In response to reports the U.S. is raising the number of refugees it will accept, Amnesty International Australia’s Refugee Coordinator Dr Graham Thom said:
“It’s important for Australia to also step up, given the ongoing crises in places like Syria and Iraq.”
“Now the additional 12,000 refugees have been resettled here, Australia should allocate another emergency quota of 12,000 places over the next 12 months for vulnerable Syrians and Iraqis.”
Regarding the U.S. quota, Amnesty International USA’s executive director, Margaret Huang, released the following statement:
“If true, this is a welcome step back from the Trump administration’s relentless assault on the rights of those fleeing horrific violence. We hope it’s a sign that the U.S. may be willing to recognize its responsibility during this unprecedented global refugee crisis.
People who have lost everything deserve a chance to rebuild their lives safely the same way all of us would need to if we were in this horrible situation.”
“People would come from everywhere just to come up and shake Dad’s hand” — Aunty Pam Pederson
Sir Doug Nicholls lived an incredible life. He was born in 1906 at Cummeragunga on the land of his people, the Yorta Yorta people.
His early life was lived under the Orwellian power and control of the Aborigines Protection Board. As a young boy, he witnessed his sister’s forced removal by government authorities: “They just came in and ruthlessly threw our girls into the car and their mothers hung to them, and I can see my mother hanging on to my sister, 16 years old, they threw her in the car.” His grandson Gary Murray recalls this harrowing experience as one of the things “that drove Grandfather in trying to do the right thing by everybody.”
Sir Doug Nicholls left school at the age of 14, when the Aborigines Protection Board forced him to leave his home and find work as a labourer. In his lifetime, he overcame the trauma of losing his sister, as well as facing racism and prejudice, and went on to have an incredible career as a professional sportsman and leader.
As he himself put it:
“I was good, I wanted to be on top. Dominating my mind: I am their equal.”
“Running, boxing, football – a champion in everything, all at the one time. It’s totally mind-blowing for me,” his grandson Jason Tamiru recalls.
Add to that list pastor, activist, Father of the Year and Governor of South Australia.
“I get very emotional about it, coming from Cummera, and then becoming the Governor of South Australia. No-one would ever dream that an Aboriginal person would become the Governor of a state,” says his nephew Robert Nicholls.
“No-one would ever dream that an Aboriginal person would become the Governor of a state”
doug’s nephew robert nicholls
A mural of Sir Doug Nicholls in Shepparton, Victoria.
After a stellar football career with Fitzroy and representing Victoria in the State of Origin, Sir Doug went on to become a civil rights leader in Australia. He was a founding member of the Aborigines Advancement League in Victoria, whose Thornbury base remains a hub for many in the Koori community. There, the home ground of the Fitzroy Stars football club is known as the Sir Doug Nicholls Oval.
Together with his wife Lady Gladys Nicholls, Sir Doug played a pivotal role in fighting for the rights of Aboriginal people in Australia. Among many other things, Lady Gladys was a founding member of the National Council of Aboriginal and Islander Women, and established a hostel for Aboriginal girls in Northcote (now the Lady Gladys Nicholls hostel). Together, they worked tirelessly to improve conditions for their people in Melbourne, across Victoria and nationally.
“Mum and Dad worked so hard. We forget about the women at times, but Mum was the person behind Dad,” his daughter Aunty Pam Pederson recalls.
“He had that saying: How can we soar like Eagles when you feed us like chooks? He knew from the start, virtually from the early days when he saw his sister taken away…He met injustices head on,” recalls Gary Murray, his grandson.
“He had that saying: How can we soar like Eagles when you feed us like chooks? He knew from the start, virtually from the early days when he saw his sister taken away…He met injustices head on”
doug’s grandson Gary Murray
But the path that led to him being the only Australian rules footballer to be knighted was an arduous one. His VFL football career nearly didn’t get off the ground due to the racism he faced.
“He acquired a job with the Northcote football club and became a curator. He was then approached by Carlton to play football with them… This is the sad thing at Carlton, he asked to be rubbed down, and they said: ‘No, we’re not going to rub you down because you stink’,” his nephew Robert Nicholls recalls.
“Dad carried that for a long time, hardly spoke about it,” says his daughter Aunty Pam. “We have people in that club that have been thinking about what happened to Dad, so they want to do something about it. I think that’s so good, that they are going to come out and acknowledge that.”
After dominant performances with Northcote Football club in the VFA, Sir Doug Nicholls was eventually selected to play for Fitzroy in the VFL and was the only Aboriginal player in the VFL at the time.
According to his nephew Robert:
“The thing that really inspires me; 5 foot 2, a little man, walking amongst giants, trying to change the attitudes of people. Well, he has made a difference.”
In his early Fitzroy days, his daughter Aunty Pam remembers that Sir Doug continued to suffer the impacts of the racism he had experienced:
“He was in the rooms on his own. That feeling must have come across him again, that I’m not going to be accepted here.”
Legendary Fitzroy player Hayden Bunton saw that Nicholls was feeling excluded and went to sit with him: “From that game…they became good buddies,” his daughter says.
“To go over there with my grandfather and sit with him while he was getting ready is quite a beautiful image,” grandson Jason Tamiru reflects.
“What grandfather said is to get a tune out of the piano, you can play the black notes, and you can play the white notes. But to get harmony you’ve got to play both. And that was reference to reconciliation, for probably the first time. It was about working with people,” says grandson Gary.
“Later on in life, Dad decided that he wanted to take up the church and became a pastor…The way that he preached was so good. That’s where Dad really started to get into Aboriginal affairs,” his daughter Aunty Pam remembers.
“What grandfather said is to get a tune out of the piano, you can play the black notes, and you can play the white notes. But to get harmony you’ve got to play both. And that was reference to reconciliation, for probably the first time. It was about working with people”
“We had this one soldier who fought for us…that was Dad,” daughter Aunty Lillian Tamiru remembers.
This week’s AFL Indigenous round is named in Sir Doug’s honour. And this year, Sir Doug Nicholls round coincides with the 50th anniversary of the 1967 referendum, when 90% of Australians voted ‘yes for Aboriginal rights’. Sir Doug and Lady Gladys were pivotal in securing this overwhelming public support, travelling the country and appealing to the public to support us in a ‘yes’ vote.
Naming this round after Sir Douglas Nicholls “is a great honour” says nephew Robert. His daughter Lilian says she is “more than proud.”
Grandson Jason has the final word: “His legacy for me is great integrity, compassion… human rights…identity, culture, a place on the earth, that’s what he’s given me.”
Australia is dragging its heels on marriage equality, as Taiwan has taken a step closer to becoming the first in Asia to legalise marriage for everyone.
Progress in Australia has stalled since the bipartisan show of support for change during a senate committee enquiry in February. Amnesty International is urging the Parliament to legislate for marriage equality before the parliamentary Winter break.
“Let’s warm hearts this Winter by legislating for equal love,” said Lizzi Price, convenor of Amnesty International Australia’s LGBTQI group.
“Most sides of Australian politics want to see marriage equality. Politicians can’t let Australia fall even further behind internationally. It’s time they do their jobs, bring a vote to parliament and vote Yes.”
“The commitment and love that come with marriage must be a right for everyone.”
Taiwan ruling to resonate across Asia
Judges in Taiwan’s Constitutional Court ruled on Wednesday that the country’s current marriage law is unconstitutional as it discriminates against same-sex couples. The judges have given lawmakers two years to amend or enact relevant laws.
“The judges have said yes to marriage equality. This is a huge step forward for LGBTI rights in Taiwan and will resonate across Asia,” said Lisa Tassi, East Asia Campaigns Director at Amnesty International.
“Lawmakers must act swiftly to ensure Taiwan becomes the first in Asia to make genuine marriage equality a reality.”
Everyone entitled to equal protection under the law
A draft bill on marriage equality is currently being considered by Taiwan’s legislature. Amnesty International urges lawmakers to legalise marriage equality in Taiwan, on the same basis and with the same rights as marriage between couples of different sex.
“As this week’s ruling makes clear, whoever you love, everyone is entitled to the same human rights and equal protection under the law,” said Lisa Tassi.
Saturday 27 May 2017 is the 50th anniversary of the 1967 Referendum, in which over 90% of Australians voted for a better and more fair country for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
The amendments enabled the Commonwealth Government to start officially counting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the census, and gave a power to create specific laws for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples by removing the words ‘other than the aboriginal people’ from the race power in section 51(xxvi) of the Constitution.
Rodney Dillon, Indigenous Rights Adviser at Amnesty International Australia, wrote this week for The Huffington Post:
As a young boy, I listened to the talk around our dinner table, sensing the big change in the air. On TV, influential people had publicly championed the Yes vote. It was 50 years ago, when Australians came together and stood up for the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people through the 1967 referendum.
Until then, we had seen the Federal Government pass the buck to the States and Territories, the States and Territories pass it back to the Federal Government, but none of them ever thought it was important to protect our people’s rights.
When over 90 per cent of Australians voted for change, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people felt supported by the goodwill of the people, and we were full of hope. But 50 years later, we’ve been continuously let down. In so many ways, today the injustice gap is widening — and our kids are feeling it the most.
It’s time for Prime Minister Turnbull to fulfil the legacy of the 1967 referendum, and secure a better future for Indigenous kids.
As part of our National Reconciliation Week (27 May to 3 June) activities this year I am pleased to announce the launch of Amnesty International’s 2017-2020 Stretch Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP). To keep our action groups, volunteers and supporters up to date on all Reconciliation Action Plan activities and resources, we are also launching our quarterly RAP bulletin.
A RAP is an organisational plan of action which focuses on relationships, respect and opportunities, creating social change and economic opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, communities and organisations.
This is our third and most comprehensive RAP and our staff, board, activists and supporters all have responsibilities in helping us meet our goals, which include:
publishing a quarterly RAP bulletin to inform staff and supporters of achievements, upcoming activities and reconciliation related news
encouraging all board and branch members, staff, activists and volunteers to participate in National Reconciliation and NAIDOC Week activities
contributing to reports for key international human rights bodies and visits to Australia by relevant Special Rapporteurs
providing Amnesty staff, activists, supporters and external stakeholders with access to cultural competency training, and
increasing the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff.
National Reconciliation Week 2017 marks two significant events in Australia’s history.
Saturday 27 May 2017 will be the 50th anniversary of the 1967 Referendum in which over 90 per cent of Australians voted for a better and more fair country for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The amendments enabled the Commonwealth Government to start officially counting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the census, and gave a power to create specific laws for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples by removing the words ‘other than the aboriginal people’ from the race power in section 51(xxvi) of the Constitution.
Saturday 3 June 2017 is the 25th anniversary of the Mabo decision when the High Court of Australia overturned the legal fiction of ‘terra nullius’ and recognised that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have rights and connection to the lands and seas that make up Australia.
These two events were significant steps towards improving the situation for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, however we still have a long way to go to in reconciling the past and addressing inequalities. This past is often misrepresented and sugar coated, meaning the violence, dispossession, alienation and paternalism enforced on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples over a sustained period is often overlooked. Racism and inequality still exist in Australia and effects relationships between non-Indigenous and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, impacting upon the lived economic and social experience of this nation’s First Peoples.
Generations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and communities have fought for meaningful change, for self-determination and for equality. Over my time with Amnesty International I have had the privilege of working alongside and learning from including Elders and leaders in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities; leaders like Rosalie Kunoth-Monks from Utopia, Kirstie Parker, CEO National Centre for Indigenous Excellence, Randall Ross in Queensland, former board member Helen (Ulli) Corbett and former WA board member Sheena Graham, current board member Sandra Creamer, and of course our Indigenous Rights Advisor Rodney Dillon, who has guided us for over a decade. The development and achievements of Amnesty’s Indigenous rights work owes those leaders a great debt.
A vision for reconciliation
In the 2016 State of Reconciliation in Australia report, Reconciliation Australia’s vision is ‘… for everyone to wake to a reconciled, just and equitable Australia. Our aim is to inspire and enable all Australians to contribute to reconciliation and break down stereotypes and discrimination. We will know we have achieved our vision when Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures and rights are a proud part of Australia’s everyday life.’
Race relations – All Australians understand and value Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous cultures, rights and experiences, which results in stronger relationships based on trust and respect and that are free of racism
Equality and equity – Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples participate equally in a range of life opportunities and the unique rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are recognised and upheld
Institutional integrity – The active support of reconciliation by the nation’s political, business and community structures
Historical acceptance – All Australians understand and accept the wrongs of the past and the impact of these wrongs. Australia makes amends for the wrongs of the past, and
Unity – An Australian society that values and recognises Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and heritage as a proud part of a shared national identity.
Amnesty supports Reconciliation Australia’s vision and will continue to weave these dimensions through our work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, organisations and communities in campaigning for human rights. We will continue this vital work at local, national and international levels to ensure the Declaration of Rights for Indigenous Peoples becomes a living document here in Australia.
I know you will all embrace our new RAP and become champions of reconciliation. As Rodney Dillon said: ‘Reconciliation is everyone working together for the same cause, and we’ve still got some work to do on this.’
PS to get involved in our RAP check out our quarterly update and resources. We will also run two workshops over June and August — check out the Activism Planner to find times.
Responding to reports that Hamas authorities in the Gaza Strip will tomorrow execute three men accused of killing senior Hamas commander Mazen Faqha on 24 March, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa Magdalena Mughrabi said:
“The three men scheduled to be hanged or shot in Gaza tomorrow were tried in a court that utterly disregarded international fair trial standards. If carried out, these cruel executions will constitute an appalling breach of international human rights law.
“It is not too late to save these men’s lives. We are urging the Hamas authorities to immediately halt these executions and ensure that the men are given a fair retrial. The death penalty is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment which should never be used in any circumstances.”
Background
Mazen Faqha, a commander in Hamas’ military wing, was shot in the head and chest at the entrance of his Gaza City home on 24 March.
Hamas formed a military court that sentenced the three men to death under the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Revolutionary Code which does not comply with Palestinian Basic Law of 2003. The three men were sentenced to death on 21 May in a trial that lasted one week and consisted of four brief sessions only.
Palestinian law provides that the President must approve death sentences before they are implemented. However, since 2010, the Hamas de facto administration has been carrying out executions without obtaining the President’s approval.
The Israeli authorities must immediately and unconditionally release Ahmed Qatamesh, a 67-year-old Palestinian academic, writer and political analyst who has been arbitrarily detained under a three month administrative detention order.
Ahmed Qatamesh was seized during a pre-dawn raid on his home on 14 May 2017. Three days later a military commander signed an administrative order to detain him for three months despite the fact that he has not been charged with a criminal offence. An Israeli military court is due to confirm the detention soon. Under Israel’s administrative detention policies, Palestinians are routinely detained indefinitely on security grounds, without charge or trial, using renewable detention orders of up to six months.
“Once again Ahmed Qatamesh looks set to be subjected to Israel’s ruthless policy of administrative detention. Amnesty International believes that he has been detained solely due to his non-violent political activities and writing and to deter activism by other Palestinians.”
Magdalena Mughrabi, Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International.
“Once again Ahmed Qatamesh looks set to be subjected to Israel’s ruthless policy of administrative detention. Amnesty International believes that he has been detained solely due to his non-violent political activities and writing and to deter activism by other Palestinians. Confirming the administrative detention order against him would be a flagrant violation of his right to freedom of expression,” said Magdalena Mughrabi, Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International.
“Ahmed Qatamesh shouldn’t spend a single minute more behind bars, let alone be detained for three months without charge or trial. He is a prisoner of conscience and should be released immediately and unconditionally.
“Ahmed Qatamesh shouldn’t spend a single minute more behind bars, let alone be detained for three months without charge or trial. He is a prisoner of conscience and should be released immediately and unconditionally.”
“For decades Israel has used its cruel administrative detention policies to trample over the rights of Palestinian detainees. Instead of indefinitely detaining Palestinians without charge or trial, Israel should end its use of administrative detention, which inflicts huge emotional suffering on detainees and their families, placing them in a permanent state of uncertainty.”
This is not the first time Ahmed Qatamesh has been a prisoner of conscience. In total he has spent more than eight-years in administrative detention at the hands of the Israeli authorities. He was last released from administrative detention in December 2013.
According to his family, he had been called for interrogation by the Israeli military intelligence authorities twice in 2016. He was warned to stop writing and speaking or he may “get in trouble”. Both times he refused, telling the military intelligence that he is a writer and an academic and would speak and write what he wanted.
Of the more than 6,500 Palestinians jailed in Israeli prisons, more than 500 are held under administrative detention without charge or trial. The end to Israel’s practice of administrative detention is one of the demands of the ongoing hunger strike by hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held by the Israeli authorities.
Ahmad Qatamesh, a political commentator and university professor, has been an outspoken critic of both the Israeli and Palestinian authorities and the Oslo agreement, an interim deal which transferred partial control to Palestinian authorities in some areas of the Occupied Palestinian Territories. He has called for a fundamental change in the political landscape and strategy of Palestinians, an end to the divisions between Hamas and the Palestinian authorities, and has highlighted the Palestinian population’s discontent with their leadership. His writings have analysed various proposals for alternative governance systems between Palestinians and Israelis. Ahmad Qatamesh has also often appeared on local television and radio shows. Most recently, he has spoken out strongly in support of the mass Palestinian prisoner hunger strike and the need for political backing for Palestinian rights.
In a meeting with his lawyer on 21 May at Ofer prison, Ahmed Qatamesh said he has not been questioned since his arrest. He also announced he would no longer take his medication in prison in protest at his arbitrary arrest and imprisonment. His family is gravely concerned for his health. His wife Suha Barghouti told Amnesty International that the rough treatment and medical neglect he had endured in prison had damaged his inner ear affecting his balance.
She said that since his release in 2013, he’s also experienced problems with fainting and blackouts. “In the past few months, he’s been getting better, but I’m so worried about what this new detention will do to him. He’s no longer as young or as strong as he used to be,” she said.
Witnesses described to Amnesty International the night raid that led to Ahmed Qatamesh’s arrest on 14 May. At around 4am, between 40 and 50 Israeli soldiers in at least seven military jeeps and an armoured vehicle arrived in the al-Bireh neighbourhood of Ramallah where Ahmed Qatamesh once lived. The witnesses said that the soldiers broke down the front door to his former home only to find it empty. They then broke down the neighbours’ doors, before moving on to the family homes of Ahmed Qatamesh’s brothers.
At approximately 4:30am, the soldiers entered the homes of two of his brothers, waking both their families. When they couldn’t find him there either, they forced his brother Khaled to direct them to his current home located nearby. Khaled Qatamesh said the soldiers made him walk in front of them and knock on the door, as if they were using him “as a kind of shield”. Khaled tried to calm the soldiers down, explaining that his brother is older and hard of hearing and that there was no need for any violence or to break down the door. Eventually, Ahmed Qatamesh awoke and opened the door. The soldiers told him to dress and took him away in the armoured vehicle. The soldiers did not search the home, nor did they take any materials, according to Ahmed Qatamesh’s brother.
“Some of my earliest memories from when I was seven or eight years-old are of Israeli soldiers storming our home in the middle of the night, scaring all of us and trying to make us live in fear,” Khaled Qatamesh said. “Here I am, now 54 years-old and am faced with the same tactics still. Now my children are the ones creating these fearful memories. It terrorizes the whole family.”
The International Board is seeking two new members for the Conflict Management Assistance Group (CMAG).
If you have skills and experience in conflict management and resolution and substantial knowledge of section/structure governance management, we want to hear from you!
The Conflict Management Assistance Group works to supplement other conflict management resources within the Amnesty International movement by providing impartial listening, information resource sharing and options for the handling of disputes to Amnesty International leaders facing imminent or actual conflict.
Applicants should have sufficient time to dedicate to the work of the group, including attending bi-monthly virtual meetings. Expressions of interest and additional documents requested in the documents below must be submitted by 9 June 2017 to boardcoordinator@amnesty.org.
Activists in Canberra and Perth have taken to the streets to talk to the public about the harmful practices that go into making products that almost all of us have in our homes.
Last week activists and staff in Canberra kicked off the week with a bang, holding a stall about child labour in the palm oil industry where they collected 125 petition signatures. The Canberra Action Centre is planning to hold more stalls in the coming months so keep your eyes peeled.
Activists have been joining with staff from the Perth Action Centre to do some lunch time petition blitzing on the streets. They have been busy collecting actions and talking to people in their lunch break about getting involved in the campaign against child labour. To date they have collected 100 petition signatures!
Get involved
Blitzing and holding stalls are two really easy ways you can take action for this campaign. If you haven’t already, check out the activist toolkit for more ideas and tips for action.
We are moving into stage two of this campaign where we will focus on the retailers selling products produced using child labour. We’ll be asking them to take responsibility for what is on their shelves and not to stock products that contain child labour. Get ready to join us to say #NotInMyTrolley to child labour.
We would love to hear what you have been up to so far or if you have had any responses from the brands we’ve been tweeting at about this issue. If you have an update to share, please get in touch with your local Community Organiser and let them know.
The US Army failed to keep tabs on more than $1 billion (AUD$1.3 billion) worth of arms and other military equipment in Iraq and Kuwait according to a now declassified Department of Defense (DoD) audit, obtained by Amnesty International following Freedom of Information requests.
The government audit, from September 2016, reveals that the DoD “did not have accurate, up-to-date records on the quantity and location” of a vast amount of equipment pouring into Kuwait and Iraq to provision the Iraqi Army.
“This audit provides a worrying insight into the US Army’s flawed – and potentially dangerous – system for controlling millions of dollars’ worth of arms transfers to a hugely volatile region,” said Patrick Wilcken, Amnesty International’s Arms Control and Human Rights Researcher.
“It makes for especially sobering reading, given the long history of leakage of US arms to multiple armed groups committing atrocities in Iraq, including the armed group calling itself the Islamic State.”
The military transfers came under the Iraq Train and Equip Fund (ITEF), a linchpin of US-Iraqi security cooperation. In 2015, US Congress appropriated USD$1.6 billion for the programme to combat the advance of IS.
The DoD audit found several serious shortcomings in how ITEF equipment was logged and monitored from the point of delivery onward, including:
Fragmentary record-keeping in arms depots in Kuwait and Iraq. Information logged across multiple spreadsheets, databases and even on hand-written receipts.
Large quantities of equipment manually entered into multiple spreadsheets, increasing the risk of human error.
Incomplete records meaning those responsible for the equipment were unable to ascertain its location or status.
The audit also claimed that the DoD did not have responsibility for tracking ITEF transfers immediately after delivery to the Iraqi authorities, despite the fact that the department’s Golden Sentry programme is mandated to carry out post-delivery checks.
“It makes for especially sobering reading, given the long history of leakage of US arms to multiple armed groups committing atrocities in Iraq, including the armed group calling itself the Islamic State.”
A previous DoD audit in 2015 pointed to even laxer stockpile monitoring procedures followed by the Iraqi armed forces. In some cases the Iraqi army was unaware of what was stored in its own warehouses, while other military equipment – which had never been opened or inventoried – was stored out in the open in shipping containers.
“The need for post-delivery checks is vital. Any fragilities along the transfer chain greatly increase the risks of weapons going astray in a region where armed groups have wrought havoc and caused immense human suffering,” said Patrick Wilcken.
Arms transfers fuelling atrocities
Amnesty International’s research has consistently documented lax controls and record-keeping within the Iraqi chain of command. This has resulted in arms manufactured in the USA and other countries winding up in the hands of armed groups known to be committing war crimes and other atrocities, such as IS, as well as paramilitary militias now incorporated into the Iraqi army.
In response to the audit, the US military has pledged to tighten up its systems for tracking and monitoring future transfers to Iraq.
However, the DoD made almost identical commitments in response to a report for Congress as long ago as 2007 that raised similar concerns.
“After all this time and all these warnings, the same problems keep re-occurring. This should be an urgent wake-up call for the US, and all countries supplying arms to Iraq, to urgently shore up checks and controls. Sending millions of dollars’ worth of arms into a black hole and hoping for the best is not a viable counter-terrorism strategy; it is just reckless,” said Patrick Wilcken.
“Any state selling arms to Iraq must show that there are strict measures in place to make sure the weapons will not be used to violate rights. Without these safeguards, no transfer should take place.”
Amnesty International is urging the USA to comply with the Leahy Law, which prohibits the supply of most types of US military aid and training to foreign security, military and police units credibly alleged to have committed “gross human rights violations”.
The USA and Iraq must also accede to the global Arms Trade Treaty, which has strict rules in place to stop arms transfers or diversion of arms that could fuel atrocities.
