The Human Rights Awards are a series of awards for achievements in the field of human rights in Australia, bestowed by the Australian Human Rights Commission at the Human Rights Day Ceremony in December in each year.
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 as of 2021 [update] covers a wider spectrum. Of the original categories, only the Human Rights Medal has endured. [1]
In 2020, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia, instead of the awards ceremony, ten "Human Rights Heroes" were recognised as finalists, including the Torres Strait 8 and Corey Tutt. [2] [3]
In 1990 categories included: [4]
The Literature Award, Print and Online Media Award, Radio Award, and Television Awards were discontinued in 2015.[ citation needed ]
In 2018 the categories included: [5]
As of 2021 [update] , there are three award categories: [1]
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: [1]
In addition, the entrants must be a lawful resident of Australia. [1]
The awards are usually bestowed by the AHRC on Human Rights Day (10 December) each year, with a ceremony prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, and announced online since then. [7]
Recipients include: [8]
Recipients include: [8]
Named to honour Tony Fitzgerald AC QC . Recipients include: [19]
Finalists and recipients have been:
The Sydney Peace Prize is awarded by the Sydney Peace Foundation, a non profit organisation associated with the University of Sydney. The prize promotes peace with justice and the practice of nonviolence. It aims to encourage public interest and discussion about issues of peace, social justice, human rights, and non-violent conflict resolution.
Archibald William Roach was an Australian singer-songwriter and Aboriginal activist. Often referred to as "Uncle Archie", Roach was a Gunditjmara and Bundjalung elder who campaigned for the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. His wife and musical partner was the singer Ruby Hunter (1955–2010).
Gordon Barraclough Parker AO is an Australian psychiatrist who is scientia professor of psychiatry at the University of New South Wales (UNSW).
Larissa Yasmin Behrendt is an Australian legal academic, writer, filmmaker and Indigenous rights advocate. As of 2022 she is a professor of law and director of research and academic programs at the Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research at the University of Technology Sydney, and holds the inaugural Chair in Indigenous Research at UTS.
Anita Marianne Heiss is an Aboriginal Australian author, poet, cultural activist and social commentator. She is an advocate for Indigenous Australian literature and literacy, through her writing for adults and children and her membership of boards and committees.
Hieu Van Le, was the 35th governor of South Australia, in office from 1 September 2014 to 31 August 2021. He served as the state's lieutenant-governor from 2007 to 2014. He also served as chair of the South Australian Multicultural and Ethnic Affairs Commission (SAMEAC) from 2006 to 2009. Le is the first person of Asian heritage to be appointed a state governor in Australia, and first person of Vietnamese background to be appointed to a vice-regal position anywhere in the world.
Hilary Christiane Mary Charlesworth is an Australian international lawyer. She has been a Judge of the International Court of Justice since 5 November 2021, and is Harrison Moore Professor of Law and Melbourne Laureate Professor at the University of Melbourne, and Distinguished Professor at the Australian National University.
Georgie Robertson Stone is an Australian actress, writer and transgender rights advocate. At the age of 10, Stone was the youngest person to receive hormone blockers in Australia, which set a precedent that eventually changed the law that compelled transgender children and their families to apply to the Family Court of Australia to access stage one treatment. She continues to advocate for transgender children, and is one of the most visible transgender people in Australia.
Thomas Edwin Calma,, is an Aboriginal Australian human rights and social justice campaigner, and 2023 senior Australian of the Year. He is the sixth chancellor of the University of Canberra, a post held since January 2014, after two years as deputy chancellor. Calma is the second Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person to hold the position of chancellor of any Australian university.
Elizabeth Broderick is an Australian lawyer, who was the Australian Sex Discrimination Commissioner for over eight years from 2007 to 2015 and has been a United Nations special rapporteur for Discrimination against Women and Girls since 2017. She is a former partner and head of legal technology at Ashurst Australia, a global commercial law firm.
Emma Letitia Johnston is the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research) at the University of Sydney. She was former, Dean of Science at the University of New South Wales and President of Science & Technology Australia. She is an authority in marine ecology and a former Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research) at UNSW.
Martina Heide Stenzel is a Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of New South Wales (UNSW). She is also a Royal Australian Chemical Institute (RACI) University Ambassador. She became editor for the Australian Journal of Chemistry in 2008 and has served as Scientific Editor and as of 2021, as Editorial Board Chair of RSC Materials Horizons.
George Paxinos AO DSc FASSA FAA FRSN FAHMS is a Greek Australian neuroscientist, born in Ithaca, Greece. He completed his BA in psychology at the University of California at Berkeley and his PhD at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. After a postdoctoral year at Yale University, he moved to the School of Psychology of the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. He is currently an NHMRC Senior Principal Research Fellow at Neuroscience Research Australia and Scientia Professor of Medical Sciences at the University of New South Wales.
The National Indigenous Human Rights Awards are annual Australian awards that recognise the contribution of Indigenous Australians to human rights and social justice. The ceremony takes place in Sydney, New South Wales.
The National Live Music Awards (NLMAs) are a broad recognition of Australia's diverse and successful live industry, celebrating the diversity and success of the Australian live scene – recognising the best vocal talents and musicians alongside the best venues, events and festivals. The awards contain both national and state focused categories, voted on by the live industry, with select public voted categories. The national awards are revealed at a gala event, while the State and Territory awards are revealed at satellite events in their respective capital cities. They awards have been held annually since 2016.
Danzal James Baker, known professionally as Baker Boy, is a Yolngu rapper, dancer, artist, and actor. Baker Boy is known for performing original hip-hop songs incorporating both English and Yolŋu Matha and is one of the most prominent Aboriginal Australian rappers.
Patricia Audrey Anderson is an Australian human rights advocate and health administrator. An Alyawarre woman from the Northern Territory, she is well known internationally as a social justice advocate, advocating for improved health, educational, and protection outcomes for Indigenous Australian children.
Anna Shelley Brown is a lawyer and advocate, particularly in the area of LGBTIQ rights. After working for the Human Rights Law Centre for around seven years, in December 2018 she was appointed chief executive of new LGBTI advocacy organisation Equality Australia.
Rosemary Kayess is an Australian human rights lawyer, disability rights activist, researcher and academic. She is a senior research fellow at the University of New South Wales Faculty of Law and the chair of the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, having contributed to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2004. Kayess has also been the director of several non-governmental organizations throughout her career, advocating for disability rights and the implementation of the UN convention in Australia and abroad. She was awarded the Australian Human Rights Medal in 2019 for her contributions to human rights in Australia.
Jane Alexandra McAdam is an Australian legal scholar, and expert in climate change and refugees. She is a Scientia Professor at the University of NSW, and is the inaugural Director of the Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law. She is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences. She was awarded an Order of Australia in 2021 for “distinguished service to international refugee law, particularly to climate change”.
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