Amnesty International Australia
Defending Human Rights
The Australian Citizenship (Allegiance to Australia) Amendment Bill 2015, expected to pass the Senate tomorrow, is a flawed Bill that threatens the very human rights and freedoms Australians hold dear. Under the proposed legislation Australian dual-citizens can lose their citizenship for alleged activities committed overseas, without undergoing a trial or being convicted of any offence. …
Continue reading “New counter-terrorism legislation will undermine rights Australians hold dear”
With the dust settling after Malcolm Turnbull’s successful leadership spill, Amnesty’s Karamzo Saccoh looks at the implications the change in leader could have for marriage equality. A change of heart Before becoming Prime Minister in September, Malcolm Turnbull was a staunch supporter of marriage Equality, even publicly expressing his support for a free vote (conscience …
Continue reading “Will Malcolm Turnbull stand up for marriage equality?”
Kids have healthy, happy childhoods when they live in loving and nurturing communities. It’s kids’ connections with family and community that allows them to flourish, and sets them up for a good life. But government policies are separating Indigenous kids from their communities. By locking up kids as young as 10, we are repeating our …
Kids have healthy, happy childhoods when they live in loving and nurturing communities. It’s Kids’ connections with family and community that allows them to flourish, and sets them up for a good life. But government policies are separating Indigenous kids from their communities. By locking up kids as young as 10, we are repeating our …
Amnesty International welcomes the opportunity to provide this submission on a referendum to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples in the Australian Constitution. The Australian Constitution in its current form retains discriminatory clauses which are sources of concern to Australian people and inconsistent with international human rights principles. The Australian Constitution must enshrine the …
Amnesty International has urged the WA Government to drop plans to forcibly evict Aboriginal peoples from up to 150 homelands communities, saying that demolishing homes and denying Indigenous peoples their right to practise their culture would be an illogical move, in breach of international law. Hypocritical “It’s hypocritical for Premier Colin Barnett to admit that …
Continue reading “WA Government must abandon “traumatic” plans to close Aborignal Homelands”
In 2014 Amnesty International launched its Global Stop Torture campaign to stop governments around the world from torturing people. Torture is abhorrent. It is barbaric and inhumane. It can never be justified. It is wrong, self defeating and poisons the rile of law, replacing it with terror. No one is safe when governments allow its …
Continue reading “Torture in 2014: 30 Years of Broken Promises”
Amnesty International is concerned that the draft Freedom of Speech (Repeal of s. 18C) Bill 2014 (the draft Bill) fails to strike an appropriate balance between the right to free speech and the rights of others to freedom from racial discrimination and protection against racial hatred. The draft Bill would repeal provisions of the Racial …
Continue reading “Submission on the proposed amendments to Racial Discrimination Act”
Amnesty International welcomes new moves by the Western Australian Government to address the growing number of young people being detained in the state, the majority being Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander. The State Government has announced a group of community members will form a Youth Justice Board (YJB) to help reduce youth incarceration rates. The …
Continue reading “Promising moves to reduce youth incarceration rates”
Amnesty International condemns a decision to cut funding to Aboriginal Legal Services, at a time when Indigenous incarceration rates continue to rise, in a major blow to ending Indigenous inequality. The Federal Government has confirmed cuts to the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services (NATSILS), the national peak body for Aboriginal and Torres …
Continue reading “Legal cuts a massive blow for Indigenous Australians”