- AHRC President and Race Discrimination Commissioner raise concern over the use of police force at Sydney protests.
- Protest must be protected, with violence and hate speech are not part of protest rights.
- Any unlawful police actions should be independently investigated and accountable.
The President of the Australian Human Rights Commission, Hugh de Kretser, and the Race Discrimination Commissioner, Giridharan Sivaraman, have issued a joint statement addressing police actions and protest rights following Monday night's demonstration in Sydney.
'We are concerned by confronting footage of the use of force by police against protestors in Sydney on Monday night,' they said. 'This includes the use of force against Muslim people in peaceful prayer. Allegations of unlawful actions by police should be fully and impartially investigated. If unlawful force was used, officers responsible should be held accountable and victims should have an effective remedy.
'Protest is vital to a healthy democracy and must be protected. People have the right to gather together peacefully, including peaceful religious practice, and speak out about issues that concern them. Governments should facilitate, not suppress, people's protest rights. Reasonable disruption should be tolerated. Any limitations on protest rights must be necessary and proportionate to achieve a legitimate purpose such as public safety.
'People peacefully participating in protests have a right to be safe. The use of force by authorities should only occur in exceptional circumstances and as a last resort. Force should generally not be used to disperse unlawful but non-violent protests.
'The right to protest does not extend to violence, incitement to violence or hate speech. We note police reports of people assaulting police at the protest and that a number of people have been charged with assault. Accountability for any protester violence will appropriately progress through the court system.
'Where a small number of people within a much larger protest engage in problematic behaviour, police should normally respond on an individualised basis to suspected unlawful behaviour rather than seek to disperse the entire protest.'
