Human rights
How Australia can speak up on human rights in India
Writing in The Interpreter last week, Elaine Pearson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch, made a compelling case for Australian leaders to raise human rights concerns with Indian…
By default not design: the end of the asylum consensus
Sometimes it is the drip-drip effect of frequent, small exposures, that gradually accumulate over time and result in a conversion. On an almost daily basis, countries around the…
Albanese should raise human rights concerns with Modi
When India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits Sydney this week, there should be no empty clichés from Australia’s leaders simply hailing India as “the world’s largest democracy…
What of the Rohingya? The ICC, Ukraine, and limits of “international” justice
The International Criminal Court has sent a strong message to Russia’s government and beyond that war crimes should – and sometimes can – be prosecuted by issuing two arrest…
Beijing and the birth rate: a question of human rights for women
As China grapples with population decline, the pressure on women in China is only increasing. Under paramount leader Xi Jinping, women’s rights continue to deteriorate as the…
Why do we travel to unsettling places?
When visiting the demilitarised zone between the Koreas, there is the option to have your own North Korean defector as a tour guide. Tasteless? Or a good way to find employment…
Australia’s Myanmar sanctions: now for the real decisions
It took Australia two years after Myanmar’s coup to impose new sanctions. On 1 February, Foreign Minister Penny Wong announced autonomous sanctions on the 16 members of the State…
Refugees may become victims of Malaysia’s electoral politics
Campaigning is well underway for Malaysia’s general election, set to be held on 19 November. In the leadup to the high-stakes poll, Malaysia’s government has made the…
Enemies of education are back in Malala’s hometown?
The terrorist attack on a school van in the Swat district of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province this week confirms the return of the extremist groups that had imposed their…
Ending capital punishment for good in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea abolished the death penalty in January 2022. As a matter of fact, this was the second abolition of the death penalty in the country.
Capital punishment was…