Shiny new blog

Hi there.

Here's my first post on this shiny new blog. I feel like a bit of a nuff-nuff posting before the internship has even begun, but there's plenty of stuff to say! I've just been on the phone to a disinterested-sounding guy who works at a youth hostel in Geneva, getting some info from him about potential accommodation. It's not a good sign when available rooms are so scant you're considering sharing a room with 6 other snoring random strangers for 7 weeks! But hopefully something else will pop up. We shall see.

Significantly more exciting than my accommodation-hunting woes is the mystery surrounding the 2006 UN Commission on Human Rights. It is being suggested by many people that this will be the last UNCHR (as we have known it since its inception 62 sessions ago), as some key players are tending towards disengagement from that particular structure of policing / 'enforcement' of the UN's Human Rights mandates. Watching the negotiations from within the Australian delegation will be very, very interesting. From what I understand, those countries which are wanting to shut down the current system are talking about putting in its place a different system, but it seems difficult to believe that such a system would have teeth. Disengagement is, after all, disengagement. At a recent conference at Monash University entitled 'Seeking Asylum in Australia' I heard Bob Birrell suggest that Australia should just back off from (ie unsign!) instruments like the Refugees Convention, the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and other Conventions that impose (in his view) onerous and unreasonable obligations on Australia. His argument was- from memory - that in the place of these instruments, there would spring up a robust, dynamic and healthy culture of Human Rights protection within Australia! Which I found interesting. His position seemed to be that it is black-letter prescription of obligations which poses the problem, rather than unwillingness to assume responsibility for them. Needless to say, his position was feistily challeneged...! But I expect that this point of view will be the norm among the Australian delegation, and others, so it will be really interesting to speak to those people about their expectations and ideas. I anticipate being fascinated, surprised, and challenged at every turn!