Checks and balances built into the legal system in Venezuela appear to have been eroded, leaving state security forces unaccountable for some 500 questionable killings, warns United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says the report “attests to the need for political dialogue and a fully inclusive political solution” in the country, says deputy spokesman Farhan Haq.
The Hon. Alan Tudge MP, Minister for Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs, has announced the appointments to the Australian Multicultural Council for 3-year term starting on 22 June 2018. The new Council is made up of five current and eight new members; I have been asked to continue as the Council’s Chair for another three years.
Australian Multicultural Council is a national body established to advise Federal government on a range of issues relating to multicultural policies and programs with special focus delivering cohesive and harmonious Australia with opportunities for all. For more about the council see: http://minister.homeaffairs.gov.au/alantudge/Pages/expanded-australian-multicultural-council.aspx
I am delighted to be able to continue my work with the government to advance programs and policies aimed at building strong, integrated, and cohesive communities. Our vibrant multicultural society is a result of the successful integration of migrants around shared values of respect, equality, and freedom. Integration ensures that newcomers can contribute to our economic prosperity and participate fully in our society.
My sincere thanks to a number of you who have written to congratulate me on my reappointment. In particular, I wish to thank you Ms Mary Patetsos, the Chairperson of the Federation of Ethnic Communities’ Councils of Australia for her warm congratulations on behalf of FECCA.
Read the recent global update on human rights by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein to the 38th session of the Human Rights Council; see https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=23206&LangID=E
In his opening remarks he reminded the Council about serious gaps in understanding human rights even amongst the UN officials. Many governments deny that human rights are universal and only sourced from a Western tradition. This is not further from the truth.
The international conferences on human rights education (ICHRE) work to address this lack of knowledge. They are a series of dialogues on human rights education as a means of promoting democracy, the rule of law, justice, and intercultural and social harmony. For more about past conferences see: www.westernsydney.edu.au/equity_diversity/equity_and_diversity/conferences. 
Join me at the 9th ICHRE to be held in Sydney, 26-29 November 2018. It will coincide with the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the 25th anniversary of the education-oriented Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action and cover the range of human rights education issues such as national and international curricula, pedagogy and best practices.
For more information on the 9th ICHRE, including on registration and proposals for paper and workshop presentations, see www.ichre2018.com.au.
See below an important article about human rights in North Korea.
The world is less peaceful today than at any time in the last decade.
The 2018 Global Peace Index, released today, reveals a world in which the tensions, conflicts, and crises that emerged in the last decade remain unresolved, resulting in a gradual, sustained fall in peacefulness. The largest contributors to the deterioration in the last year were the escalations in both interstate and internal armed conflicts, a rise in political terror and reduced commitment to UN peacekeeping. Syria, Afghanistan, South Sudan, Iraq and Somalia are the least peaceful countries whilst Iceland, New Zealand, Austria, Portugal and Denmark are the most peaceful countries.
For more information see: http://visionofhumanity.org/reports/