Pakistani Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai has urged Muslim nations to place pressure on the Taliban by denouncing their severe restrictions on women's freedoms. During a rare visit back home to Pakistan, the human rights advocate spoke up for the plight of girls in Afghanistan - where for more than 3 years they've been banned from attending high school.
VIDEO: UN committee calls on Australia to compensate Nauru asylum seekers. By Evelyn Manfield, ABC News
The United Nations Committee says there was insufficient water and sanitation for asylum seekers on Nauru.
‘I felt less human, not human at all’: Australia faces moral crossroads over Nauru. By Ben Doherty, The Guardian
The UN human rights committee has urged Australia to compensate those it arbitrarily detained on Nauru. Arash wonders if that is even possible.
“I would like justice,” he says, “although I have no idea what that would look like.
“All those years that passed, they’re not coming back. I don’t know how they’re going to compensate me. What is money compared to 10 years of my life?”
Australia violated rights of asylum seekers on Nauru, UN watchdog rules. By Ben Doherty, The Guardian
“The outsourcing of operations does not absolve states of accountability. Offshore detention facilities are not human rights-free zones.”
Justice at last: UN says Australia violated human rights of refugee children detained on Nauru. RACS
Refugee Advice & Casework Service (RACS) welcomes a landmark decision from the UN Human Rights Committee, which found Australia violated the human rights of a group of refugee children. The decision comes nine years after RACS lodged a complaint on behalf of a group of unaccompanied children who were arbitrarily detained on Nauru.
“I cannot overstate how important this decision is,” said Sarah Dale, RACS Centre Director & Principal Solicitor. “We have been fighting for this justice, against all odds, for almost a decade.”
Justice at last: UN says Australia violated human rights of refugee children detained on Nauru. RACS
Australia violated human rights treaty with Nauru detainees, UN committee finds. ABC News
A UN committee has found that Australia violated a human rights treaty by detaining a group of asylum seekers, including minors, on Nauru even after they were granted refugee status.
Under Australia's immigration policies, those attempting to reach the country by boat have been sent to detention centres including Nauru for so-called "offshore processing" since 2013.
The federal government is yet to comment on the findings.
Such facilities have previously drawn scrutiny from rights groups…
…"Offshore detention facilities are not human rights-free zones for the state party, which remains bound by the provisions of the covenant."
Australia violated human rights treaty with Nauru detainees, UN committee finds. ABC News
Baby born on crowded small boat crossing from Africa to Canary Islands. By Sam Jones in Madrid and agency, The Guardian
Domingo Trujillo, the captain of the Talía search and rescue vessel, said that although his crew knew a woman on the boat was pregnant, they had no idea that she had already given birth.
“The surprise was [finding] a totally naked baby who was born 10, 15 or 20 minutes earlier,” he told the state broadcaster TVE. Trujillo said the mother was lying on the floor of the crowded boat while the baby was in the hands of someone else near her.
“I covered him up, took him here [to my chest] and patted him so that he would stop crying,” the captain added.
Medics onboard recommended the mother and baby be transferred to a hospital by helicopter.
“It being Three Kings Day, this was the best gift we could have received,” Álvaro Serrano Pérez, the commander of the helicopter, told Reuters.
VIDEO: Refugee family from Kenya settles into southern Tasmania. ABC News
The Nundu family from Kenya have settled into their new community in southern Tasmania with the help of a program that pairs refugees with local buddies.
VIDEO: Refugee family from Kenya settles into southern Tasmania. ABC News
‘Hard to justify’: Albanese lashes Coalition’s handling of 2022 Djokovic detention. By Olivia Ireland and Broede Carmody, SMH
As Djokovic prepares his campaign for an 11th Australian Open title, Albanese criticised the Morrison government’s decision to refuse him access to religious ministration while in detention.
“I found it astonishing that in the lead-up to Christmas, Novak Djokovic was denied by the then-federal government the opportunity to see his Orthodox … priest,” Albanese said on Monday in Queensland. “That was something that I think was hard to justify.”
Fish trained in extreme conditions. It helps him cope with Australia’s toughest medical emergencies. By Sandra Fulloon, SBS News
Working in intensive care is a demanding career choice, especially for those who’ve experienced the horrors of war. But one refugee who fled Ethiopia says training in extreme conditions has many benefits.
It was a year of uncertainty for international education, and there's more to come. By Maani Truu, ABC News
Offshore student visa applications fell by almost 40 per cent in 2024, compared to the previous year. In real terms, that's roughly 120,000 fewer prospective students seeking to study in Australia.
These are not students who had their applications delayed or denied under the government's oft-changing visa processing rules — though visa approvals are also down — but those who never applied in the first place.
And according to the higher education sector, that's a by-product of a chaotic crackdown on an industry that has long been heralded as amongst the best in the world.
"The message has gone out to our key student source markets that they're not welcome here," says Phil Honeywood, chief executive of the International Education Association of Australia. "And they're voting with their feet."
Lake Illawarra bike group SWIFT helps migrant women build confidence. By Brooke Chandler, ABC News
Each member of SWIFT has their own story: some had never learned to ride a bike due to cultural norms, while others are cancer survivors who credit their recovery to cycling.
SWIFT is an arm of the Sisters Cancer Support Group, which was started by cancer survivor and Wollongong local Nyan Thit Tieu.
Lake Illawarra bike group SWIFT helps migrant women build confidence. By Brooke Chandler, ABC News
Peter Dutton would need to cap partner visas to make his migration cuts, expert warns. By Paul Karp, The Guardian
The Coalition’s proposed cuts to Australia’s permanent migration would require Peter Dutton to legislate to allow a cap on partner visas, Abul Rizvi, a former deputy secretary of immigration, has warned.
Living Loss Revisited: Refugees: living with loss of identity, family, language, culture and home. By Catriona Stirrat, SBS News In Depth audio
Grief may be a universal experience but it’s felt uniquely across our multicultural landscape. This is a second chance to hear the SBS award-winning podcast series Living Loss. The series won the Radio Today Award for Best Society and Culture Podcast.
For refugees and asylum-seekers grief is often a multi-layered experience. In many cases, they are navigating the loss of family, home and identity, all while trying to forge a new reality.
Nearly 2,300 applicants died waiting for a parent visa to Australia with processing times of up to 31 years. By Paul Karp, The Guardian
The migration review warned that long waits make “the probability of successful migration virtually nonexistent for many applicants”.
“Providing an opportunity for people to apply for a visa that will probably never come seems both cruel and unnecessary,” it said.
Afghan who helped others escape the Taliban faces years-long visa wait By Will Jackson, ABC News
A member of the persecuted Hazara ethnic minority, Mr Sorosh served in the Afghan army — fighting alongside coalition forces — before the Taliban returned to power in 2021.
He then began working with foreign NGOs to help vulnerable people escape the country.
Mr Sorosh had been living in Iran with his mother, wife and three children since 2022 while waiting for the Australian government to process his application for a refugee visa.
Because Australia does not process refugee visas while the applicants are in their home countries, thousands of other Afghans are also waiting for a determination in neighbouring Iran or Pakistan.
Mr Sorosh told the ABC he was now in hiding in Afghanistan, seeking a way to get back to his family in Iran after being arrested by the Iraninan police because his visa had expired.
Afghan who helped others escape the Taliban faces years-long visa wait By Will Jackson, ABC News
Children among 58 killed in latest Israeli strikes on Gaza, say medics. By Lorenzo Tondo and agencies, The Guardian
Victims reported to include six people escorting aid convoy, and eight in tent encampment in humanitarian zone…….
….Tens of thousands of people are sheltering on Gaza’s exposed Mediterranean coastline, where they are facing harsh winter conditions with inadequate shelter, food and fuel. Temperatures are falling and a series of storms have destroyed makeshift tents.
Oxfam said only 12 out of the 34 trucks of food and water allowed to enter north Gaza over the last 10 weeks had managed to distribute aid to starving Palestinian civilians because of “deliberate delays and systematic obstructions” by the Israeli military.
Bangladeshi men found on Indonesian island claim they were intercepted at sea and turned back by Australian Border Force. By Indonesia correspondent Bill Birtles and Ari Wu, ABC News
A group of 15 men from Bangladesh found on Indonesian's southernmost Rote island say they were held on an ABF ship for a fortnight before being turned back.
Police on Rote island say the men are among a larger group that was intercepted, and that there are approximately 26 others still unaccounted-for.
Human Rights Watch accuses Israel of acts of genocide in Gaza over water access. By Raffi Berg, BBC
The 179-page report says that "since October 2023, Israeli authorities have deliberately obstructed Palestinians' access to the adequate amount of water required for survival in the Gaza Strip".
It says Israel intentionally damaged infrastructure, including solar panels powering treatment plants, a reservoir, and a spare parts warehouse, while also blocking fuel for generators.
It says Israel also cut electricity supplies, attacked repair workers and blocked the entry into Gaza of repair materials.
"This isn't just negligence," said HRW executive director Tirana Hassan. "It is a calculated policy of deprivation that has led to the deaths of thousands from dehydration and disease that is nothing short of the crime against humanity of extermination, and an act of genocide."
Human Rights Watch accuses Israel of acts of genocide in Gaza over water access. By Raffi Berg, BBC
New international student order met with mixed reaction from university sector. AAP, SBS News
While some university sector bodies welcomed the new order, it was quickly criticised by the Group of Eight (Go8) — an organisation representing some of the nation's leading research-intensive universities.
Group of Eight chief executive Vicki Thomson said the government had replaced "one flawed process with another".
"We run the risk of confusing the international student market with these constant changes to policy settings. For too many potential students, it makes Australia look too hard and too unwelcoming as a higher education destination," she said.
New international student order met with mixed reaction from university sector. AAP, SBS News