Search Results

Sort by
News

Coalition Push for US-Style Voting ID Laws Will Weaken Our Democracy

It’s hard not to be cynical about the motivation behind the Australian government’s sudden introduction of new legislation requiring voters for the upcoming federal election to show identification before they cast their ballot. The Coalition claims…
A voter drops his ballot paper into the ballot box during Australia's general election in Sydney.
News

Evicted from Their Office, Al Jazeera Works from a Front Yard in Tunisia

Authorities Arbitrarily Target Media and Critics

I first met Lotfi Hajji some 15 years ago, after Tunisian authorities under President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali had refused a request by Al Jazeera, the Qatar-funded pan-Arab television station, to accredit the Tunisian journalist as their local…
Al Jazeera correspondent Lotfi Hajji reporting from Tunis after Tunisian authorities evicted the pan-Arab television network from its offices, November 5, 2021. 
News

The Abuse of Technology Modi Won’t be Talking About

This week, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will give a keynote address at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s Sydney Dialogue, along with Prime Minister Scott Morrison. The dialogue is billed as a “world-first summit for emerging, critical…
202108asia_india_pegasus
News

Why the Global Climate Emergency is a Human Rights Crisis

A parent’s desire to protect their child from harm is a universally shared emotion. Whether you are raising your children in the suburbs of Perth or in the Gaza Strip, every parent has that instinct embedded deep in their bones. Working as a…
Students call for urgent climate action during the school strike for climate in Perth, Australia.
News

Tunisia: Attack on Director of LGBT Group

Police Officers Suspected; Investigation Needed

Two police officers apparently brutally attacked the director of a Tunis-based LGBT rights group on October 21, 2021, Human Rights Watch said today. The attack on Badr Baabou took place against a backdrop of mounting abuses targeting LGBT activists by…
Badr Baabou, director of Damj Association for Justice and Equality, following his assault by suspected police officers in Tunisia. © 2021 Badr Baabou
News

Australia Moves Closer to Ending Harmful Intersex Surgeries

Rights Body Urges End to Early ‘Normalizing’ Interventions on Children

The Australian Human Rights Commission issued a report today analyzing the persistent practice of medically unnecessary non-consensual surgeries on children born with variations in their sex characteristics. The commission urged authorities to protect…
The Intersex flag
News

As Australia Reopens, Vaccine Equity Should Be a Priority

Disparities in Vaccination Rates Leaves Communities at Risk

This week, millions of residents across New South Wales emerged from more than 100 days of lockdown after the Australian state met its target of full vaccination for 70 percent of its population over age 16. Across Sydney, people queued for haircuts…
People wait outside a Covid-19 vaccination clinic in the Bankstown suburb during a lockdown in Sydney, Australia, August 25, 2021.
News

Quad Leaders Should Back Covid-19 Intellectual Property Waiver

Summit Meeting Key Opportunity to Address Vaccine Inequities

Leaders from the “Quad” countries – the United States, Japan, India, and Australia – will hold their first in-person summit in Washington, DC, on September 24, amid a global Covid-19 vaccine shortage crisis and deeply inequitable access to vaccines.…
Activists stand outside Pfizer Headquarters demanding US President Joe Biden support the "TRIPS Waiver" in New York, NY on April 22, 2021.
News

As Australia’s Climate Policy Disappoints, Hope Found in Court

For the many Australians deeply concerned about the growing climate emergency, it’s been a tough year. As nations like the United States and the United Kingdom have pledged to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions…
A student protester speaks to the crowd during a climate change protest in Brisbane.
News

Don’t Forget Older Australians as Covid-19 Lockdown Lifts

Make Safe Visits to Aged Care Homes a Reality

For the first time in 12 weeks, residents of Sydney, Australia are now allowed to gather outdoors with up to four friends who are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. Since a fresh Covid-19 outbreak in late June, millions of people in Sydney have…
Summitcare aged care facility in Baulkham Hills in Sydney, Australia, July 4, 2021.
News

Tunisia: President’s Repressive Policies Abrogate Rights

Dozens Placed Under Arbitrary House Arrests

(Tunis) – Arbitrary and politically motivated acts of repression have proliferated in Tunisia since July 25, 2021, when President Kais Saied suspended parliament, Human Rights Watch said today. He also lifted parliamentary immunity, dismissed the head…
Tunisian President Kais Saied raises his fist to bystanders as he walks along the avenue Bourguiba in Tunis, Tunisia, August 1, 2021.
News

Australia: Prisoners Denied Vaccine Access

New South Wales Should Urgently Address Spread of Covid-19 in Prisons

(Sydney) – The Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) should urgently ensure that prisoners have access to Covid-19 vaccines, Human Rights Watch said today. The Covid-19 Delta strain has spread inside NSW prisons. State authorities told…
The entry sign to Parklea Correctional Centre in Sydney.
News

How Australia Should Help Afghans Living in Fear

Ahmad, an Afghan Australian, was already feeling exhausted after weeks of strict lockdown in a Western Sydney suburb, as he and his wife worked from home and home-schooled their four children. Then on August 15, Ahmad, like many Afghans abroad,…
Afghanistan evacuees arrive at Australia’s main operating base in the Middle East
News

Australia: Protect At-Risk Communities from Covid-19

Ensure Vaccine Access for First Nations People; Increase Prisoner Protections

(Sydney) – The Australian government should urgently act to prevent an outbreak of the Covid-19 Delta strain from having devastating outcomes for vulnerable First Nations and prisoner populations, Human Rights Watch said today. Although the federal…
Deep cleaning at Dubbo West Public School
News

Australia: Prioritize Protection for Fleeing Afghans

Increase Humanitarian Aid, Support UN Reporting on Abuses

(Sydney) – The Australian government should urgently help protect Afghan civilians who are at heightened risk under the new Taliban authorities, Human Rights Watch said today in a letter to Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison. The government…
Two children walk by armed soldiers in the countryside
News

New Australian Law Targets Activist Groups, Peaceful Protest

Senate Should Pass Motion Disallowing Regulation

By Laura Thomas, Acting Australia Director  In Australia, occupying inconvenient places has been a crucial tactic for protesters to highlight human rights abuses and environmental destruction. That’s why it’s concerning to see the Australian…
Two Jabiluka mine protesters sit chained to heavy drilling equipment installed at the proposed site of the Jabiluka Uranium mine in Jabiluka, Australia on March 24, 1998.