Australian Centre for Human Rights Education

The Australian Centre for Human Rights Education (ACHRE) is the product of collaboration between The National Committee on Human Rights Education (NCHRE) and RMIT University (RMIT). It has received foundation funding and support from NCHRE and RMIT for two years

The NCHRE was the result of decisions of State and Federal Attorneys General in response to the United National Decade of Human Rights Education (1995-2004) and is recognized as a United Nations National Human Rights Committee.

At their core human rights are about basic values we all share and wish to live by. Human Rights declarations and charters provide standards against which actions can be measured, against which our usual practices can be checked to ensure that people are treated fairly and their rights as citizens are respected.

The aim of human rights education must be directed towards building "a culture of human rights", building a culture that proudly, strenuously and publicly supports human rights and condemns abuses, that enables all people to flourish, not just some.

The new Federal Government, in its policy platform for the recent federal election has promised to do likewise. It has promised to;

"work towards recognising and respecting the human rights of all Australians...(to) cooperate with the States and Territories to ensure that comprehensive and consistent human rights protection and enforcement mechanisms are available to all Australians...initiate a public inquiry about how to best recognise and protect the human rights and freedoms enjoyed by all Australians...establish a process of consultation which will ensure that all Australians will be given the chance to have their say on this important question for our democracy" (ALP National Platform and Constitution).

We must ensure that this promise is kept.

Australian Centre for Human Rights Education