Indigenous health and human rights

Abstract

This article considers the gross inequality between the health status and life expectation of Indigenous1 and non-Indigenous Australians and the current policy responses to it from a human rights perspective. It outlines a proposal for a human rights-based campaign for achieving health and life expectation equality within a generation (approximately 25 years).This article is based on work first published in the Social Justice Report 2005 of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner (ATSISJC 2006) and now re-printed as a standalone publication titled Achieving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Equality Within a Generation — A Human Rights Approach (ATSIS)C 2007b).2 It also draws on other work on Indigenous health completed by my office in the past year (ATSIS)C 2007a).