Amnesty International is concerned about the potential human rights implications of certain proposals put forward in the counter-terrorism White Paper released yesterday by the Federal Government.

While we absolutely acknowledge the responsibility of all governments to protect their citizens, and condemns terrorist activity in the strongest possible terms, we also believe that care must always be taken to safeguard the human rights of people potentially affected by counter-terrorism measures.

Of particular concern is the proposal in the White Paper to subject people from 10 as yet un-named countries to extra security measures, via a new biometric-based visa system.

“Any counter-terrorism strategy that targets a particular group of people based on nationality, ethnicity or any other similar grounds is profiling by another name,” said Katie Wood, Amnesty International Australia spokesperson.

“All governments have an obligation to protect their citizens, but this must be done in a way that respects and upholds human rights and the rule of law.”

The proposed new security measures will discriminate against people on the basis of nationality, not on whether or not an individual is guilty of criminal activity or other prohibited conduct.

“This would remove the presumption of innocence that is fundamental to Australia’s legal system and is enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” said Katie Wood.

Amnesty International is also concerned about a proposal in the White Paper to prevent people from Australia who are “of security concern” from travelling internationally. This includes revoking or denying passports.

“This proposal lays open the prospect of people who have not been charged with any crime being denied the right to travel and, again, this removes the presumption of innocence,” said Katie Wood.

The Government’s White Paper itself states that, in an overseas context, “Protecting and assisting the … most marginalised populations can help address local sources of grievance, frustration and disenfranchisement that terrorists try to exploit.”

Amnesty International believes that some of the security measures proposed in the White Paper involve the kind of discrimination that marginalises certain groups and leads them to becoming radicalised.