Amnesty International Australia
Defending Human Rights
Responding to the announcement today that repatriation flights would begin from India to Australia on May 15, Amnesty International Campaigner Joel MacKay said: “We welcome the fact that the totally unconscionable flight ban from India will be lifted, however, we still have concerns about what is being proposed and how that affects the human rights …
Continue reading “Repatriation flights welcome, but quarantine system still seriously lacking”
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”
Following careful evaluation Amnesty International has decided to re-designate Alexei Navalny as a “Prisoner of Conscience”. In February, Amnesty took an internal decision to stop using the “Prisoner of Conscience” term for Navalny, due to concerns relating to discriminatory statements he made in 2007 and 2008 which may have constituted advocacy of hatred. The Russian government and its supporters …
Continue reading “Statement on Alexei Navalny’s status as Prisoner of Conscience”
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 and Balunu Healing Foundation have called on the Northern Territory government to give kids a chance at breaking the cycle of disadvantage and crime by diverting them into culturally appropriate programs that address the underlying intergenerational trauma which too often leads to crime, instead of condemning them to the quicksand of the …
Three families, all recognised as refugees and including four women, must be released immediately into the community to end their physical and mental anguish after eight years trapped by the Australian Government’s cruel offshore detention policy. The families, who were medevaced to Australia from Nauru where they were detained for more than six years, have …
Continue reading “Families trapped in Darwin’s Mercure Airport Hotel prison must be released”
The Cambodian government must take urgent steps to avert an emerging humanitarian and human rights crisis under the country’s COVID-19 lockdown, said Amnesty International today. Since 19 April, a strict lockdown has been put in place in parts of the capital, Phnom Penh, and other cities including Takhmao, Preah Sihanouk and Poipet. On Monday 26 April, the …
Continue reading “Cambodia: Authorities must avert COVID-19 humanitarian crisis”
The catastrophic aftermath of the Myanmar coup is the biggest test in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ (ASEAN) history, said Amnesty International today, calling on the regional bloc to prioritise protecting the human rights of people in Myanmar and prevent the situation deteriorating into a human rights and humanitarian crisis. The organization is also …
Continue reading “Myanmar: Human rights must be top priority for emergency ASEAN summit”
Amnesty International Australia expressed deep concern over the Queensland Government’s youth justice amendments which passed Parliament last night. The amendments undo years of hard-fought reforms to keep Indigenous kids out of the justice system and their passing is a devastating step backwards in addressing the overrepresentation of Indigenous people in Australian jails. “With the guilty …
Continue reading “QLD Parliament passes law which promotes systemic racism: NT next”
Amnesty International Australia is calling once again for the Australian Government to fulfill its duty of care obligations to asylum seekers left stranded on Papua New Guinea and get them to safety, following reports of yet another attack by gang members in Port Moresby. The attackers, allegedly carrying pistols and shotguns, targeted approximately 15 asylum …
Continue reading “Asylum seekers in PNG need safety following reports of more attacks”
