The Rohingya ‘camp of the widows’ faces new peril as monsoon arrives in Bangladesh

Nestled deep within the Hakimpara camp, perched on the edge of a hill, is a cluster of homes belonging to more than a dozen Rohingya women. They arrived here last September, making the arduous, weeks-long journeys — by foot and then by boat — to the safety of Bangladesh. They fled different villages, making separate …

Could Australia become complicit in war crimes?

It is a national pastime to ponder the question: what are Australian values? I have a similar question for the current government: What does the Australian government value and does that align with its citizens? Despite being one of the richest countries in the world, our government appears to value money over people’s lives, as …

Bearing witness to the refugee crisis at the gateway to Europe

Our National Director Claire Mallinson has just spent a week in Greece and Italy — two countries that have become the gateways to Europe for refugees and people seeking asylum. This is her second update. Catch up on her first update here. Lampedusa and Sicily Lampedusa is roughly halfway between Libya and Sicily, and over …

Shining a light on the best and worst of humanity

I have just spent a week in Greece and Italy — two countries that have become the gateways to Europe for refugees and people seeking asylum. What I and other members of Amnesty’s delegation witnessed was not for the faint-hearted. On Lesbos we saw thousands and thousands of life jackets, many of which were fake, …

Marriage Equality: We support ‘Wear it Purple’ Day

As the postal plebiscite electoral roll registration period nears its end, National Director Claire Mallinson reminds us that, “Marriage equality is a human right.” Amnesty International Australia’s National Director Claire Mallinson said the organisation is proud to support ‘Wear it Purple’ Day on Friday 25 August 2017. “Today is an opportunity to highlight that young …

On human rights, Australia faces a stark choice

Don Dale youth detention centre. Manus. Nauru. Many Australians visited these places in 2016, if only in their imagination. In reality, a small number of people witnessed firsthand what was happening – or worse, lived through it. Even fewer spoke up about it, but their courage made the difference. Horrors committed every day and long …