“Ghost Nets” exhibition of Aboriginal art from the Cape York peninsula in northern Australia

Statement by Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

13 September 2017

I’m delighted to have the opportunity to discover some of the art being made by indigenous people in the remote Cape York peninsula of northern Australia, one of the last remaining wilderness areas on Earth.

It is both haunting and playful – picking up the toxic residue of modernity and marrying it with ancestral totems of the ocean.

Kilometres of plastic fishing nets kill species and harm indigenous communities’ ability to feed themselves. These are the “ghost nets” – aimlessly roaming killers.

The Aboriginal artists whose work we see today are in many cases returning to their traditional family symbols -- recreating them with these lethal castoffs from the modern world. Their work helps to build awareness of the need to reform fishing practises, and encourages clean-up efforts to gather up the nets and put them to use. It also brings hope and employment, empowering people who are too often marginalised and excluded by society. 

The history of indigenous communities on the Cape York peninsula dates back tens of thousands of years.  And there is a lesson here. We cannot undo the terrible harm that has been done to indigenous peoples around the world. But we can face the damage, seek to repair the terrible injustice they have suffered, and bring together ancient traditions to  improve the Earth – and oceans – we all share.

On this day, the 10th anniversary of the signature of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, I hope each of us can take from exhibition a new determination to advance the rights of indigenous peoples – following through with the recommendations of relevant human rights experts, and ensuring that the Human Rights Council and all national authorities engage much more deeply with these issues.

Thank you