Nationality Australian Education University of New England | Name Seweryn Ozdowski Known for Sociology | |
Born June 24, 1949 (age 74) ( 1949-06-24 ) Poland Occupation Australian Human Rights Commission | ||
Refugee u-turn
Seweryn Antoni "Sev" Ozdowski AM (born on 24 June 1949 in Poland) is an Australian human rights advocate and social researcher, former senior civil servant and Human Rights Commissioner and Disability Discrimination Commissioner for the Australian government from 2000 to 2005. Ozdowski is known for his defence of human rights of refugees, especially child asylum seekers detained in Australia and people with disabilities and mental illness as well as for his contribution to multicultural policies in Australia.
Contents
Born in Poland, Ozdowski graduated with a Master of Laws (LLM) and Master of Arts (MA) in Sociology from Poznań University, Poland and with a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) from the University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales. In 1984 he was awarded the Harkness Fellowship for post-graduate work at Harvard, Georgetown and Berkeley Universities in USA (1984–86).
Career
Ozdowski was the Australian Human Rights Commissioner and Disability Discrimination Commissioner from 2000 to 2005. During this time Ozdowski authored the report about the National Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention (2004), A Last Resort?, which talks about the human rights of the children who arrived in Australia to seek protection from Autocratic rule of Iraq and Afghanistan. As Disability Discrimination Commissioner, in 2005 Ozdowski conducted the National Inquiry into Mental Health Services Not for Service. Currently Ozdowski is the Director of the Equity and Diversity department at the University of Western Sydney. and Honorary Professor at the Centre of Peace and Conflict Studies, the University of Sydney. Since 2006 President of the Australian Council for Human Rights Education, and initiator of annual International Human Rights Education Conferences held in Sydney, Durban, Cracow, Taipei and Washington D.C. In December 2014 Ozdowski has been appointed Chair of the Australian Multicultural Council by the Australian Government
Awards
In 2016 Ozdowski was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for significant service to the community, particularly to human rights education, social justice and multiculturalism, and as an academic.
Other awards include: