Amnesty International Australia
Defending Human Rights
Responding to the announcement that the US, France and Spain have all signalled their intention to support the TRIPS waiver, Amnesty International Campaigner Joel MacKay said: “Amnesty remains deeply concerned and disappointed that Australia is one of the few countries that are continuing to block this proposal that would allow more countries to manufacture and …
Continue reading “Australia risks becoming isolated on TRIPs”
Australia’s support of the TRIPS waiver could help countries fast track vaccine production and end suffering in developing states.
In response to the announcement by the US government of its support for waiving intellectual property protections for COVID-19 vaccines, Amnesty International’s Secretary General, Agnès Callamard said: “Today the United States has taken a bold step for global solidarity. By supporting the waiving of intellectual property protections for COVID-19 vaccines, the Biden Administration has put the lives of people around …
Amnesty International Australia called on the Australian government to better assist India as it endures a COVID-19 emergency, as well as urgently assisting stranded Aussies. “Australia has an important role to play in helping our neighbour and ally protect its citizen’s right to health,” Amnesty International Australia National Director, Sam Klintworth said. Amnesty is calling …
Continue reading “Australia Must Step Up To Assist India, Stranded Aussies”
Amnesty International Australia has welcomed the UN Human Rights Committee’s ruling that the Australian government must “facilitate and ensure” the prompt return of two Australian men who argued their country has breached international law by preventing their return home because of “arbitrary caps on airline travel”. The men are just two of more than 34,500 …
The actions of pharmaceutical companies and rich countries mean that billions of people at risk of COVID-19 are unlikely to receive a single dose of the life-saving vaccines this year, Amnesty International said as it launched a new global campaign calling for universal access to vaccines. The campaign – A Fair Shot: Universal Access to COVID-19 Vaccines …
Governments who were lauded for releasing prisoners in response to COVID-19 outbreaks have excluded human rights defenders from the measures and continue to make new arrests of activists, journalists and critics, Amnesty International said today. In a new briefing, “Daring to Stand up for Human Rights in a Pandemic”, which documents attacks on human rights …
Continue reading “Virus-hit prisons still full of human rights defenders, as attacks continue”
New restrictions, increased police powers and the ability to suspend acts of Parliament have been introduced by the Victorian State Government to deal with a rapidly increasing number of positive COVID-19 cases. We’re all thinking of our family, friends, colleagues and those we don’t know in Victoria as we try to navigate our way through …
Continue reading “It’s a COVID crisis, but we still have rights”
Amnesty International Australia has again called on Police services in New South Wales and Victoria to immediately and urgently release guidelines for policing infringements as tighter lockdown restrictions are applied to both states. NSW Police internal guidelines – published today in media reports today following a freedom of information request – show that police were …
A new Bill to go before Australian Parliament to prohibit mobile phones in immigration detention seeks to fix a problem that doesn’t exist and violates international rules, Amnesty International Australia said today. Making a submission to the Legal & Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee’s inquiry into the Migration Amendment (Prohibiting Items in Immigration Detention Facilities) Bill …
Continue reading “New bill to ban mobile phones in immigration detention may breach Mandela Rules”
