Explained: The situation at Greece’s borders

What’s happening at Greece’s borders with Turkey? On 27 February 2020, Turkey announced that it would no longer stop refugees trying to cross its borders into Europe, which have been closed since 2016. Turkey hosts 3.6 million Syrian refugees – more than any other country. Since December 2019, hundreds of thousands more people have fled towards the …

Monash Council pushes for refugee sponsorship reform

A national campaign to improve the Federal Government’s Community Sponsorship Program for refugees moved a step closer towards success last night, after Monash City Council voted in favour of putting a motion to the floor of the Australian Local Government Association assembly in June asking for support from all 547 local governments in calling for …

Human rights and refugee sector unite to call on Australian Government to get people detained in offshore detention to safety in the wake of ICC ruling

Australia’s peak human rights and refugee rights organisations have banded together to call for the Morrison Government to immediately get all those left stranded in offshore detention, to safety.  The International Criminal Court last week found that Australia appears to be in breach of Article 7(1)(e) of the Rome Statute because the conditions on Nauru …

Behrouz Boochani arrives in New Zealand

Award-winning author, journalist and poet, Behrouz Boochani tonight arrived in New Zealand and is out of Australia’s brutal offshore detention regime. Dr Graham Thom, Amnesty International Australia’s Refugee Adviser said: We are delighted to see Behrouz able to travel outside of Papua New Guinea after years trapped in Australia’s offshore detention regime. We will keep campaigning for all those …

Papua New Guinea: Detainees denied lawyers, family access

Papua New Guinea has been arbitrarily detaining rejected  asylum seekers virtually incommunicado in the Bomana Immigration Centre, raising serious concerns about their health and safety, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said today.  In August 2019, the PNG government transferred more than 50 rejected asylum seekers from  Port Moresby housing to the Australian-funded Bomana Immigration …

Fighting For Hakeem tells the story of Australia’s generosity in helping detained refugee Hakeem al-Araibi

The launch today of Craig Foster’s new book Fighting for Hakeem, reveals the inner workings of the campaign to free the young footballer who was detained for 76 days in a Thai prison thanks to the systemic failure of Australian Government agencies. “This was a powerful moment that brought the whole nation together in solidarity …

Lessons in welcoming: community-led sponsorship of refugees

By Anna Shea, Amnesty International’s Researcher on Refugee and Migrants Rights Working on refugee rights, I have had the privilege of meeting people seeking asylum in many countries around the world. Time and again I have been struck by the unfailing generosity and hospitality of people who have had to give up everything they know …

Welcoming refugees through sponsorship

Over the past few years, Amnesty International offices on four continents have been working to support refugees in a way and on a scale never seen before. The goal? To increase the number of people who can start their lives in a safe country. The method? Community sponsorship. At its heart, community sponsorship is a …

Pain, refuge and freedom: Imran’s story

As someone born to stateless parents, and who has been stateless all my life, I found it impossible to imagine a life of freedom, respect, opportunities and love. It is a life I thought I would never experience. I fled Myanmar (Burma) when I was 16, boarding many boats to seek a country I could …

What’s the difference between a refugee and an asylum seeker?

Do you know the difference between a refugee and an asylum seeker? The most common refugee terminology explained. Asylum seeker An asylum seeker is an individual who is seeking international protection. In countries with individualised procedures, an asylum seeker is someone whose claim has not yet been finally decided on by the country in which …