Amnesty International Australia
Defending Human Rights
Pakistani authorities are failing to protect human rights defenders. The murder of Khurram Zaki, a human rights defender and former journalist, who was gunned down at a restaurant in Karachi on 8 May 2016 marks the latest such killing of a noted Pakistani human rights defender in recent years. “As a human rights defender, Khurram …
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Malawian authorities must take immediate action to stop the ritual killings of people with albinism following the discovery of two more mutilated bodies in the past week. Details have been uncovered of the killing of a 30-year-old woman with albinism, Jenifer Namusyo, who was found dead on 30 April hours after she was stabbed in …
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The UN Security Council should impose targeted sanctions on all those carrying out deliberate attacks on hospitals and other war crimes, as Amnesty International releases harrowing testimony revealing how hundreds of civilians, including children, have been killed by intensified Syrian government air strikes since 21 April. Deliberate attacks The organisation interviewed doctors and activists in …
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We profile the courageous girls standing up to forced marriage in Burkina Faso. At 13, Maria (not her real name) was forced to marry a 70-year-old man who already had five wives. When she resisted, her father told her: “If you don’t go to join your husband, I will kill you.” Maria walked nearly 170km …
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NSW community organiser and long-time Amnesty supporter Amanda Atlee took the Hike the Himalayas challenge and recalls her journey to India. Tell us about yourself My name is Amanda Atlee, and I have the pleasure of working as the NSW Community Organiser for Amnesty International Australia. In my downtime I convene the Randwick Action Group and …
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On April 29, 2015, Australians came together to decry the executions of eight men by firing squad on the Indonesian island of Nusak Kambangan. The death penalty is always a violation of human rights and state-sanctioned killing can never be condoned under any circumstances. Thousands of Australians took action to show their opposition to the …
Continue reading “Amnesty International on the anniversary of executions in Indonesia”
On Tuesday 19 April the Australian Senate passed a motion calling for the adoption of justice targets to close the gap on the incarceration rates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Friday 15 April 2016 marked 25 years since a Royal Commission handed down recommendations to reduce imprisonment and prevent Aboriginal deaths in custody. …
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Update: Journalists in Myanmar are still at risk. Please take action for Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo who are facing 14 years in prison simply for doing their jobs. Five media workers from the Unity newspaper in Myanmar have been released following a Presidential pardon. The good news came after months of campaigning for …
Dr Glenda Kickett is a Noongar woman in Perth who has a background in developing social work practices and policies that support Aboriginal people. Here she discusses Indigenous children and young people in detention, and the importance of maintaining a strong culture. The high rates of Indigenous young people in detention is a serious issue …
Continue reading “Glenda Joyce Kickett: “Without culture, you don’t have anything””
2015 saw a rise in the number of people executed – at least 1,634 – the highest recorded by Amnesty International since 1989. Glimmers of hope Countries used various methods to kill: hanging, shooting, lethal injection, beheading. They did this with cold efficiency, driving the number of executions up by more than half, compared to …