Human Rights
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Sunday essay: The slave societies of the Persian Gulf
The glittering city-states of the Persian Gulf are built on modern slavery. Behind the gleaming skyscrapers, the world-class air-conditioned malls, the luxury tourist attractions and the opulent villas lie racism, misery, sexual abuse, violent exploitation, even death. Continue reading »
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Australia’s ‘exceptional’ human rights record
Leaders who consider their country exceptional are less likely to acknowledge any shortcomings. In light of recent criticism of Australia’s human rights record, will our leaders feel so ashamed of being labelled exceptional that they will look to implement standards of common decency considered central to a fair-go culture? Continue reading »
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Cruelty as policy in Australia and elsewhere: a short list of 2020s’ victims
Political cultures also foster sadism, justifying such behaviour by an alleged need to protect national security. And once specific population groups have been dehumanised, they become targets for cruelties. Continue reading »
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Western governments will have blood on their hands unless they stop persecuting Julian Assange
The case of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is complex, containing elements of law, freedom of speech and of the media, journalism, politics, international relations and health. In the recent hearing to determine whether Assange should be extradited to the US, health became the dominant discourse. He may die if several Western governments do not stop Continue reading »
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Line between sledging and racism continues to blur
An invidious Sydney tradition surfaced again at the third Test match between Australia and India last week, with six spectators ejected from a stand for allegedly racist chants towards a nearby Indian outfielder. Continue reading »
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Children in Prison: shame, Australia, shame
In February 2012 X Riyan and X Hadi were led into the Perth District Courtroom 7.1 by uniformed security guards. Continue reading »
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We are Israel’s largest human rights group – and we are calling this apartheid ( Jan 12, 2021)
The systematic promotion of the supremacy of one group of people over another is deeply immoral and must end. Continue reading »
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Assange decision welcome but sullied by legal chicanery
The British judge’s ruling that Julian Assange cannot be extradited to the United States is welcome, but it comes after the charade called justice in which British authorities held an unconvicted person in a top security prison and made his defence as difficult as possible. Continue reading »
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Assange ruling sensible, but no implications for press freedom
The judge accepted the legal arguments presented by US lawyers, saw no inherent threat of potential injustice, but denied the extradition request on health grounds. However, dumping, unfiltered, thousands of files on to the web is not journalism. Continue reading »
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Partners in crime – disadvantage and our criminal justice system
Australia’s criminal justice systems compound disadvantage. Why should Australians be troubled by this, and what we can do about it. A summary of report by the Centre for Policy Development. Continue reading »
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The essence of war is to kill
A recent spike in the statistics has seen the number of suicides by Australia’s Afghanistan veterans pass 500. This is an appalling toll which raises many deep questions for us all. Continue reading »
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Return to the Scene of the Crime and the SAS.
As written about on this site, four Aussies were also victims of SAS brutality, in 2014. Last weekend one of them, two friends and a Catholic priest returned to the Swan Island SAS training base where this happened. Continue reading »
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Morrison’s selective attitude to human rights
Article 1 of the UN Charter declares objectives to promote and encourage respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion. But the Morrison government ignores the abuses of its friends, does not care about the ‘without distinction’ principle, and thereby undermines claims to champion Continue reading »
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An Australian Muslim view on atrocities committed in Afghanistan
There are widespread calls for investigations into atrocities committed by foreign forces engaged in Afghanistan for almost two decades following Australia’s public release of a shocking report on Thursday 19 November 2020 alleging unlawful killings of civilians by elite Australian troops in Afghanistan. The US and European countries have been urged to follow Australia’s example and Continue reading »
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What it means to be a Palestinian child in Israeli military court
Each year 500–700 Palestinian children under the age of 18 are arrested, the majority of the children are tried in military courts that do not meet international fair trial standards. Continue reading »
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Susan Ryan. A formidable and compassionate advocate on human rights.
Susan Ryan, the minister for education in the Hawke Government and the pioneer who brought Australia its Sex Discrimination Act, died very recently. This is a remembrance from a friend. Continue reading »
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Dan Oakes, Witness K and Bernard Collaery
Dear Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions, please demonstrate that the decisions whether or not to prosecute, and the decisions to continue the prosecutions of Collaery and K, are not influenced by possible political advantage, disadvantage or embarrassment to the Government. Please apply the Prosecution Policy to the facts in front of you, uninfluenced by what Continue reading »
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The strategic aspect of human rights: a tool of hegemony
With America’s fading hegemony, new regional powers with regional hegemonic aspirations are displaying their ideas about human rights; ideas based on their particular historical, cultural, political, and religious experiences. Continue reading »
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Witness K and Bernard Collaery: An Unjust Prosecution Gets Even Worse
The prosecution of former ACT Attorney-General, Bernard Collaery, and his client, Witness K, continues to play itself out before the ACT Supreme Court. This is a legal fiasco of the first order. The prosecution should never have commenced. Continue reading »
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In Defence of Nomadic “Mere” Hunter-Gatherers
We increasingly hear people say that traditional Aboriginal societies were “not mere hunter-gatherers”. Unwittingly, this phrase downgrades the mobile foragers who occupied Australia on the eve of colonial occupation of their territory (and for tens of millennia before). The yearning to reclassify foragers as farmers reflects a dated and discredited concept of economic hierarchy. Continue reading »
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What happens when we treat aged care residents as “consumers” (Inside Story Sep 14, 2020)
Decades of misguided policy sowed the seeds of a human rights disaster. Continue reading »
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The Stalinist Trial of Julian Assange (CounterPunch Sep 7, 2020)
Having reported the long, epic ordeal of Julian Assange, John Pilger gave this address outside the Central Criminal Court in London on September 7 as the WikiLeaks Editor’s extradition hearing entered its final stage. Continue reading »
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Police state governance and the civil liberties of an MP
In disdain for human rights and to display power, governments deploy police forces to harass or arrest citizens, and then justify their actions with claims about the influence of foreign forces.And it’s happening right now in Australia. Continue reading »
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Australia’s fathers day shame
On this coming Father’s Day I want to salute three fathers whose sons, who have not broken Australian law, were and are betrayed by the Australian government: Terry Hicks, John Shipton and Khalil El-Halabi. Continue reading »
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Judicial independence: the Nazi or the Australian way?
In an age when the Parliament nearly always does the bidding of the elected government and in a country which, uniquely amongst democratic nations, has no Bill of Rights, the courts are vitally important as a protection against arbitrary power. Continue reading »
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Being old and disabled in the time of COVID
The Prime Minister has apologised for the number of deaths in residential aged care during the COVID disaster. But he hasn’t apologised for the large number of people in residential aged care who don’t need to be there. Continue reading »
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‘Rage against the dying of the light’ in the way we treat elderly people
The alienation of elderly people from social life is abundantly evident in the impact of coronavirus on society as it exploits the vulnerable and defenceless. Continue reading »
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Uighur Poets on Repression and Exile (NYRB August 13, 2020)
The shocking dimensions of China’s repression in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region are now beyond dispute. Continue reading »
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Are the ‘big four’ accounting firms above the law?
In 2004, the federal parliament passed the Age Discrimination Act, making age discrimination in employment, education and the provision of goods and services unlawful. But the major accounting firms seem to think it doesn’t apply to them. Continue reading »
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Indian Australians: supporting Black Lives Matter will make us feel we belong
In The American Bazaar on 20-07-20 Revathi Siva Kumar asks: “Have the people from the land of Mahatma Gandhi done enough for the oppressed African Americans? How many of them stood in solidarity with the protesters against police brutality and racism?” Continue reading »
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