Australia and the massacres / genocide of indigenous peoples
Human Rights Atrocities
Human Rights Atrocities
- The "First Contact" was in 1788 when Great Britain invaded Australia with the first of many fleets of ships to land on Australian soil
- Regular massacres took place from first contact to around the 1920s hate crimes still happen to this day
- Torture, Murder, Food source eradication and Rape
- Brought diseases such as; smallpox, measles and influenza
- Burning of flora and fauna
- Residential school system stealing Aboriginal children from their families to forcible assimilate to European culture
- Police targeting Aboriginal folks their mass incarceration, 28% of the prison population is Aboriginal but only 3.3% of the Australian population is Aboriginal
Organizations
- The Lowitja Institute- health
- Closing the Gap- a 2007 campaign on health
- Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS)- education
- Justice for Yuendumu: Inquiry on Police Shooting
- Kumanjayi Walker murdered by police officer Zachary Rolfe
- The Healing Foundation- addressing generational trauma (NGO)
Organizations
UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
- "It establishes a universal framework of minimum standards for the survival, dignity and well-being of the Indigenous peoples of the world and it elaborates on existing human rights standards and fundamental freedoms as they apply to Indigenous peoples"
- 46 Articles
- Article 1: "Aboriginals have full enjoyment of human rights"
- Things such as the right to having a nationality, having the right to self-determination and manifesting their spirituality
- Having the right to not be forcible assimilated and removed from their land
- The main issue with this declaration is it doesn't address and provide a solution to generational trauma that has been experienced by Aboriginals
- As well as enforceability
Solutions
- Dignity has been striped from Aboriginals in the form of systemic and individual racism
- Education of the Australian youth must be the highest priority when it comes to solutions
- Reforming problematic institutions such as policing and prisons
- Better funding for organizations I listed before
- Changing public ideology from "this is just how it is" to "this is because of white supremacy and imperialism" through education
- Wage gaps being closed by offering reparations in the form of free higher education to access higher income
- Clean drinking water and proper food sources being accessible in all reservations
Solutions
Work Cited
- UN Declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples. The Australian Human Rights Commission. (n.d.). Retrieved May 10, 2022, from https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/un-declaration-rights-indigenous-peoples-1#:~:text=It%20establishes%20a%20universal%20framework,they%20apply%20to%20Indigenous%20peoples.
- Early colonial attitudes. Australians Together. (n.d.). Retrieved May 9, 2022, from https://www.australianstogether.org.au/discover/australian-history/early-settlers/
- Structures and organizations. Organizations: Working with Indigenous Australians. (n.d.). Retrieved May 9, 2022, from http://www.workingwithindigenousaustralians.info/content/Present_2_Structures.html
Work Cited