A/HRC/36/46/Add.2
(m) Extend culturally sensitive judicial processes, using the Koori courts in
Victoria as a model, to other jurisdictions throughout the country.
114. As regards the removal of children, the Special Rapporteur recommends that
the Government:
(a)
Ensure that community-led early intervention programmes invest in
families, rather than punish them, in order to prevent children from being in contact
with the child protection system;
(b)
Develop, in consultation with peak indigenous organizations, a national
strategy to eliminate the overrepresentation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
children in out-of-home care and to monitor compliance with the Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle;
(c)
Ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the
Child on a communications procedure.
115. On the matter of Stolen Generations and reparation, the Special Rapporteur
recommends that the Government establish a comprehensive national mechanism to
ensure that adequate reparation, including compensation, is provided to the victims of
the “Stolen Generations” policies.
116. Regarding violence against women, the Special Rapporteur recommends that
the Government develop, in close consultation with indigenous women, a specific
national action plan on violence against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women.
117. With respect to political participation, the Special Rapporteur recommends
that the Government reinforce as a matter of priority measures by the Australian
Electoral Commission, in consultation with indigenous organizations, to increase the
number of indigenous voters to improve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders’
exercise of their right to political participation.
118. Concerning land rights and native title, the Special Rapporteur recommends
that the Government:
(a)
Review the system with multiple and overlapping legal regimes
applicable to native title claims at the federal, state and territory levels, with a view to
aligning them with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous
Peoples, which does not contain norms requiring proof of continuous occupation of
land;
(b)
Subject any native title law reform to adequate consultations with all
concerned stakeholders;
(c)
Train more indigenous legal professionals with expertise on native title
in order to allow Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to engage in land
rights claims in an informed manner;
(d)
Extend protected areas when requested by Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander Peoples;
(e)
Continue to support the joint management of protected areas and the
indigenous rangers programme as these are laudable examples of best practices.
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