Amnesty International today published new evidence of the misuse of tear gas by security forces in several countries in the second half of 2020, including during protests around the election in Uganda, the Black Lives Matter movement in the USA, and in the repression of protesters in Lebanon. The organization’s interactive website Tear Gas: An …
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Navalny’s arrest and detention warrants a global response
Russian politician and anti-corruption activist Aleksei Navalny was arrested on 17 January 2021 after arriving from Germany at Sheremetyevo airport and remanded in custody for 30 days. His arrest and detention are arbitrary and politically motivated. Navalny is a prominent and vocal government critic. Like many others in Russia, he has been arbitrarily targeted and …
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Two men flogged 77 times each in cruel anti-LGBTI punishment
Two men in Banda Aceh were flogged 77 times each on Thursday 28 January for allegedly partaking in consensual same-sex relations, said Amnesty International Indonesia today. Aceh’s brutal public canings, often in front of large crowds, have continued unabated during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Flogging constitutes cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and can amount to torture. …
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Human rights must be at the centre of the Malaysia-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership
The Australian government entered into a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with Malaysia on the 27th of January 2021. This is an elevation to the ‘strategic partnership’ that began in 2015. Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Prime Minister Muhyiddin Mohd Yassin agreed the Partnership will be underpinned by three areas of cooperation: economic prosperity; society and technology; …
Australian government to “encourage” Hungary to uphold human rights
In December 2020, Amnesty International Australia wrote to Foreign Minister Marise Payne, asking her to pressure the Hungarian government to drop its plans to ban LGBTQI people from adopting children. Amnesty International is concerned that the (now adopted) measures would further undermine the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex people, including right …
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Amnesty to Reynolds: sign the treaty to ban nuclear weapons
To mark the entry into force of the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, Amnesty International has written to Defence Minister Linda Reynolds asking her to sign the treaty. The treaty makes it illegal under international law to develop, test, possess, host, use or threaten to use nuclear weapons. Whilst two-thirds of UN …
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Ban dangerous facial recognition technology that amplifies racist policing
Amnesty International today launches a global campaign to ban the use of facial recognition systems, a form of mass surveillance that amplifies racist policing and threatens the right to protest. Ban the Scan campaign The Ban the Scan campaign kicks off with New York City and will then expand to focus on the use of …
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Right to protest can be balanced with COVID-safe practices
Amnesty International Australia today said police should work with protest organisers to balance the right to protest with COVID-safe practices. “It’s rank hypocrisy from governments to condemn people for protesting in a COVID-safe manner, while being perfectly content with people hitting the beach, the cricket or the shopping centre in numbers,” Amnesty International Australia campaigner …
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UN: Nuclear powers must sign historic treaty making nuclear weapons illegal
Today is an historic milestone in the campaign to rid the world of nuclear weapons, Amnesty International said, as the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) enters into force. The treaty makes it illegal under international law to develop, test, possess, host, use or threaten to use nuclear weapons, and has been adopted by two-thirds of UN member states. None of the …
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A diverse media leads to stronger freedom of expression: Amnesty International
Amnesty International Australia has told a parliamentary inquiry that a more diverse media leads to a better protected and a stronger right to freedom of expression. The Senate-referred inquiry into the state of media diversity, independence and reliability in Australia to the Senate Environment and Communications References Committee in late 2020. Amnesty International Australia has …
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