This report examines the disadvantaged and marginalized condition of the Indigenous peoples of Australia as a human rights issue, focusing on issues concerning Indigenous young people. Permeating the report is the idea that this disadvantage arises from a history of overt and structural discrimination and that special efforts and differential treatment are necessary and appropriate to redress disadvantage and achieve equality in Australian society. Chapter 1 examines current themes in debates about Indigenous policy: moving beyond welfare dependency, accountability of Indigenous programs and services, Indigenous participation in government decisions that affect them, and the national reconciliation process. Chapter 2 profiles Indigenous youth, aged 15-29, and aspects of disadvantage. Demographic and other data include population size, age structure, income, unemployment, overcrowded housing, participation in secondary and higher education, native language use, birth rates, mortality, health risks, hospitalization, and contact with the criminal justice system. International principles of human rights that call for special measures to redress Indigenous disadvantage are discussed, along with the extent of Australia's compliance. Chapter 3 examines the importance of Indigenous identity for young Indigenous people and related international human rights standards. Chapter 4 discusses the Northern Territory's recent abolition of bilingual education; the role of bilingual education in maintaining Indigenous language, culture, and identity; and bilingual education as it relates to educational rights and self-determination issues. Chapter 5 discusses the overrepresentation of Indigenous youth in the juvenile justice and criminal justice systems and the issue of mandatory sentencing in certain regions of Australia. (SV)