr@ag.gov.au