Thanks for being a part of our campaigns in 2018. We have so much work to do and your support makes us strong. Here’s what’s coming up for the rest of the year…
BRAVE
“Without the kind of people who create a vibrant civil society, there is a greater inequality. This is something our Amnesty community will continue to fight for in 2018.”
It can feel like the world has never been more dangerous for people willing to fight for justice.
Governments around the world, and here at home, are enacting laws and policies which impinge on freedoms of association, assembly, and expression. This means that those individuals brave enough to speak out in support of human rights are being threatened, imprisoned and silenced.
They may be journalists, community workers or people just like us who’ve decided that enough is enough. And when they speak out, we speak out. We want to stand in solidarity with these people and their communities. We will do this by recognising and sharing their struggles and doing everything we can as a worldwide movement of over 7 million people, to keep them safe.
We will continue to ask you to show your support by signing our petitions, speaking with your local MPs and sharing the brave stories of human rights defenders with your friends and family.
Indigenous Rights
Tammy Solonec, Indigenous Rights Manager“Let’s make 2018 the year in which this country takes large strides towards finally showing Indigenous people the respect they deserve.”
Indigenous children are being locked up across Australia at rates 25 times higher than non-Indigenous children. We want to end this disgraceful situation within a generation.
The entire justice system is stacked against these kids. Indigenous children are significantly more likely to be arrested, placed before the Children’s Court, refused bail and incarcerated than non-Indigenous children.
But it doesn’t have to be this way.
This year, through our Community is Everything campaign, we will continue building national support to create lasting solutions to this injustice.
We will be working directly with Indigenous organisations and community leaders, so that they make the decisions which affect their own communities.
We will approach every level of Government and work with elements of the justice system to research, educate and eliminate practices which contribute to Indigenous youth incarceration.
And of course, we will be there to call out instances of abuse wherever they may occur within the justice system.
Finally, our team will also be pushing to change the date of Australia Day so that all Australians can celebrate together.
Refugees
“The world’s system for protecting refugees is broken – both here in Australia and around the world. Locking up people in open-air prisons on Manus Island and Nauru has only resulted in immense suffering and deaths.”
In 2018 we are going to push harder than ever for the right solutions. We want a vastly improved
community sponsorship program here in Australia, one which allows safe access for additional
numbers of refugees.
This model harnesses the goodwill and knowledge of the community in order to provide the solutions this country so desperately needs.
We’re asking our supporters to approach their local government/councils, businesses, faith and
community groups to share our Better Plan for refugees – with revamped community sponsorship
being a key component of this comprehensive plan.
Canada’s community sponsorship model has worked, where over 275,000 people have been safely resettled since the late 1970s.
Australia’s current version of community sponsorship is failing, but we know it can work. We’ll tell you more about it throughout the year, and what you can do to help us make it happen. Let’s create real change together.
To complement this, as always, Amnesty will expose what is occurring on Manus Island and Nauru. We will hold our Government accountable. We will amplify the voices of those being held there, and demand these innocent people are brought to safety.
Crisis Response
“This year we will continue to carefully monitor conflicts across the globe, and be at the ready for any escalating situation which may arise. No matter how complex or hopeless a situation may appear, will be there.”
When crises and conflicts erupt around the world, Amnesty is there.
We know that it is the disproportionate suffering of innocent civilians which so often accompanies violent conflicts. This is particularly the case for women and children caught in the middle.
Someone needs to be there on the ground as it happens, and ensure these people are not forgotten. Our work concentrates on documenting the violations of human rights that are
committed. We’re on the side of the survivors of these abuses, as well as those who sadly
never make it.
We listen, and we act.
Through research and firsthand accounts, we protect the most vulnerable people, and build pressure to bring perpetrators of human rights abuses to justice. You ensure our research teams are equipped with everything they need to react as soon as a crisis occurs.
