Australian Government must immediately vaccinate all 134 refugees still trapped on Papua New Guinea against Covid 19

Following ABC Radio National’s report concerning discrimination towards refugees who have tested positive to COVID-19 on Papua New Guinea, Amnesty International and Doctors for Refugees call on the Australian Government to immediately vaccinate all those being held and ensure they are not being discriminated against in any way. According to the ABC report 14 detainees …

New Attorney General, Home Affairs and Defence Ministers have opportunity to lead on raising the age, ending offshore detention, and halting arms-sale to Saudi-led coalition

Amnesty International Australia today congratulated Senator Michaelia Cash, Peter Dutton MP, and Karen Andrews MP on their new ministerial appointments.  As the new Attorney General, Senator Cash must take the opportunity to lead the States and Territories on raising the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 14. “We need to have the courage to …

Forty-seven international organisations call for UN-action on Saudi Arabia

Forty-seven international organisations, including Amnesty International, has written to the Foreign Ministers of Australia, Iceland and Denmark, asking them to lead on a resolution to address the human rights crisis in Saudi Arabia at the 47th session of the UN Human Rights Council. The letter outlines that the human rights situation in Saudi Arabia has …

Defeat of Tasmanian Government’s anti-protest laws a win for human rights and the right to protest

Responding to the news that the Tasmanian State Government’s proposed legislation to restrict the right to protest peacefully has been defeated, Amnesty International Australia campaigner, Nikita White, said: “This is good news for human rights and for Tasmanians. The Bill, under which protesters could have faced up to 21 years in prison, would have unnecessarily …

Belarus: Government’s crackdown on protesters requires urgent international response

Statements made by the Belarusian authorities ahead of demonstrations planned for 25 March (Freedom Day) raise serious concerns that the police response will yet again be marked by severe violence, Amnesty International said, as it called for international action to protect the rights of peaceful protesters.  As many journalists who document police crackdowns in Belarus …

NT’s youth justice proposal winds back Don Dale reforms

Amnesty International Australia is deeply concerned about proposed changes to the Northern Territory’s youth justice system which turns its back on the reforms made following the 2017 Royal Commission.  “This is a callous, racist legislative crackdown in search of a problem,” Amnesty International Australia Indigenous Rights Advocate Rodney Dillon said. “This is a callous, racist …

Youth justice amendments won’t fix crime, but condemn more children to the quicksand of the criminal justice system

Amnesty International Australia today gave evidence into a hearing into the Queensland Government’s Youth Justice Act amendments, raising concerns that rather than allowing them to access diversion programs the QLD Government has invested heavily in, the proposed amendments will have the perverse effect of funnelling more children and young people into police watch houses and …

China: Parents of missing Uyghur children describe horror of family separation

The exiled families of Uyghur children held in state “orphanages” in the Chinese region of Xinjiang described the torment of being separated in a new piece of Amnesty International research released today. The organization spoke to parents who have been completely cut off from their children – some as young as five years old – and cannot return …

Papua New Guinea: Australia and New Zealand efforts ‘woefully inadequate’ amid COVID-19 surge

Responding to reports that Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister James Marape has declared a critical ‘red stage’ in the country due to a recent surge in COVID-19 cases, Amnesty International’s Pacific Researcher Kate Schuetze said: “Papua New Guinea’s health crisis has now reached the level we feared it would reach a year ago with a …