Responding to news that President Vladimir Putin has ordered “peacekeeping operations” to the so called “Donetsk People’s Republic” and “Luhansk People’s Republic” in eastern Ukraine, Agnès Callamard Amnesty International’s Secretary General said: “After weeks of fruitless negotiations, the protection of civilians in Ukraine must now be the absolute priority. While the potential for full-blown conflict …
Author Archives: Dan Veldre
Confirmation of NZ deal welcome: time to get it done
Amnesty International Australia today welcomes confirmation in Senate Estimates that a deal with New Zealand to settle 150 refugees per year from Australia’s offshore detention regime has been agreed to ‘in principle’. It was stated in Estimates that the agreement is currently with the NewZealand Cabinet for final approval. “New Zealand’s generous offer has been …
Continue reading “Confirmation of NZ deal welcome: time to get it done”
The Religious Discrimination Bill might be off the agenda, but the damaging ‘debates’ continue
CONTENT WARNNG: Contains discussion of suicide and mental health During the height of the marriage equality debate, a close friend of mine took his life. The grief, the shock, the guilt, the pain, the heartbreak was something I had never felt before. He was my girlfriend’s best friend, and she was broken. The next few …
Explainer: Ukraine and the mounting threat of Russian invasion
Amnesty International will be monitoring the situation closely to expose violations of international humanitarian law by all parties.
Covid-19: Pharmaceutical companies’ failure on equal vaccine access contributed human rights catastrophe in 2021
Despite urgent calls to ensure the equal distribution of Covid-19 vaccines in 2021, pharmaceutical companies tragically failed to rise to the challenge of a once-in-a-century global health and human rights crisis. Instead, they monopolized technology, blocked and lobbied against the sharing of intellectual property, charged high prices for vaccines and prioritized supplies to wealthy countries, …
Religious Discrimination Bill illustrates urgent need for Federal Human Rights Act
Amnesty International Australia today called for the scrapping of the Morrison Government’s Religious Discrimination Bill and called instead for a Federal Human Rights Act. “The fatal flaws of this Bill have been laid bare, as well as the discriminatory implications of the proposed legislative changes for the LGBTQI+ community. The Government should not countenance discriminating …