13
4J UTALIA~
PRIME MINISTER
For Press 20 JULY 1978
PROGRAMME FOR THE OBSERVANCE OF THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE
UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS
The World Community is this year comnmemoratin~ g the
Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The Prime Minister said today that as a consequence of a decision
by the Government earlier in the year he was now approaching
State Premiers to seek their participation in a programme
of domestic activities to mark the anniversary.
Mr Fraser observed that this anniversary comes at a time when
there is growing international recognition of the importance of
fundamental human rights. The world-wide outcry in recent days
against the trials of Soviet dissidents, and the harsh sentences
imposed on them, is a clear demonstration of this and serves
to bring home the importance of doing all we can to promote
understanding of, and adherence to, the principles expressed
in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
We in Australia, he said, have a record on human rights we can
be justly proud of and over the years successive Australian
Governments have actively contributed to the work of the United
Nations in the promotion and protection of internationally
recognised human rights. Australia commenced a three year term
on the UN Commission on Human Rights at the beginning of this year.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights has become a
most highly regarded document and the Prime Minister said he
believed that governments have a role to play in promoting
public awareness of its universal significance. It is the
Government's intention to demonstrate, by means of a domestic
programme, that Australia reaffirms its commitment to the human
rights standards that the international community has aspired
to uphold for the past thirty years.
Accordingly, the Commonwealth is embarking on a programme designed
to make available to the community at large, information on the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights and its significance to
Australia. Discussion kits are being prepared for school children and ethnic
and Aboriginal organisations throughout Australia. The kits
will include a copy of the Declaration; as well translations
of the Declaration in over fifty languages spoken by ethnic
communities in Australia are to be made available.
The explanatory material in the discussion kit will focus
on the Declaration as a document which reflects the
international community's aspirations.
The Prime Minister said that an explanation of Australia's
Racial Discrimination Act is to be translated into the
languages of Australia's migrant communities. An explanation
is also to be translated into the main Aboriginal dialects
spoken in the Northern Territory, and distributed
Australia-wide on cassettes for Aboriginal communities where
these languages are in use. It is also proposed to circulate
an explanation of the Racial Discrimination Act in similar
form in English, both in conjunction with, and independently
of the cassettes.
Mr Fraser commented that he was writing to the State Premiers
seeking their participation in aspects of the programme of
relevance to them.