Bob Carr (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

As foreign minister I regularly discuss human rights with my counterparts from countries such as Myanmar, Laos and Malaysia. Just today I discussed human rights issues with the visiting foreign minister of Sri Lanka. This week Australia hosted our 10th human rights dialogue with Vietnam. The 14th annual human rights dialogue between Australia and China took place in Canberra in July last year. Last month I was pleased to congratulate eminent Australian jurist Michael Kirby on his appointment as chair of the UN commission of inquiry to investigate human rights violations in North Korea—an inquiry we actively sought and persuaded others to support. With a Pacific Islands forum we are working to protect the rights of women through a 10-year $320 million initiative on domestic violence, economic empowerment and political participation. We are working to strengthen human rights institutions from Myanmar to Afghanistan. (Time expired)