Legislating for human security: Could South Australia lead the way again?

Conventional approaches to legislating to protect individual rights in Australia have utilised the language and discourse of international human rights law, attracting both support and criticism from key political actors and commentators. In South Australia, where no human rights legislation exists, past efforts to generate sustained public and political support for the enactment of international human rights principles into legislation have been unsuccessful. This is despite ongoing instances of human rights breaches occurring within the South Australian community. The reasons are varied and warrant careful consideration in order to identify and evaluate future options for improving the legal protection of human rights. One potential option is to reframe the discourse associated with human rights legislation. This could involve moving away from a legalistic approach that draws from international human rights law concepts and instead embrace the language of human security to refocus public and political attention on the need to secure dignity, equality and safety for the community. This article explores whether the language of human security, and the strategies identified by the United Nations Development Programme towards achieving human security, could create new opportunities for legislative reform in South Australia. It also considers the potential shortcomings of this approach, having regard to successful attempts to enact human rights legislation in other Australian states and territories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Alternative Law Journal is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)