Category: Human rights

Celebrating Human Rights

On By More to the StoryIn Advocacy, Events, get involved, Human rights

“Human rights are our compass in turbulent times — guiding and steadying us through uncertainty.” 

This quote is from United Nations Human Rights Chief, Volker Türk at the launch of the 2025 Human Rights Day campaign.

Held on 10 December, Human Rights Day marks the anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations. It’s a day to commemorate, educate and reflect on the rights that allow people to live safely and with dignity. In Australia we tend to take many of our rights for granted – such as the right to an education, the right to receive medical care, and the freedom to practice our chosen religion. However, the reality is they are not equally available in many parts of the world, including Australia. 

In 2025, the very foundations of human rights have been put to the test in a myriad of ways. “Inequalities are rising, conflicts are raging, the climate emergency is mounting, and some are creating and trying to deepen divisions within societies and between countries” said Türk. “It is crucial to keep advocating for our fundamental rights.” 

The Australian Human Rights awards are a true celebration of people across the nation who’ve made it their life’s mission to champion human rights, social justice, and equality for all. The winners of the 2025 awards announced last week, represent the very best of who we can be. 

  • Human Rights Medal – William Tilmouth (NT): For dedicating his life to reform, justice, opportunity and self-determination for First Peoples. William has led numerous community organisations and is the founding chair of Children’s Ground, a First Peoples-led reform movement. William is a member of the Stolen Generation and was NAIDOC Male Elder of the Year in 2023.
  • Law Award – Elisabeth Armitage (NT): For her work as Coroner and judge in making institutions accountable for upholding human rights and removing barriers so every citizen can enjoy full, safe and equal lives.
  • Media and Creative Industries Award – Ben Doherty (NSW): For reporting on human rights and humanitarian issues, from domestic servitude to experiences of forced migration and asylum.
  • Community Award – Ramnik Singh Walia (NT): For advocating for inclusion and accessible services for older people, people with disability and First Peoples, especially in remote areas.
  • Young People’s Award – Shakira Robertson (Tas): For her trauma-informed work to prevent domestic and family violence and transform Tasmania’s systemic response.

Find out more about each winner and nominee and the wonderful work they are doing on the Australian Human Rights Commission website. 

The debate democracies cannot afford to lose

On By More to the StoryIn Advocacy, Global Trends, Human rights, politics, Telling other people's stories

I was delighted to be in the crowd to hear outstanding academic, film maker, journalist and author, Peter Greste give the annual lecture for PEN Perth this week. 

And what a thought provoking and inspiring lecture it was. Titled “Grey zone: the debate democracies cannot afford to lose”, he argued that across the globe, the room for free thought and open debate (the grey zone) is shrinking. Journalists are jailed in record numbers. Writers are muted by accusation of antisemitism and de-platformed. In the name of security and social cohesion, governments extend their powers to restrict dissent.

It was an extremist group who first gave the fragile arena of debate and disagreement a name: ‘the grey zone’. They feared it as the true enemy of their ideology. Yet today, as Peter eloquently described, in trying to contain extremism, democratic governments themselves are eroding that very space—unwittingly serving the extremists’ agenda.

Peter is best known for becoming a headline himself, when he and two colleagues were arrested in Cairo on terrorism charges while working for Al Jazeera. In letters smuggled from prison, Peter described their incarceration as an attack on press freedom.

His campaign for freedom earned him numerous human rights and freedom of speech awards. Now, as an academic, he leads a research program investigating the impact of national security legislation on public interest journalism. Peter is the author of The Correspondent about his experiences in Egypt, and the wider war on journalism. The book has since been turned into a movie starring Richard Roxburgh.  I highly recommend both the book and the film.

Medecins sans Frontieres

On By More to the StoryIn Advocacy, get involved, Global Trends, Human rights, World views

This week I attended a briefing from Medecins sans Frontieres (Doctors without Borders) on their work around the world and came away humbled.

Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF) is an independent, international medical humanitarian organisation that provides emergency aid to people affected by armed conflict, epidemics, natural disasters and exclusion from healthcare.  

It’s not just doctors, with many other medical and operational staff working for the organisation, all of whom account for over 50,000 full time staff in 37 countries.

Of the 120 Australians currently working in the field for MSF, two addressed the briefing. One is a community psychologist who has just returned from a year in Bangladesh at the world’s biggest refugee camp Cox’s Bazaar, and the other a project director who has worked in many crisis situations such as Afghanistan and South Sudan organising sanitation, roads and facilities for the medical staff.  

The information they covered in the briefing provided a window into the scale and reach of their work and the difference they make in so many people’s lives. In South Sudan alone MSF operate one of the largest assistance programs worldwide and ran 12 regular and five emergency projects delivering a range of services. MSF teams responded to numerous disease outbreaks including measles, yellow fever, Hepatitis E and Cholera. There were numerous surges in malaria cases and an unusually high number of admissions of children suffering malnutrition.

In one example, Dr Ahmed Mahmoud Al Salem observed the dramatic deterioration of the mental health of Palestinians after 7 October 2023.  “This is not a normal trauma; this is a huge tormenting catastrophe,” he said. 

My husband and I have been donors to MSF for over ten years. If you’re thinking of supporting a charity, I urge you put MSF top of your list. 

“They threw us out like garbage”

On By More to the StoryIn Discrimination, Human rights, World views

The wave of Afghan refugees and migrants being sent back from Iran to Afghanistan has intensified, with more than 410,000 being pushed out since the end of the Twelve Day War on 24 June 2025.

More than 1.5 million Afghan refugees and migrants have been sent back this year, according to the United Nations’ International Organization for Migration. The Red Cross says more than one million people more could be sent back by the end of 2025.

Iran has been hosting Afghans for decades. While it has periodically expelled irregular arrivals, it has now taken its efforts to unprecedented levels, accusing Afghans of being Israeli spies or taking advantage of their situation in Iran.

The Guardian reports a comment from an Afghan who said “They threw us out like garbage” as Iran rushes deportation of 4 million Afghans before their deadline.

This situation is even more dire for women, especially lone women. Thousands are being forced to return to face extreme repression and destitution under Taliban laws that forbid them to work or travel without a male guardian. No girls above grade six can go to school anymore. They are banned from showing their faces or speaking in public. Anyone caught breaking these laws is subject to public flogging.  

Sahar is travelling with five children and spoke to the Guardian and Zan Times at the border. She says she has no idea where she will live now. A widow, Sahar has been living in Iran for ten years running a small tailoring workshop and had just put down a deposit on a small house. Last week she was detained, taken with her children from a refugee camp and deported. “I didn’t even get to pack our clothes. They came in the middle of the night.” She is now stuck at the border in stifling heat because she has no male chaperone.  

Despite the fact it’s illegal and unsafe for Iran to deport people to a country where they will likely be persecuted, these deportations continue.

Zan Times is a women-led, investigative newsroom that covers human rights violations in Afghanistan with a focus on women and the LGBTQI+ community. They are a group of mainly women journalists working both inside and outside Afghanistan to tell their own stories, raising their voices to shape and inform public discourse. I highly recommend this website, which is my new resource for what is happening to Afghan Women.

Disease knows no borders

On By More to the StoryIn get involved, Global Trends, Human rights, World views

Polio has re-emerged in Gaza after 25 years. In Yemen there has been a dramatic surge in measles.  

Conflicts, collapsed health systems, interrupted supply chains and a range of other factors including COVID, have resulted in low routine vaccine coverage around the world and an increased spread of infectious diseases. Children are especially affected.

Untreated measles can lead to serious complications like pneumonia, blindness and brain damage. According to Médecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) more than 100,000 children globally, mostly under the age of five, died from measles in 2023. They also report that since 2022, Nigeria has been at the centre of a diphtheria outbreak brought about by low vaccine rates.

Most of us are lucky.  We live in parts of the world that are safe and healthy with high vaccination rates. I can only imagine what it is like to live in a conflict zone requiring help all the time with food, water, health, and infrastructure.

News that the US government is defunding the World Health Organisation (WHO), and other essential United Nations agencies has brought even more uncertainty for people who rely on humanitarian assistance. The US has also suspended nearly all foreign aid programs.  

The World Health Organisation has led eradication efforts for some of the world’s cruellest diseases including polio and smallpox and aims to eliminate a further 20 diseases by 2030. 

But what will happen now without significant funding to WHO and the many partner organisations?  

Katrina Penney, President of MSF Australia says “we are most concerned about people who rely on essential services for survival. The World Health Organisation is a key partner in the international humanitarian system.” 

The consequences for the world’s most vulnerable people are dire. It’s important we support the work of MSF, Red Cross, Oxfam and other agencies working in this age of uncertainty. 

Disease knows no borders. The world knows this from our experience of the COVID pandemic. It’s time to step up.

Young girl getting vaccination from a health care professional

Trump is coming for UNICEF

On By More to the StoryIn Advocacy, Human rights, World views

For decades, UNICEF has been a symbol of international cooperation. Now, it’s the target of an unprecedented effort by the U.S. government to undermine it. 

UNICEF grew out of post-war efforts to feed and shelter hundreds of thousands of children whose lives were upended by the Second World War. It soon evolved into a global organisation dedicated to improving the health and welfare of children across the world.

By mid-century, founding leader Maurice Pate and UNICEF were able to channel international solidarity to improve the lives of the world’s most vulnerable children. For example, Pate devised a partnership with Mexico to drive down malaria, which was killing 20,000 Mexican children annually. Within four years, malaria was all but eradicated in the country, putting Mexico’s malaria levels on par with the United States.

But now, the Trump administration is taking direct aim at UNICEF, positioning one of the world’s most trusted child welfare organisations as its latest target. 

This attack has potentially devastating consequences for millions of children worldwide. 

Last week, UNICEF (along with a few other United Nations agencies) received a bizarre questionnaire from the United States that demanded “yes” or “no” answers to some 23 questions. These questions are absurd, and clearly crafted in such a way as to force answers that would justify an American withdrawal from UNICEF as its longtime financial and political backer.

For example, one question asks the agency to affirm that it “does not work with entities associated with communist, socialist, or totalitarian parties, or any party that espouses anti-American beliefs.”

Of course UNICEF does — because it’s an agency of the United Nations! To be sure, the vast majority of UN member states don’t fall into any of these categories. But the UN is a member-based institution composed of 193 countries. Some of these countries are run by communist parties, like China and Cuba. Several can credibly be called totalitarian, like North Korea and Eritrea. Some are run by avowedly socialist parties, like certain countries in Northern Europe, and a few are expressly anti-American, like Iran. 

The UN is not a club of like-minded governments — that’s what groups like NATO or the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation are for. Rather, the whole point of the UN is to serve as the one entity that can bring every country together to find opportunities for cooperation, transcending wide differences. 

Every day UNICEF provides a platform where countries can find ways to support the world’s most vulnerable children, despite their vast political and cultural divides.

Worrying times ahead.

yrian refugee girl, Rahaff, 5, wearing purple sweater, is happy to be in a safe place. In an informal tented settlement in Bakaa, Lebanon.
©2016 World Vision/photo by Jon Warren

International Women’s Day

On By More to the StoryIn Events, Gender inequity, get involved, Human rights

Imagine a gender equal world. 

A world free of bias, stereotypes and discrimination. A world that’s diverse, equitable and inclusive. A world where difference is valued and celebrated. 

I believe that together we can forge gender equality. This week the gender pay gap results for Australia were published, showing that on this International Women’s Day, there is still much to do.

For every $1 on average a man makes, women earn 78c. Over the course of a year, that difference adds up to $28,425.  

How is this still happening?

There is also much to do because of the political situation in the world. As anything to do with diversity, inclusion and gender is eradicated in the US under Trump, here at home Peter Dutton the leader of the opposition chose to launch a Trumpian plan to crack down on Work From Home for public servants.
 
Despite all evidence suggesting otherwise, Dutton claimed it won’t “discriminate on the basis of gender”, and even had the audacity to suggest women can simply take up job sharing arrangements if returning to the office doesn’t suit them. 
 
Make no mistake, the plan is a direct attack on women’s workforce participation and shows a complete misunderstanding of how modern families manage their lives.

This International Women’s Day we are being asked to #AccelerateAction. That means we need to keep taking action by calling out gender bias and discrimination. 

I also suggest that women take a moment to reflect on their own achievements. Remember what we have accomplished, despite the odds we have faced… and are still facing. For me that means celebrating having worked successfully as a journalist for many years and leading major companies in Australia and Asia in corporate affairs and investor relations. I have also written three books and finished my PhD later in life. Alongside these achievements, I am very proud to have given back to the community through my work on not-for-profit boards and by helping refugees and asylum seekers. I hope I inspired a few people along the way.

Many women (and men) inspired me through my life. This is especially true for Anne Forrest with whom I worked for over ten years in Asia.  Anne didn’t just break the glass ceiling she smashed it, showing me and other women that it was all about the best person for the job, not about gender. You can read about her here. 

This International Women’s Day I urge you to reach out to those women who have inspired you. We don’t say “thanks – you made a difference in my life” often enough.

International Human Rights Day

On By More to the StoryIn Advocacy, get involved, Global Trends, Human rights, research and reports

“Human rights are about people. They are about you and your life: your needs and wants and fears; your hopes for the present and the future.” 

This quote is from United Nations Human Rights High Commissioner, Volker Türk, to mark this year’s Human Rights Day on 10 December. Born out of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, this day celebrates human rights achievements and calls for continuous progress in protecting the rights and freedoms of all people

In this conflicted world we need to consider people’s human rights more than ever, yet sadly this is not happening.

Under the theme “Our rights, our future, right now” this year’s campaign focuses on how human rights are a pathway to solutions, as they play a critical role as a preventative, protective and transformative force for good, particularly in times of crises. By establishing, recognising and adhering to a common set of values and principles that apply universally, human rights help to avoid violations, conflicts, and abuses before they happen.

I like to think we can aspire to this, but several weeks ago the United Nations released its annual assessment of global humanitarian needs.

It’s a grim document, but I urge you to read it.

The report, known as the Global Humanitarian Overview, surveys the dozens of man-made and natural disasters around which the UN has mounted a response over the current year. It also projects the crises expected to demand international attention in 2025. The report estimates that 305 million people across 32 countries and nine refugee-hosting regions will require humanitarian assistance in the coming year, with a staggering price tag of $47 billion.

Many of these crises are well-known to those who follow the news: Gaza, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine and Afghanistan. Many others have faded from the headlines but remain massive in scale, such as Yemen, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Burma.

What can you do? To feel less helpless my husband and I donate regularly to local Perth agencies helping refugees and asylum seekers like CARAD. Their A Place to Call Home Campaign provides vital support to individuals and families navigating the challenges of displacement and seeking safety. We also donate to Medecin Sans Frontieres, a global health agency working around the world in hot spots. I also write about the issues – reading everything I can from trusted sources so I can advocate with full knowledge.

So, remember use your vote and your voice when you can. There are local, national and international issues to champion.

Finding Freedom

On By More to the StoryIn Events, get involved, Global Trends, Human rights, Refugees in WA, research and reports

To coincide with Refugee Week this year, the United Nations has released its latest Global Trends Report. It’s not happy reading but it’s essential we all understand what’s happening in our world.

One in every 69 people, or 1.5 per cent of the entire world’s population, is now forcibly displaced. This is nearly double the 1 in 125 people who were displaced a decade ago.

At the end of 2023, an estimated 117.3 million people worldwide were forcibly displaced due to persecution, conflict, violence, human rights violations, and events seriously disturbing the public order. Based on operational data, UNHCR estimates that forced displacement has continued to increase in the first four months of 2024 and by the end of April 2024 is likely to have exceeded 120 million. 

It’s important for us to remember that behind every number is a person – and over half of them are children.

The increase to 117.3 million at the end of 2023 constitutes a rise of 8 per cent or 8.8 million people compared to the end of 2022. This continues a series of year-on-year increases that has lasted 12 years.

Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees reminds us “that behind these stark and rising numbers lie countless human tragedies.” He says, “this suffering must galvanise the international community to act urgently to tackle the root causes of forced displacement.”

This year’s Refugee Week theme “Finding Freedom” – with a focus on family – encapsulates the profound journey of resilience, strength, and unity that defines the refugee experience. For most of us family is one of the most important things in our life. Families can provide love, support, safety and belonging. 

Many refugees are separated from their family, often for decades, sometimes forever.

You can read stories about families taking the journey, families left behind and families welcoming new arrivals, and find more information on the Refugee Week website.

It’s easy to get caught up in the 24-hour news cycle and only hear about one issue; but there are many more not making the news. Please donate to organisations like CARAD and Edmund Rice Centre WA.  Search out other organisations if you are located outside Western Australia. 

These organisations rely on public support to be able to continue to do their incredibly valuable work supporting refugees.

The Missing Children of Europe

On By More to the StoryIn Global Trends, Human rights, Refugee stories, research and reports, World views

An international investigation has found that tens of thousands of unaccompanied child migrants – 47 each day on average – have vanished after arriving in Europe over the past three years. 

While doing other research, I came across three organisations who specialise in tracking lost migrant and refugee children and was appalled and taken aback by my ignorance. 

Research by the journalist collective Lost in Europe revealed that at least 51,433 unaccompanied refugee children and young people who were previously in the care of the state went missing across Europe between 2021 and 2023.

According to the data collected in the latest investigation, Italy has more registered missing unaccompanied minors than any other country that provided data, with 22,899, followed by Austria (20,077), Belgium (2,241), Germany (2,005) and Switzerland (1,226).

The actual number of missing children may be even higher as gathering complete information is difficult, with some countries in Europe not even collecting data on missing unaccompanied minors according to a statement by the Lost in Europe project.

Ylva Johansson, the EU Commissioner for Home Affairs responsible for migration, in an interview with the German news portal rbb24 – a member of the Lost in Europe network – linked the problem to Europe’s “broken migration system”.

Child protection organisations like Missing Children Europe have confirmed that unaccompanied child migrants and refugees are at higher risk of abuse and are easily influenced by traffickers.

Many who arrive in Europe have already been exploited by smugglers to pay off debts or because they hold control over their loved ones or their passports.

A 2022 study by researchers at Ghent University – The Childmove Project – found that more than 80 percent of children experience physical violence during their migration to Europe. 

We should all care about this. How can we stay silent?