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Australian Government Announces Policy Shift and Recognises Macedonian Community
29 February, 2012
 Читај ја оваа страница на македонски
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The Australian Macedonian Human Rights Committee (AMHRC) is pleased to announce that after a sustained lobbying campaign, the Australian Government has finally withdrawn its discriminatory and racist "Slav Macedonian" Directive which renamed the Macedonian community in 1994.
In a letter dated 9 January 2012, the Acting Chief of Staff to the Minister for Foreign Affairs wrote:
"I can reaffirm that the 'Slav Macedonian' Administrative Circular is no longer operative in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). As is standard practice with inoperative Administrative Circulars, it has been cancelled and the document archived. Similarly, DFAT has advised me that the 'Slav Macedonian Directive' is not in use in other agencies, including the Department of Immigration and Citizenship and the Australian Bureau of Statistics."
The Department of Immigration and Citizenship also confirmed this position in a subsequent letter to the AMHRC on 11 January 2012:
"As stated by...[the] acting Chief of Staff to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, I can confirm that this department does not actively use the term 'Slav-Macedonian'. For example, the Translating and Interpreting Service National now only uses the term 'Macedonian'. We acknowledge the concerns of the Macedonian Australian community in relation to this matter."
This victory marks the end of a significant and long-running campaign by the AMHRC to gain governmental acceptance of the Macedonian community's right to self-identification. The campaign began in 1994, and saw hearings before the High Court of Australia, the Human Rights & Equal Opportunity Commission and the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade. Its culmination was recently reached after an intensive series of exchanges, involving meetings and correspondence, with senior Cabinet Ministers (including the Prime Minister), members of parliament from all political parties and various Government Departments.
The Australian Government's announcement of the official end to its offensive nomenclature policy marks a return to the long successful policy of Multiculturalism, a position the AMHRC has long advocated. This is a victory that will be beneficial to the maintenance of the human rights of all Australians.
Whilst the AMHRC is pleased with the Australian Government's current shift in policy toward the Macedonian Community, it now reiterates its call upon the Government to take the next logical step and recognise the Republic of Macedonia under its official and democratically chosen name.
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Established in 1984 the Australian Macedonian Human Rights Committee (AMHRC) is a non governmental organisation that advocates before governments, international institutions and broader communities about combating discrimination and promoting basic human rights. Our aspiration is to ensure that Macedonian communities and other excluded groups throughout the world are recognised, respected and afforded equitable treatment. For more information please visit www.macedonianhr.org.au, or contact AMHRC by email info@macedonianhr.org.au or via +61 3 93298960.
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