Amnesty International Australia
Defending Human Rights
Warning: Satire ahead! I’m a refugee, aka illegal immigrant, national security threat, halal snack packer and recreational queue jumper. In the spirit of Operation Sovereign Borders’ transparency, and because the Wi-Fi connection is just that good here in Nauru, I thought I’d give blogging a whirl. My story begun when I woke up one morning feeling …
Continue reading “‘I woke up feeling like a bit of migration’”
When Amnesty International released a report documenting the mass hanging of thousands of prisoners in Syria’s Saydnaya Prison, the Syrian government was put on the back foot. President Bashar al-Assad himself responded, calling our report “childish” and “fake news”. He even laughed as he said he didn’t know what went on in Saydnaya as he …
Continue reading “The human rights violators’ playbook: responding to an Amnesty report”
By Mireille Juchau A young woman packs a suitcase for a new life on the other side of the world. She is no longer a citizen of the country of her birth, she cannot marry the man she loves and her father is in hiding, in fear for his life. She travels through Europe, staying …
Continue reading “Denied refuge and murdered in Auschwitz – the human cost of refugee bans”
The image of a dozen children playing behind a tall metal fence, surrounded by armed guards, says it all – in one of the world’s most dangerous barrios, even playtime happens under security lockdown. The newly built park is located in the Rivera Hernández neighbourhood of San Pedro Sula, Honduras. It’s one of the deadliest …
Continue reading “Trump’s border wall will lock refugees in a life of violence and fear”
We wanted to tell you about our latest Digital Decoders project that you can get involved with. Last year our Decode Darfur project mobilised over 28,000 digital volunteers from 147 countries who volunteered their time online to help us map remote and vulnerable villages in Darfur covering an area of 326,000 square kilometers. That is …
Amnesty International has received information that the King of Malaysia has commuted the death sentence imposed on Nigerian national Osariakhi Ernest Obayangbon (aka Michael Phillips). Obayangbon, who was sentenced to the mandatory death sentence for murder in 2000, was scheduled to be executed in the early hours of 14 March 2014. Amnesty was notified just …
Continue reading “Good news: Death sentence of mentally ill prisoner commuted in Malaysia”
What would you do, if you belonged to a community that was facing discrimination and even genocide, and the country of your birth had no laws to protect you or your children? Would you stay, waiting to be killed whilst you buried your loved ones? The Hazaras are one such community that are mostly Shia …
Continue reading “Are we facing a refugee crisis or a crisis of humanity?”
In the lead-up to Valentine’s Day, you demanded that all Australians be allowed to have their love recognised, or if you didn’t, it takes 2 minutes! To inspire your joint activism this month (because what’s more romantic than that, right?), we’ve rounded up a list of seven inspirational couples working together to champion human rights. …
Continue reading “7 inspirational human rights power couples”
A historic court ruling has blocked the Kenyan government’s unilateral decision to shut the world’s largest refugee camp. In his ruling, Justice JM Mativo said the government’s orders to shut down Dadaab were discriminatory and amounted to collective. He also described the orders as excessive, arbitrary and disproportionate. The High Court ruling came in response …
Continue reading “Historic ruling blocks closure of Dadaab refugee camp”
There is an unbelievable amount of tragedy in the world. People are imprisoned and killed for things like sharing a thought, defending people in need and simply existing in the wrong place at the wrong time. However, there’s also immense kindness, selflessness and a belief that every person deserves the same basic human rights. But let’s …
Continue reading “The busy person’s guide to taking action for human rights”
