PM Portal 27/1/26

To: Prime Minister of Australia (via PM&C portal)

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I write to place the Prime Minister and Cabinet on formal notice of Australia’s continuing breach of its international human rights and humanitarian law obligations in relation to children affected by toxic remnants of war, including intergenerational harm.

Statement of Rights

Australia is a State Party to multiple binding international instruments that protect the rights of children and civilians from war-related harm, including long-term and intergenerational effects. These obligations are not discretionary, program-based, or aspirational; they are binding duties.

In particular, Australia has obligations to:

• prevent and remedy serious harm arising from war-related toxic exposure,

• recognise and protect children affected by such harm,

• ensure access to recognition, health screening, records correction, and effective remedies, and

• cease policies and practices that result in ongoing denial of protected rights.

Australia’s continued exclusion of affected children from recognition and redress pathways constitutes an ongoing violation, not a historical issue.

International Findings and Current Scrutiny

This notice is provided in light of current international findings and recommendations, including:

1. Universal Periodic Review (UPR) – January 2026

Multiple States recommended that Australia strengthen domestic implementation of human rights obligations, including through improved accountability mechanisms and protection frameworks.

UPR outcome documentation (official UN record):

https://www.ohchr.org/en/hr-bodies/upr/au-index

2. Australian Human Rights Commission

The Commission has identified systemic gaps in Australia’s protection of internationally recognised rights and the absence of comprehensive domestic implementation mechanisms.

AHRC human rights reporting and recommendations:

https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work

3. UN Special Rapporteur on toxics and human rights

The UN Special Rapporteur has confirmed that toxic remnants of war pose grave threats to human rights, including the rights to life, health, water, food, and a healthy environment, with impacts on future generations, and that accountability is often obstructed by state practice and institutional denial.

Press release (OHCHR):

https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/10/toxic-remnants-war-pose-grave-threat-human-rights-and-environment-un-expert

Additional Protocol I (Article 77)

Australia is a State Party to Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions. Article 77 requires special protection for children affected by armed conflict. Ongoing denial of recognition and protection for children harmed by war-related toxic exposure is incompatible with this obligation and constitutes a continuing breach.

Purpose of this Submission

This submission is not a request for discretion, review, or sympathy. It is provided to ensure that:

• the Prime Minister and Cabinet are on formal notice of Australia’s binding obligations,

• current UN findings and recommendations are explicitly linked to domestic policy failures, and

• any continued inaction is recorded as informed, ongoing non-compliance.

This matter is already on the international record. This submission ensures it is also squarely on the executive record.

I request a written response addressing the matters raised in this submission, including how the Australian Government intends to give effect to its international obligations in light of the findings and recommendations now on the international record.