Jeswynn Yogaratnam appointed as the new NT Anti-Discrimination Commissioner
He has spent years fighting to improve human rights in the Asia Pacific region. Now the NT academic is returning home to fight for fairness for Territorians
Politics
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An international human rights expert has been appointed as the new discrimination watchdog for the Northern Territory.
Attorney-General Chansey Paech announced the appointment of Jeswynn Yogaratnam as the NT Anti-Discrimination Commissioner on Thursday.
Mr Paech said Mr Yogaratnam had over 15 years experience in international human rights law, as well as extensive experience in rights-based policy development and research in the Asia-Pacific region.
In particular, Mr Yogaratnam was involved in law reform for human rights, criminal law and climate change.
Mr Yogaratnam is also no stranger to the Territory, having spent a decade at Charles Darwin University as CDU’s lead international human rights law academic.
During his tenure there from 2008 to 2018, Mr Yogaratnam co-created the Refugee Clinic Program with Harvard University.
He was also awarded the Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning and was the winner of the Australasian Law Teachers Association Best Early Career Academic Paper Award.
Mr Yogaratnam’s appointment comes as the Commissioner’s office records a record breaking number of complaints, with allegations of discrimination increasing for the fourth year in a row.
The latest annual report said there were 484 complaints to the commission in 2021-22, up from 371 the previous year.
Allegations about disability and sex discrimination increased alongside claims of failures to accommodate special needs.
The largest increase in complaints was from Territorians concerned about agencies seeking unnecessary information about them, going from four complaints in 2020-21 to 96.
“Some of the increase can be attributed to Covid-19 however not all,” it said.
Mr Yogaratnam’s appointment comes five months after Sally Sievers stepped down from the role after 10 years.
Traci Keys will continue to act in the role of Anti-Discrimination Commissioner until Mr Yogaratnam officially starts the job on August 7.
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