Climate change is looming as the major human rights challenge facing the Asia Pacific, according the new chairperson of the APF.

“Forget who is at fault on climate change or what might be causing it – scientists tell us we’ve got it and that it’s worse than we currently recognise,” says John von Doussa, President of Australia’s Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission since 2003.

“It has the potential to devastate large areas of land in the Asia Pacific, either by sinking them in water or devastating them by drought.

“People will have no option but to move elsewhere to live and there’ll be large numbers of people with inadequate food and water. It will hit people’s most fundamental human rights.”

Mr von Doussa said the report of the Advisory Council of Jurists on the right to the environment would be an important tool for national human rights institutions in the Asia Pacific.

“Climate change will see millions of people displaced – what do human rights principles offer to deal with these consequences? The ACJ report will help us come to grips with these issues and some of the ways forward.”

Mr von Doussa was elected chairperson of the APF at the 12th Annual Meeting, held in Sydney in September. He will head the organisation for the next twelve months, with the support of the Korean and Malaysian human rights commissions as deputy chairs.

A former Judge of the Federal Court of Australia, as well as a member of the Court of Appeal of Vanuatu and the Supreme Court of Fiji, Mr von Doussa has long been a strong advocate for forging links with regional neighbours.

“To do their domestic work properly national human rights institutions need to understand what’s happening in their region and the broader international community,” he says.

“Human rights issues don’t start and finish at national borders. Like climate change, people trafficking and the anti-terrorism measures are human rights issues which affect all national human rights institutions across the Asia Pacific.

“The great thing about events like the APF Annual Meeting is the opportunity to spend time with people from other countries, share ideas and experiences and identify where we can work with each other and support each other.”

Mr von Doussa says an important part of his role with the APF is to share information about emerging human rights issues with member institutions, seek their feedback and develop a collaborative response.

“That could include setting up regional or sub-regional programs of action or presenting to the UN Human Rights Council a common position of all the member institutions on a particular issue,” he said.

In addition to his leading roles in the law and human rights, Mr von Doussa is also Chancellor of the University of Adelaide, one of Australia’s leading universities.

He has had a long-standing involvement in education, dating back to the 1970’s when he helped design and administer a law course outside the traditional university structure.

He has bought this same passion for education with him to his work in human rights.

“Fulfilling that education function is an area where I think national human rights institutions need to do more work. It’s a recurring question that faces all of us: how do you best get your message out to the community, to schools, to workplaces, politicians, the judiciary and others?”