The team behind the acclaimed Australian feature documentary Yurlu | Country, and Banjima Traditional Owners will take part in an official United Nations (UN) Side Event at the Human Rights Council, in Geneva, Switzerland on Monday March 9, 4-5pm CET at the Palais des Nations, Room VIII.
The Side Event will take place during the 61st Regular Session of the Human Rights Council (HRC61) in Geneva and marks the first time Banjima Traditional Owners have travelled to UN and puts a global spotlight on their ‘Clean Up Wittenoom’ campaign.
Co-sponsored by Earthjustice, Geneva Environment Network, International Service for Human Rights, International Federation for Human Rights and International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights, the event will include screening an extract from Yurlu | Country and a high-level discussion regarding the ongoing injustice the Wittenoom contamination continues to inflict upon Banjima people, and actions to redress this.
The Banjima Native Title Aboriginal Corporation will send a delegation of traditional owners including Vice Chair, Johnnell Parker to attend the activity. Joining her in the session is Astrid Puentes Riaño, the UN Special Rapporteur on the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, Marcos Orellana, UN Special Rapporteur on toxics and human rights, Yaara Bou Melhem, Director and Producer of Yurlu | Country of Illuminate Films, with opening remarks by Diana Rizzolio of the Geneva Environment Network and moderation by Yves Lador of Earthjustice.
"This is the beginning of the next step in the journey for us. We are following the legacy and footsteps that have been left by our Elders past and present for our community, so we can look after Country, and each other,” BNTAC Vice Chair, Johnnell Parker said.
Yurlu | Country is the winner of the Walkley Documentary Award, made by Australian director Yaara Bou Melhem and co-created with Banjima Elder Maitland Parker, uncle of Johnnell Parker. The film immerses us in Maitland’s final year as he strives to preserve his culture and heal his homeland in the Pilbara, scarred by the largest contaminated site in the Southern Hemisphere. 46,840 hectares have Native Title lands are poisoned, due to the Wittenoom mines, which closed almost 60 years ago but left behind millions of tonnes of toxic waste laced with deadly asbestos fibres.
Western Australian Aboriginal people suffer the highest death rates of mesothelioma globally and the contamination is a violation of Banjima’s Native Title rights, as Banjima can no longer access cultural sites and conduct lore safely. It is also a breach of Article 29 of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples which states there should be no storage of hazardous materials on Indigenous lands without consent.
“Australia is one of the wealthiest mining countries in the world and is entering a new boom in the critical rare earth minerals needed to power the clean energy transition. But if we can’t get it right on legacy sites like Wittenoom, the largest contaminated site in the Southern Hemisphere, what hope is there elsewhere? Australia can be world leading in this space and the conversations at the UN will go a long way to supporting the moral and legal imperative to clean up Wittenoom,” Director Yaara Bou Melhem said.
Since the release of Yurlu | Country in 2025, Banjima Native Title Aboriginal Corporation (BNTAC) has launched ‘Clean Up Wittenoom’, an advocacy and legal campaign to secure the remediation of their Native Lands.
The UN Side Event will take place at the same time as the Yurlu | Country European Premiere in Competition at FIFDH which will include panel discussions with Banjima traditional owners, the filmmakers and human rights advocates amplifying the Clean Up Wittenoom campaign.
The Side Event will be held in a hybrid format. In-person attendance is open to those accredited to the 61st session of the Human Rights Council. Participants can also register for online attendance via the Webex platform.
This Side Event to the 61st session of the Human Rights Council is also part of the Geneva Rights and Environment Talks aimed to harness the opportunity of this moment of the year to reflect on the challenges posed by the rapid decline of nature and biodiversity, and on how Geneva contributes to bringing together the actors working towards ensuring the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment is upheld for all. More details about the event are available on the Geneva Environment Network website.