3.4 million actions in Write for Rights 2016

Every year write for rights gets bigger and better, and in 2016, Amnesty activists across the globe collected an astounding 3.4 million actions (and counting). Here in Australia, we gathered a phenomenal 125,000 actions! A massive thank you to all of you who helped us reach this staggering figure. We’d like to give a big …

Edward Snowden: ‘Your support keeps me company during the fight’

Whistleblower and human rights hero Edward Snowden thanks the more than 1 million supporters who raised their voices for him. “I want to thank you, humbly and with a full heart, for your unwavering advocacy and support. More than a million of you came together to say in one voice that the truth matters. My …

Show your solidarity this Survival Day

Australia Day is not a celebration for all Australians. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples mark this day as Survival Day. Since colonisation, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have been subjected to government-sanctioned violence, policies that removed children from families, the removal of people from their lands and the denial of self-determination. This year …

Protecting Australians from racial discrimination

Did you know that there is a Federal Inquiry into Freedom of Speech in Australia? This was announced by the government last year after a case from Queensland failed under section 18c of the Racial Discrimination Act. The terms of reference of the inquiry, rather than focusing on the serious threats to freedom of expression …

Good news: Obama commutes sentence of WikiLeaks source Chelsea Manning

With less than a week left in his term, President Obama commuted the sentence of Chelsea Manning today. Manning had been serving a 35-year sentence in a maximum security prison after releasing information pointing to potential crimes by the U.S. military. Manning, who has been in jail for nearly seven years, will be freed on …

Syria’s refugee crisis in numbers

As the crisis in Syria continues unabated, now into its sixth year, civilians are paying the highest price. Refugees in the region More than 4.8 million Syrian refugees are in just five countries Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt: Turkey hosts 2.7 million Syrian refugees, more than any other country worldwide Lebanon hosts approximately 1 million Syrian refugees which amounts to around one in …

Now recruiting: Grassroots Working Group

Are you interested in helping us develop our grassroots? The Grassroots Working Group is seeking three new members: A current or recent convenor from a capital city-based Group; A current or recent convenor from a regional-based Group; and An activist who has stepped down from an Amnesty International Australia (AIA) leadership role in the past …