Australia

The following information is based on the Amnesty International Report 2021/22. This report documented the human rights situation in 149 countries in 2021, as well as providing global and regional analysis. It presents Amnesty International’s concerns and calls for action to governments and others. 

OVERVIEW

The rights of Indigenous peoples, refugees and asylum seekers continued to be violated. Proposed new legislation threatened to further entrench discrimination against LGBTI people. Government responses to sexual and gender-based violence against women remained inadequate. No one was held accountable for alleged war crimes committed by Australian troops in Afghanistan.

Background

Lockdown measures in response to the Covid-19 pandemic continued for much of the year in major cities. Stringent border restrictions also remained in place. In April, all arrivals from India were halted due to the Delta variant outbreak there. Critics described this government action as racist and xenophobic because it did not impose such comprehensive bans on travel from other destinations with similar outbreaks.

Indigenous peoples’ rights

The government’s first progress report on the “Closing the Gap Agreement”, published in July, showed that targets for reducing incarceration rates of adult Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people by at least 15% had not been met. Whereas detention levels among Indigenous children dropped slightly, rates among adults increased.

Twenty-six Indigenous people were reported to have died in custody between July 2020 and June 2021, bringing the total number of deaths to at least 500 since the 1991 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody. No one had been held to account in relation to any of these deaths.

Children’s rights

Australia continued to detain children as young as 10 years old, but efforts to raise the age of criminal responsibility progressed. In October, the Australian Capital Territory committed to increase the minimum age of criminal responsibility to 14.

Refugees’ and migrants’ rights

The brutal treatment of refugees and asylum seekers continued. This included their indefinite and arbitrary detention within Australia, and in Nauru and Papua New Guinea, although the government announced an end to offshore processing in Papua New Guinea by the end of the year. Those arriving by boat were not permitted to apply for asylum in Australia. The number of refugees accepted for resettlement decreased from 18,750 in 2020 to 13,750 in 2021.

In the context of the crisis in Myanmar, the government committed to temporarily extend visas of Myanmar citizens already in Australia, but did not permit family reunifications.

Impunity

An Office of the Special Investigator was established to investigate allegations of war crimes committed by Australia’s Special Forces in Afghanistan between 2005 and 2016. However, no action had been taken by the end of the year against any of the 19 members of Australia’s special forces referred for investigation by the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force in 2020.

LGBTI people’s rights

Attacks on the LGBTI community continued. The government announced plans to introduce a revised Bill on Religious Freedom that included provisions that would allow religious schools to refuse to hire or dismiss teachers on grounds of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Sexual and gender-based violence

In February a former staffer in the Federal Government revealed that she had been raped inside Parliament House in 2019. Although senior ministers were made aware of the allegations no action was taken against her alleged attacker at the time, who was only charged after the allegations became public. Recommendations, including for legislative reforms, made by the Australian Human Rights Commission in 2020 following its inquiry into sexual harassment in the workplace had not been fully implemented by the end of the year.

Failure to tackle climate crisis

The government continued to fund coal and gas development projects, often in violation of Indigenous peoples’ rights whose land was affected. It failed to adopt carbon emission reduction targets consistent with its obligations under the Paris Agreement and human rights law, and its 2021-22 budget emphasized a “gas-led recovery” over renewable energy.

NEW YORK, – MARCH 18: A cyclist wearing a mask is seen as the coronavirus continues to spread across the United States on March 18, 2020 in Various Cities, . The World Health Organization declared coronavirus (COVID-19) a global pandemic on March 11th. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)

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February 10, 2020 – bordel control

HAMBURG, GERMANY – MARCH 01: Teenage Swedish activist Greta Thunberg demonstrates with high school students against global warming at a Fridays for Future demonstration on March 01, 2019 in Hamburg, Germany. Fridays for Future is an international movement of students who, instead of attending their classes, take part in demonstrations demanding for action against climate change. The series of demonstrations began when Thunberg staged such a protest outside the Swedish parliament building. (Photo by Adam Berry/Getty Images)

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Climate activists Greta Thunberg and the Fridays for Future movement honored with top Amnesty International award

June 7, 2019 – Ambassador of Conscience

This picture taken on September 5, 2018 shows flags from the Pacific Islands countries being displayed in Yaren on the last day of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF). – PIF members on September 5 signed a security agreement promoting cooperation on issues such as trans-national crime, illegal fishing and cyber-crime.The agreement, called the Boe Declaration, also recognised the need for joint action on “non-traditional” threats, primarily climate change. (Photo by Mike LEYRAL / AFP) (Photo credit should read MIKE LEYRAL/AFP/Getty Images)

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Pacific Islands Forum: Australia must tackle refugee crisis in Nauru as regional summit closes

September 6, 2018 – asylum-seekers

BERLIN, GERMANY – MAY 02: Whistle blower and activist Chelsea Manning, in what she said is her first strip outside of the United States since she was released from a U.S. prison, speaks at the annual re:publica conferences on their opening day on May 2, 2018 in Berlin, Germany. Re:publica 18 is holding a series of conferences themed with digital society on topics such as media, entertainment, politics, culture and technology from May 2-4. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

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Failure to approve Chelsea Manning a visa sends chilling message on freedom of speech

September 5, 2018 – freedom of speech

BERLIN, GERMANY – MAY 02: Whistle blower and activist Chelsea Manning, in what she said is her first strip outside of the United States since she was released from a U.S. prison, speaks at the annual re:publica conferences on their opening day on May 2, 2018 in Berlin, Germany. Re:publica 18 is holding a series of conferences themed with digital society on topics such as media, entertainment, politics, culture and technology from May 2-4. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

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Government must allow human rights defender Chelsea Manning to come to Australia

August 29, 2018 – Chelsea Manning

Refugee advocates shout slogans as they protest at the Immigration and Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade building in Sydney on November 3, 2017. Refugee advocates blocked the main entrance of the foreign affairs and immigration department during a protest demanding the immediate evacuation of Manus Island refugees to Australia. (Photo credit should read SAEED KHAN/AFP/Getty Images)

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Coroner’s findings on preventable death of Iranian asylum seeker on Manus Island must prompt government action

July 30, 2018 – detention centers

Protesters holding banners march in Sydney to urge the Australian government to end the refugee crisis on Manus Island on November 4, 2017. The United Nations called on Australia to stop a “humanitarian emergency” unfolding at a detention centre on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea, urging an end to a tense days-long stand-off between refugees and authorities. / AFP PHOTO / PETER PARKS (Photo credit should read PETER PARKS/AFP/Getty Images)

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Australia: EU countries must not repeat human rights failures of cruel Australian refugee policy

July 19, 2018 – european union