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UN PhotoOHCHR / AUSTRALIA INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
STORY: OHCHR / AUSTRALIA INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
TRT: 01:11
SOURCE: OHCHR
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 3 NOVEMBER 2025, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
FILE – GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
1. Various shots, Palais Wilson (UN Human Rights Office Headquarters)
3 NOVEMBER 2025, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR):
“Australia’s first formal treaty with Indigenous Peoples -- passed by legislators in Victoria state – is an historic step toward self-determination for the country’s First Peoples. This is a very significant occasion for all Australians, and represents a major step toward justice and equality. It addresses the continued exclusion of and discrimination against the country’s First Peoples – the result of colonisation. The treaty has the potential to be truly transformative, ensuring the First Peoples have a direct voice in advising and shaping laws, policies and practices that affect their lives, in line with Australia’s international human rights obligations. We hope this inspires other leaders in Australia and beyond to adopt similar measures to recognise Indigenous Peoples through inclusive governance and innovative mechanisms for participation and reconciliation – all of which ultimately promote a society built on mutual respect and human rights for all.”
FILE – GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
3. Med shot, Palais Wilson (UN Human Rights Office Headquarters)
UN Human Rights Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said today (03 Nov), “Australia’s first formal treaty with Indigenous Peoples -- passed by legislators in Victoria state -- is an historic step toward self-determination for the country’s First Peoples”.
“This is a very significant occasion for all Australians, and represents a major step toward justice and equality,” Shamdasani said. “It addresses the continued exclusion of and discrimination against the country’s First Peoples – the result of colonization.”
The state-wide treaty provides for a democratically-elected and permanent First Peoples Assembly, the Gellung Warl, which will also include a truth-telling body, called Nyerna Yoorrook Telkuna, and an accountability body, known as Nginma Ngainga Wara.
This move follows the call for constitutional recognition and a voice for First Peoples made by Indigenous leaders in 2017 in the Uluru Statement from the Heart.
The state of Victoria is leading an initiative and, “the Treaty has the potential to be truly transformative, ensuring the First Peoples have a direct voice in advising and shaping laws, policies and practices that affect their lives, in line with Australia’s international human rights obligations,” Shamdasani added.
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk said now is the time to press forward with implementing the treaty and its accompanying legislation, to deliver real change in the lives of First Peoples of Victoria.
“We hope this inspires other leaders in Australia and beyond to adopt similar measures to recognise Indigenous Peoples through inclusive governance and innovative mechanisms for participation and reconciliation – all of which ultimately promote a society built on mutual respect and human rights for all,” Shamdasani said.
About a quarter of Australia’s population lives in the state of Victoria.
