10 frequently asked questions about the death penalty

Does the death penalty stop crime? Does it give victims justice? Is there a humane way to execute? Get your facts straight about the death penalty with Amnesty’s top 10 FAQs on capital punishment. 1. Why does Amnesty International oppose the death penalty? The death penalty violates the most fundamental human right – the right to …

Regional activists leading the way on My New Neighbour

Inspired by stories of regional towns in NSW and Victoria implementing programs to support and welcome people from refugee backgrounds, the Amnesty Southern Tasmania Group has been quietly but determinedly demonstrating the power of activist led community organising to create change across Australia. In early 2018 in the Country Women’s Association hall in the town …

Celebrating Human Rights Act victory in QLD

Former Branch President of QLD & Northern NSW Paul Toner describes how community organisations and everyday Queenslanders came together to call for our basic human rights be protected under law…and won! In February 2019 the Queensland government finally passed a Human Rights Act. It was the result of a four year campaign by community groups …

Women must play an active role in shaping Syria’s future

Syrian women must have an official and active role in shaping the country’s future Amnesty International said today, as it launched a new campaign highlighting the gender-based violations women have experienced during the conflict and the failure to include them in discussions and decision-making about the future. The campaign Unheard No More: Syrian women shaping Syria’s future illustrates how since the beginning of the Syrian crisis in 2011, women have …

Good news: Hakeem returns to Australia

Hakeem is home! On 12 February he arrived at Tullamarine airport in Melbourne and into the arms of his joyous wife. The Thai authorities have now dropped the falsified case against Melbourne-based footballer Hakeem al-Araibi. He had spent 76 days unjustly imprisoned in Thailand and for every single one of those days, he faced deportation to danger …

Write for Rights 2018 Wrap Up

On Tuesday February 10, news trickled into Amnesty’s offices that the Parliament of Kyrgyzstan ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Gulzar Duishenova, one of 2018’s Write for Rights cases, has been campaigning for ratification for 15 years. She’s made it her life’s mission to ensure people with disabilities can live with dignity …

Australians Say No to Blood Money

South Australian activists handed over thousands of blood money petitions collected from around Australia, to the Defence Minister Christopher Pyne in Adelaide this week calling on the Australian government to stop funding the Myanmar military who are accused of conducting a systematic ethnic cleansing campaign against the Rohingya people. In August Amnesty International Australia launched …