Human rights commission accused of having 'culture of silence' in workplace
The president of the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has refuted the claims that the AHRC "disciplined" employees for expressing their views on the Israel-Gaza war, according to reports.
A letter tabled in Parliament in a Senate estimates hearing last week saw a "collective of Commission staff" anonymously expressing their frustration over the AHRC's "failure to fulfil its mandate" as an institution in addressing the ongoing conflict.
"We have chosen to remain anonymous due to the culture of silence at the Commission," the letter read.
"We have witnessed staff who take a rights-based approach to this issue be cautioned and disciplined. We also note the lack of safe channels for concerns to be discussed without fear of adverse action and the impact this has had on our wellbeing and psychological safety."
Staff reminded to be ‘apolitical and impartial’
But AHRC president Rosalind Croucher denied that they took action against employees who signed pro-Palestinian petitions, or wearing keffiyehs to work, reported The Guardian, which first reported the contents of the letter in early February.
Croucher noted that staff have only been reminded of the "importance of being apolitical and impartial" by the commission's chief executive officer and the union.
The AHRC president also lamented that employees had to write the letter anonymously, with its publication leading to questions within the commission's workforce.
"It was not a matter we discussed internally, it was just raised externally through the Guardian newspaper. And that shocked a lot of the staff who were not part of that group," Croucher said as quoted by the Guardian.
"We had people asking: 'What's going on?' They were terribly concerned to see the commission written about in that way in the paper."
Criticism against AHRC for ‘erosion of human rights’
The letter further criticised the AHRC for failing to hold the Australian government "accountable for its human rights violations in Palestine."
"Due to a lack of leadership, the Commission has become complicit in the erosion of human rights," it read.
The collective of employees then called on the commission to "act in accordance with its mandate," and outlined nine demands, which includes carrying out a psychosocial risk assessment to address the distress felt by staff.
It also demanded acknowledgment and corrective actions to the "suppressive and intimidating treatment towards staff who have spoken out about human rights abuses and war crimes in the workplace and offline.
"The commission should not reprimand staff for advocating for the respect of human rights in the context of the current genocide in Palestine, or ever," the letter read. "Rather, the commission should support and encourage the active participation of staff as it relates to human rights."
