Castan Centre - Human Rights Law Conference

The importance of human rights in contemporary Australian society is becoming increasingly apparent and recognised. Recent Royal Commissions into issues such as mental health and older persons in residential care as well as parliamentary inquiries into issues such as homelessness have made recommendations underpinned by human rights.

Building on that momentum, this conference engages in detail with human rights in three focussed sessions on women and discrimination, ending homelessness and charters of human rights. Distinguished speakers, all experts in their fields, examine these areas of concern with respected moderators and excellent rapporteurs.

Agenda

• 9.00 am - Welcome and acknowledgment of country - Bryan Horrigan, Professor and Dean, Faculty of Law, Monash University
• 9.15am - Keynote address
• 10.00am - Break
• 10.15am - Confronting Persistent Gender Inequality and Harnessing Women's Voices
• 11.30am - Break
• 11.45am - Homelessness and Human Rights
• 1.00pm - Lunch break
• 2.00pm - Charters of Human Rights
• 3.30pm - Thanks and close

Speakers

Keynote address: Kristen Hilton, Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commissioner

Confronting Persistent Gender Inequality and Harnessing Women's Voices (10.15 am)

• June Oscar AO, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner
• Dr Tania Penovic, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law, Monash University, Convenor of the Gender and Sexuality Program Research Group
• Moderator: Professor Hilary Charlesworth, Melbourne Laureate Professor, Co-Director of Studies, Human Rights Law, University of Melbourne Law School
• Rapporteur: Daye Gang, Barrister, consultant in human rights and North Korea and PhD candidate (restorative justice and victims of sexual and family violence)

Ending Homelessness by Human Rights-Based Approach (11.45 am)

• Leilani Farha, Global Director of The Shift, Former United Nations Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing
• Cassandra Goldie, Chief Executive Officer, Australian Council of Social Services
• Professor Jean Allain, Faculty of Law, Monash University, Covenor of the Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Program Research Group, Castan Centre for Human Rights Law
• Moderator: Dr. Jessie Hohmann, Associate Professor, UTS Faculty of Law.
• Rapporteur:  Andrea Olivares-Jones, Policy Manager, Castan Centre for Human Rights Law

Charters of Human Rights: the Victorian Experience and the National Potential (2.00 pm)

• Emeritus Professor Rosalind Croucher AM, President, Australian Human Rights Commission
• Professor The Hon. Kevin H Bell AM QC, Director of the Castan Centre for Human Rights Law, Convenor of Charters of Rights Program Research Group, Faculty of Law, Monash University
• Moderator: The Hon Pamela Tate SC, Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Law, Monash University, member of the Castan Centre for Human Rights Law, Former Justice of the Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of Victoria
• Rapporteur: Hugh de Kretser, Executive Director, Human Rights Law Centre

For further information about the speakers, visit our webpage.