Mr Smith’s Office: Courtney Hoogen 02 6277 7500 or 0488 244901
AusAID Public Affairs 0417 680 590
MEDIA RELEASE
Stephen Smith MP
Minister for Foreign Affairs
M E D I A R E L E A S E
AA 08 72 10 December 2008
AUSTRALIA REAFFIRMS ITS COMMITMENT TO HUMAN RIGHTS
Today, on Human Rights Day and the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
Australia will contribute $1.5 million to projects promoting human rights in 19 countries across the
Asia-Pacific, Africa and the Middle East.
On 10 December 1948, Australia was one of 47 original signatories to the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights. For 60 years Australia has been a leading proponent of the Declaration's consistent and
comprehensive implementation.
Australia's commitment to the aims and purposes of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is an
underlying principle of Australia's engagement with the international community.
The Declaration gives global expression to the basic rights and freedoms to which all human beings are
entitled and provides a standard to which all nations can be held to account.
Protection and promotion of the human rights enshrined in the Declaration is vital to global efforts to
achieve lasting peace and security and freedom and dignity for all.
The $1.5m will assist non-government organisations promote good governance, access to justice,
gender equality, disability rights, child protection and combating human trafficking.
Australia has a strong record in the protection and promotion of international human rights.
Through our aid program, the Australian Government is assisting partner Governments to respect,
protect and fulfil their international human rights obligations.
For further information on the new activities to be funded, see attachment:
Human Rights Small Grants Scheme: Successful Proposals 2008-09
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Mr Smith’s Office: Courtney Hoogen 02 6277 7500 or 0488 244901
AusAID Public Affairs 0417 680 590
Attachment
Human Rights Small Grants Scheme 2008-09: Successful Proposals
Country
Title
Description of Proposal
Bangladesh
Help Acid Survivors Rebuild
Their Lives
To empower victims of acid attacks (largely
women and girls) to realise their economic and
social rights. This will be done by providing them
with social and vocational skills training, and job
placements, and will assist them to reintegrate
into society and live a life with dignity. It will also
raise community awareness of acid attacks and
address issues of discrimination of victims.
$150,000 over two years. Acid Survivors
Foundation.
Cambodia
Empowering Disabled
Peoples’ Organisations to
mainstream disability into
development plans in
Kampong Speu and
Kampong Cham provinces
To empower people with disabilities to advocate
for their human rights. People with disabilities are
encouraged to become participants in shaping
seven community development plans to promote
inclusion in Kampong Speu and Kampong Cham
provinces. $69,200 over one year. Handicap
International.
Egypt
Legal Empowerment and
Aid: Improving Access to
Justice Watchdog Unit
To provide legal consultation to women in Egypt
and raise awareness of women’s legal rights. The
focus will be on data collection, advocacy and
strengthening current mechanisms which support
women’s human rights by lobbying for legal
reforms. $70,481 over one year. Egyptian Center
for Women’s Rights.
Fiji
(Regional)
Human Rights Training for
Pacific Churches
To provide human rights training and capacity
building for leaders and members of Pacific
Christian Churches. This program will promote
awareness of human rights issues, and will
develop a module of study on human rights in
their Bachelor of Divinity Program. The project
will cover Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga,
Kiribati, Vanuatu and Fiji. $151,427 over two
years. Pacific Conference of Churches.
Ghana
Production of Educational
Booklets, and Advocacy on
the Rights of Arrested
Persons in Ghana
To conduct an awareness and advocacy
campaign across five regions of Ghana about the
rights of arrested persons. This campaign will
work to improve the treatment of detainees, raise
awareness among police and the community of
the rights of those in detention, and build capacity
of civil society advocates. $75,762 over one year.
Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative.
India
Peacebuilding / Coexistence
Initiative in Schools in
Ahmedabad (Gujarat)
To raise awareness and build capacity of
students and teachers in Gujarat, which was the
location of the 2002 communal riots which killed
around 2,000 Muslims. The aim is to promote
social reconciliation, pluralism and harmony. This
will involve training of children on peace and
coexistence, training of teachers in conflict
resolution and peace-building, and will establish
46 ‘peace clubs’ in schools across Gujarat.
$41,845 over one year. Samerth Charitable
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Mr Smith’s Office: Courtney Hoogen 02 6277 7500 or 0488 244901
AusAID Public Affairs 0417 680 590
Country
Title
Description of Proposal
Trust.
Indonesia
Strengthening the Capacity
of the Islamic Local Leaders
on Gender Equality and
Human Rights in Jombang,
Lamongan, and Kediri, East
Java
To build capacity of Islamic local leaders. This
program will focus on gender equality and human
rights. It will also focus on strengthening the civil
society networks dealing with these issues in
Muslim communities. $70,000 over one year.
Rahima Foundation, Centre for Education and
Information on Islam and Women’s Rights
Issues.
Jordan
The Jordanian Parties and
Human Rights
To enhance human rights skills and their value in
the working of the Jordanian political parties. This
will be done by conducting a study of the extent
to which Jordanian parties have adopted human
rights principles into their programs and activities.
$45,034 over one year. National Centre for
Human Rights.
Madagascar
Towards the Full Recognition
of the Rights of People with
Disabilities
To build the capacity of disability associations
and key institutional players. These groups will
advocate for the implementation of the
Convention on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities into national policy. This program
aims to achieve recognition of equality of people
with disabilities, and to better include them in
economic and social life. It also aims to put in
place a data collection system to monitor
violations of the rights of people with disabilities
and disseminate a report on these findings.
$69,555 over one year. Handicap International.
Maldives
‘I Choose to Know My
Rights’: Strengthening
Democracy in the Maldives
through Human Rights
Education
To undertake a human rights awareness and
civic education program. The main goal of this
program is to provide Maldivian citizens,
especially youth and rural communities, with the
knowledge required for positive engagement in
the country’s emergent democracy. $70,488 over
one year. Transparency Maldives.
Mongolia
Hands Up for Your Rights: a
youth empowerment project
To empower youth in Mongolia. This program
aims to educate young people about human
rights, democracy and gender equality. It will also
support human rights training of youth by youth,
and will raise community awareness of their civil
and political rights. $73,510 over one year.
National Network of Mongolian Women’s NGOs.
Palestinian
Territories
Promoting the Protection of
Women’s Rights by Building
on the Resilience of
Communities Towards
Gender Based Violence
To raise the awareness of village councillors,
women, and rural communities and to promote
gender sensitivity. The focus of this program is
on improving and centralising record keeping of
women’s rights abuses for strengthening
evidence-based advocacy. It also focuses on
increasing access to justice and psychosocial
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Mr Smith’s Office: Courtney Hoogen 02 6277 7500 or 0488 244901
AusAID Public Affairs 0417 680 590
Country
Title
Description of Proposal
support services to victims. $144,100 over two
years. Rural Women’s Development Society.
Papua New
Guinea
Peace Initiatives in Tambu /
Nebilyer, Western Highlands
Province
To empower major communities in the Tambul /
Nebilyer district. This program aims to improve
their lives through developing conflict resolution
skills and strategies which improve local
decision-making and reduce crime. $65,670 over
one year. Peace Foundation Melanesia Inc.
Philippines
Promoting Independent,
Impartial and Effective
Investigation of Human
Rights Violations
To build the capacity of investigators and medical
doctors in the Commission on Human Rights.
This program will work to monitor and report on
human rights violations, in particular, extra-
judicial killings and enforced disappearances.
$69,995 over one year. The Asia Foundation.
Solomon
Islands
Community Land Rights
Awareness Project
To protect the social and economic rights of
people living on Gizo Island (Western Province,
Solomon Islands). These people have been
displaced as a result of the April 2007 tsunami.
The program will increase victims’ awareness of
their rights, as well as increase women’s
participation in decision-making on land rights
issues. $75,000 over one year. Oxfam
International, Gizo.
Vanuatu
Promoting the
Implementation of the
Convention of the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities
through Training and
Awareness Raising
To raise awareness of the Convention on the
Rights of Persons with Disabilities. This will be
promoted primarily to people with disability,
government agencies, donors, media and the
community. The program will translate the
Convention into Bislama, and will develop a
pictorial version. It will also assist the Shefa
Provincial Council to advance persons with a
disability in the province. $63,000 over one year.
Disability Promotion and Advocacy Authority.
Vietnam
On the defense: protecting
the rights of children in
conflict with the law
To protect the rights of children in direct conflict
with law enforcement agencies. This program will
work with the police to create a ‘good practice’
model of detaining, questioning, and protecting
these children. It will also train police, social
workers, and local government officials to
promote their rights. $60,000 over one year. Blue
Dragon Children’s Foundation.
NEWS 
