Dr Susan Harris Rimmer is an academic at the Australian National University and is
President of national NGO Australian Lawyers for Human Rights. She was born and raised in
Coonabarabran in central-west NSW. She graduated from the University of Queensland in
1997 with a BA (Hons)/LLB (Hons) and received a University Medal in 1996. 

After some volunteer work with the UN refugee agency UNHCR in Kenya and the International
Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, Susan did her articles of clerkship with
national law firm Blake Dawson Waldron and was admitted as a solicitor in March 2000. 

Since then, Susan has pursued human rights/refugee advocacy work with the peak bodies the
National Council of Churches in Australia, the Australian Council for International
Development and the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR. Susan has also been a Research
Specialist at the Parliamentary Library advising Federal Parliamentarians on legal issues
relating to refugees and terrorism, as well as analysing legislation in Bills Digests. 

Susan was selected to participate in the 2020 Summit to discuss the Future of Australian
Governance. She was elected to the Board of UNIFEM Australia in October 2008. She
received a Future Summit Leadership Award from the Australian Davos Connection in 2008,
and is a Vincent Fairfax Fellow in Ethics and Leadership. 

Susan is currently assisting Professor Hilary Charlesworth on the ARC research project
'Building Justice and Democracy After Conflict'. Susan received the degree of
Doctor of Juridical Science from the ANU College of Law for her thesis "Transitional
Justice and the Women of East Timor" in December 2008.

Articles

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Character as Destiny: The dangers of character tests in Commonwealth law, Weekend of Ideas, Manning Clarke House (2008)
 

Response to Nehal Bhuta - Hamstrung Justice (with John Pace), Alternative Law Journal (2003)
 

Tampering with the Racism Conference., Social Alternatives (2003)
 

Debating the relationship between human rights and aid in Australia (with Jane Hearn), Development Bulletin (2002)
 

Books

Contributions to Books

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Surfacing Gender in the Constitution of Timor Leste, The Constitution of Timor Leste (2009)
 

Beloved Madam: Gender Issues at the Indonesian ad hoc Human Rights Court, Timor-Leste: Issues of Justice and Human Rights. (2008)
 

The Role of UNHCR, The Challenge of Armed Conflict: International Law Responds. (2006)
 

East Timorese Women and the Catholic Church, Mixed Blessing: Women, Religion and the Law in South East Asia. (2005)
 

Popular Press

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Australia's Guantanamo dilemma, ABC Unleashed (2009)
 

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Clear case for reform, Canberra Times (2008)
 

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Book Review - Human Rights Overboard, Centre for Policy Development 'InSight' (2008)
 

Research Briefs

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The Dangers of Character Tests, Discussion Paper 101 (2008)
 

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Spy versus spy: Government control of sensitive information, Australian Parliamentary Library Research Brief (2006)
 

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Anti-Terrorism Bill (No. 2) 2005 (with Ann Palmer, Angus Martyn, Jerome Davidson, Roy Jordan, and Moira Coombs) (2005)
 

Presentations

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Evidence to Inquiry into whistleblowing protections within the Australian Government public sector, House Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs (2008)
 

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Diminishing Conflict in Timor Leste, Diminishing Conflict Series (2008)