Amnesty International Australia has made a submission to the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee on its Inquiry into Democracy and human rights in Myanmar.
The research and positions contained in this submission aim at providing information and context for the Senate Committee’s consideration of the human rights situation in Myanmar, including during the recent phased elections, human rights abuses in Myanmar in 2017 and since the 2021 coup, and the current state of human rights there.
Amnesty calls for the perpetrators of human rights abuses during Myanmar’s recent elections, as well as in 2017, the intervening years and since the 2021 military coup, to be brought to justice.
States have a responsibility to ensure they are not supporting these crimes, including through trade, by upholding international sanctions.
States have a responsibility to ensure they are not supporting these crimes, including through trade, by upholding international sanctions. Amnesty International has urged states to stop shipments of aviation fuel, especially as the military has been successful at evading international restrictions and accessing the fuel it needs to continue air strikes.
We urge the Australian Government to establish a quota for intake of Rohingya refugees who have fled Myanmar and are living precariously in Cox’s Bazaar, Bangladesh, and those in Myanmar suffering human rights abuses and displacement, commensurate with the size and capacity of Australia, in addition to the regular humanitarian program intake.
Amnesty also calls on the Australian Government to invest further in and take a leading role in establishing a regional strategy to support Rohingya refugees, including more sustainable, durable supports beyond mere humanitarian aid.
Amnesty International is a global movement of more than 10 million people who take injustice personally. We are campaigning for a world where human rights are enjoyed by all – and we can only do it with your support.
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