Charter of Rights School Writing Competition

Ryan, a Melbourne High School student, has won the inaugural Australian Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms School Writing Competition.

The competition, run jointly by the Human Rights Law Centre and Melbourne High School, and supported by the Lord Mayors Charitable Foundation, was to find the best preamble to an Australian Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms. Australia is the only democracy that doesn’t fully guarantee human rights so that everyone can benefit from them, and anyone can take action if they are being violated.

Here is the vital portion of Ryan’s entry:

Human rights are something that everyone has, it is a law and there are 5 of them that everyone has. They are the right to life…Freedom from torture and inhuman treatment means no one should be tortured in any way. Freedom from slavery and forced labour, this law means that no one should be forced to work if they don’t want to and cannot be turned into slaves. Right to a fair trial…And lastly no punishment without law, no one can be punished or jailed if they haven’t broken any law.

Congratulations to Ryan!

Learn more at https://charterofrights.org.au