Amnesty has provided a submission to the Senate inquiry into the Government’s proposed lifetime visa ban (Migration Legislation Amendment (Regional Processing Cohort) Bill 2016) which, if passed, would prevent anyone who attempted to arrive in Australia by boat since 19 July, 2013, from ever setting foot in Australia. The bill would see refugees who have successfully …
Author Archives: Brooke Phillips
Submission: Australia’s “processing” of refugees on Nauru
Amnesty welcomes the opportunity to provide a submission to the Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee inquiry into the serious allegations of abuse, self-harm and neglect of asylum seekers in relation to the Nauru Regional Processing Centre, and any like allegations in relation to the Manus Regional Processing Centre. The Australian Government is choosing to …
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Submission: NT Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children
Amnesty International welcomes the opportunity to provide this submission to the Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory. The ill treatment and abuse of children in youth detention facilities in the Northern Territory and other Australian jurisdictions requires a national spotlight and sustained government leadership to address the problem. …
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Submission: Independent Review of Youth Detention in Queensland
Amnesty International welcomes the opportunity to provide a submission to the Independent Review of Youth Detention in Queensland. On 31 August 2016, Amnesty released a report called Heads Held High: Keeping Queensland kids out of detention, strong in culture and community. The report raises serious concerns about potential abuses of human rights of children in …
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Report: Heads held high
When Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are strong in their identity and culture, and have the support of their communities, they can face even the toughest challenges. But many Indigenous children have been disconnected from their culture and too frequently end up in detention, away from their community. Despite comprising only 6% of the …
Australian Government’s secretive system of deliberate abuse on Nauru
The Australian Government is forcing 1,200 men, women and children seeking safety in Australia to live in abhorrent conditions in Nauru. Despite the wall of secrecy built by the Australian & Nauruan Governments, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty conducted a 12 day investigation in July inside Nauru to uncover the truth behind the treatment of …
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10 things our government should do to make human rights a priority
The election campaign has come and gone. We’ve campaigned on the issues we’re passionate about, we’ve voted, and Australia has had its say. But, just because the election is over doesn’t mean we stop campaigning for the world we want to see. Now is the time to hold the new government to account. Amnesty is …
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Japan: Authorities deceiving the public by resuming executions
The Japanese authorities are attempting to avoid public scrutiny by carrying out its first execution this year while the country’s attention is focused elsewhere. Tsukasa Kanda executed Tsukasa Kanda, 44, was hanged in the early hours of Thursday morning at Nagoya detention centre. He was convicted in 2009 of robbery and homicide. The execution took …
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Constitutional Recognition
May 2016 Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the Australian Constitution has been hotly debated for many years, and not everyone is on board with the idea. So, where to from here? Our Indigenous Rights Team have been following the Constitutional recognition debate closely, particularly the variety of different positions taken by …
Bearing witness: My life in crisis response
Amnesty International’s Crisis Response Director Tirana Hassan has spent the last ten years living and working in conflict zones. Here she describes the events that have shaped her life. Witnessing horrific events I have spent most of the last decade living and working in conflict zones and witnessing horrific events that can fundamentally change a …
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