Amnesty International AU

There are better alternatives than having people drown at sea off our coast, or suffer in open-air prisons run by our government. We need a better plan for refugees. Will you back it? There are better alternatives than having people drown at sea off our coast, or suffer in open-air prisons run by our government. We need a better plan for refugees. Will you back it? We’re a decent country. We’ve got it in us to show common sense and to solve problems. Both sides of politics have failed to deliver a fair, safe and orderly system for refugees. The government’s current approach isn’t keeping people safe, and the secrecy and cover-ups tell us that something is wrong. The situation is out of control. The truth is we can protect our borders while offering safety to those who need our help. And we can benefit from the contributions new Australians make to our community. So what are we waiting for?

Right now at least 10 children are held in Victoria’s Barwon adult prison. They're allegedly locked up for 23 hours a day and handcuffed for the hour they're allowed outside their cells. They’ve reportedly been pepper sprayed and abused. We have a responsibility to protect these kids. Demand action. This is the most [f**ked] place we’ve ever been,”... This is hell on earth.” Right now at least 10 children are being held in Victoria’s Barwon maximum-security adult prison. According to their lawyers, some kids are being locked up for 23 hours a day and handcuffed for the one hour they are allowed outside their cells.Reports say they’ve been pepper sprayed and beaten by guards using excessive force. The allegations of abuse are as harrowing as those from the Northern Territory’s Don Dale detention centre, which sparked a Royal Commission.  Police are now investigating allegations that corrections staff assaulted nine children. A human rights lawyer representing the boys said last week, “At Barwon, children have been isolated for days and even weeks at a time. They are going mad in their cells.” We have to make a choice. Do we want to be a society that puts a child’s well-being first – or a society that kicks them when they’re down? Kids are still being sent to Barwon despite a court ruling three months ago that it was unlawful to send them there. We can’t let the government get away with ignoring the courts – we need you to create an outcry that demands swift action.Tell the Victorian Premier that you won’t stand by as kids are abused under the government’s watch. Here’s why your voice can make a difference: Public outcry is essential to force the Victorian Premier into swift action.  The Human Rights Law Centre are taking the Premier to court and need your backing to help these kids. Together we need to shed light on the extent of abuse and send a clear message to all authorities that we won’t allow the abuse of kids to happen anywhere in Australia. The Victorian Government prides itself on being a leader in social justice and cares about their public image. We have the power to pressure them to remove kids from the adult prison and into a safe facility. Your voice is powerful. Demand action now. Tell the Victorian Premier that you won’t stand by as kids are abused under the government’s watch.Tell the Victorian Premier that you won’t stand by as kids are abused under the government’s watch.

This week, lawyers are taking the Victorian Premier, Daniel Andrews to court to stop the abuse of children in an adult maximum security prison. Kids are some of the most vulnerable members of our society; they should be nurtured and cared for, not locked up with adults. Sign the petition now. Kids are some of the most vulnerable members of our society. Family and community provide the support young people need as they make their journey through life, and help them navigate the challenges of growing up. Kids do better when they’re in a supportive and nurturing environment, where they can pursue their dreams and potential. However, right now at least 10 children are being held in Victoria’s Barwon maximum security adult prison. Some are being locked up for 23 hours a day and handcuffed for the one hour they are allowed outside their cells. Reports says they’ve been pepper sprayed and beaten by guards. There is no justification for the abuse of children in our society. We can protect children in trouble and give them the care and guidance they need to make better choices without locking them up and abusing them. Kids belong in the community, not in adult prisons. This week, human rights lawyers are taking the Victorian Premier, Daniel Andrews to court to stop the abuse of children in detention. They have asked for your help to mount the pressure on the Premier to take swift action. Will you answer their call? Here’s why your voice can make a difference: Public outcry is essential to force the Victorian Premier into swift action. The Human Rights Law Centre are taking the Premier to court and need your backing to help these kids. Together we need to shed light on the extent of abuse and send a clear message to all authorities that we won’t allow the abuse of kids to happen anywhere in Australia. The Victorian Government prides itself on being a leader in social justice and cares about their public image. We have the power to pressure them to remove kids from the adult prison and into a safe facility. Your voice is powerful. Demand action now. Tell the Victorian Premier that you won’t stand by as kids are abused under the government’s watch.

President Trump’s Executive Order has rejected many of the values that our countries share. He's announced a complete ban on Syrian refugees and an indefinite ban on others fleeing danger and more than halved the number of refugees able to start a new life in the US. This decision goes against the grain of our common values. The values that say we treat people equally and with respect no matter where they come from. We help people in danger, give them a fair go and always lend a hand. These values are reflected on America’s iconic Statue of Liberty, ‘Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free’. With the US pulling back from these values we need to demonstrate our strong support for them. Ask Minister Dutton to increase the refugee intake from 13,750 to 30,000 each year so we can help the people in need the US has turned its back on.

President Trump’s Executive Order has shirked US responsibility to protect men, women and children seeking safety. He's announced a complete ban on Syrian refugees and an indefinite ban on others fleeing danger and more than halved the number of refugees able to start a new life in the US. The US government has decided not to pull its weight and take on its share of the global responsibility to protect people in danger. We are calling on countries around the world including Australia to step up and share responsibility where President Trump won’t. While it’s promising that Australia offers safety to 13,750 people each year, we have the ability to open our arms to more. Sign the petition and call on Minister Dutton to increase the refugee program to 30,000 people who need our help each year. Image caption: First Syrian family welcomed to Toronto. Credit: Dom’s World.

It’s been over 100 years since Helen Knott’s great-great grandfather signed a treaty with the government of Canada to protect his people’s way of life. Instead of honouring that promise, the government has authorized a massive hydro-electric dam that threatens Indigenous cultures and ways of life in the Peace River Valley, British Columbia. Indigenous peoples in the region have already lost much of their land to oil and gas drilling. If the multi-billion dollar Site C dam goes ahead, they will lose one of the last areas where they still hunt, fish and carry out sacred ceremonies. The government approved the dam, despite finding that it would cause permanent harm to Indigenous peoples in the area. Now, Indigenous peoples from the West Moberly and Prophet River First Nations have gone to court, insisting that the Canadian government stand by the treaty promise made over a century ago, and stop building Site C. The court case has yet to be decided, but the hydroelectric company has begun clearing the valley anyway. “This is my home. This is where I want to raise my children and my grandchildren,” says Indigenous rights activist Helen Knott. “What will we have left?” Tell Canada to halt the Site C dam.

Lawyer and former newspaper editor Eren Keskin has been a vocal critic of the Turkish state for decades. A speech she made 11 years ago has angered the authorities. In it, she accused the state of “slaughtering a 12-year-old child”:  Uğur Kaymaz. To Eren, the 2004 killing of this boy by the army is one of many stains on Turkey’s history – a history she says the authorities need to be held accountable for. For this and articles published in a Kurdish newspaper she edited, she has been repeatedly charged with insulting the Turkish state and the President. Eren has been hauled before the courts more than 100 times because of her outspoken stand on the plight of Turkey’s Kurdish minority. In 1995, she spent six months in jail simply for using the word “Kurdistan” in an article. The sheer volume of cases against her are nothing short of harassment. Eren’s only crime has been to speak out against injustice. And time is running out for her. More trials mean she could be jailed at any time, for a long time. Tell Turkey not to jail Erin.

Máxima Acuña refuses to back down. Yanacocha, one of the world’s biggest gold and copper mines, wants to throw her off her own land. But she’s not going anywhere.  A peasant farmer in Peru, Máxima has braved daily harassment from Yanacocha’s armed security guards. They are waging a war of intimidation, surrounding her house and watching her every move.   Máxima has been fighting off the mining company since 2011, when they claimed she was squatting on her own land. In the years that followed, police descended on her small farm and beat her and her daughter unconscious. They knocked down her home twice. The mine even built a fence around her property.  A lengthy legal battle saw Máxima first stripped of, and then returned, her land. But the mining company has since challenged the court’s decision.  Still Máxima will not give up. “I will never kneel before Yanacocha,” she says. Her bravery has won her the 2016 Goldman Prize, the world’s most respected environmental award. Community members look to her as a leading land rights defender – and have banded together to protect her. We must, too: Máxima could be evicted any day.   Stand with Máxima - tell Peru to protect her from being forced off her land.