Qatar: Contact tracing app exposes personal details of more than one million

Serious security vulnerabilities in Qatar’s mandatory contact tracing app, uncovered by Amnesty International, must act as a wake-up call for governments rolling-out COVID-19 apps to ensure privacy safeguards are central to the technology.   An investigation by Amnesty’s Security Lab discovered the critical weakness in the configuration of Qatar’s EHTERAZ contact tracing app. Now fixed, the …

CAG should seize the opportunity to transform the lives of Indigenous kids by raising the age

The Councils of Attorneys-General (CAG), which is due to meet in July, has a unique opportunity to give hundreds of Indigenous kids back their childhoods, according to Amnesty International Australia’s new report, Raise the Age: Kids Belong in Community. The report finds that although the overall number of children in detention has fallen, this is …

Iran: Details released of 304 deaths during protests six months after security forces’ killing spree

Amnesty International has released details of the deaths of 304 men, women and children killed by Iran’s security forces during last November’s ruthless crackdown, six months after the protests. The organization found that more than 220 of the recorded deaths took place over just two days on 16 and 17 November. New and extensive research …

Hungary: Decision to strip trans people of the right to legal gender recognition is “step back into the dark ages”

Following yesterday’s vote in parliament on a new legislation that bans the legal recognition of transgender and intersex people in Hungary, Amnesty International’s Researcher, Krisztina Tamás-Sáróy said: “This decision pushes Hungary back towards the dark ages and tramples the rights of transgender and intersex people. It will not only expose them to further discrimination but …

New bill to ban mobile phones in immigration detention may breach Mandela Rules

A new Bill to go before Australian Parliament to prohibit mobile phones in immigration detention seeks to fix a problem that doesn’t exist and violates international rules, Amnesty International Australia said today. Making a submission to the Legal & Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee’s inquiry into the Migration Amendment (Prohibiting Items in Immigration Detention Facilities) Bill …

Ignored by COVID-19 responses, refugees face starvation

The inhumane treatment of refugees and migrants threatens to stall progress on tackling COVID-19, Amnesty International said today, warning that overcrowded camps and detention centres will become new epicentres unless urgent action is taken. The organization said that lockdowns and movement restrictions have exacerbated dire living conditions, leaving millions of people at risk of starvation …

Northern Territory Police must stop transporting kids in cages

Northern Territory Police must stop the practice of transporting children in remand and detention in so-called “Police cages” – a ute with a cage on the tray covered with a tarpaulin. Amnesty International Australia has received and investigated numerous reports of children being transported, unrestrained, in these cages for journeys of up to five hours. …

Global: Crackdown on journalists weakens efforts to tackle COVID-19

The backlash against journalists and others who criticize their governments’ handling of COVID-19 is hampering efforts to tackle the virus, Amnesty International said today. The organization warned that censorship of vital information related to the pandemic has become a global phenomenon and urged governments to prioritise public health over their own egos. Ahead of World …

Hotel must stop holding refugees’ health hostage and end their contracts with the Federal Government

Amnesty International Australia is calling on the Mantra Bell City Hotel in Melbourne and Kangaroo Point Central Hotel in Brisbane to end their contracts with the Federal Government to detain refugees held in crowded, unsafe conditions. Management of the Mantra Group and Central Apartment Group that runs Kangaroo Point have not responded to Amnesty’s letters …