The 2018 Amnesty International Human Rights Address @JCU on Tuesday 4 September will take the form of a panel discussion on the topic “The Global Refugee Crisis – how should we respond?”
Australia’s response to refugees has been a contentious issue for many years. On 4 September three prominent refugee advocates will come to Townsville to share with us better ways in which we as a nation might respond.
Claire Mallinson is the National Director of Amnesty International Australia (AIA). In this role Claire has a unique perspective on the refugee situation from her work with other national sections of this global human rights organisation. Claire will share with us her reflections on her recent trip to the Rohingya Refugee Camp at Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh.
Paul Power is the CEO of the Refugee Council of Australia (RCoA). The RCoA is the national umbrella organisation representing refugees and people seeking asylum. As part of his work Paul travels to other countries in our region to work with local NGOs. In his presentation Paul will discuss what a regional solution might look like.
Shankar Kasynathan is the Refugee Campaign Coordinator for Amnesty International Australia. At the age of 9 Shankar came to Australia with his family as refugees from Sri Lanka. Shankar will introduce AIA’s “My New Neighbour” campaign.
Following the presentations there will be time for questions from the audience.
This year’s Address will be an opportunity to get the latest information about developments in the global refugee situation and to find ways of responding that are meaningful and effective.
Email amnesty.townsville@
The venue for the Address is the Sir George Kneipp Auditorium on the Douglas campus of JCU. The Address will commence at 6.15pm and conclude by 8pm.
Light refreshments will be available at the venue from 5.45pm.
