The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Thursday became the first Australian jurisdiction to guarantee free abortion care. The new policy allows women living in the ACT to obtain abortion up to 16 weeks gestation. The ACT government noted that cost was a significant barrier to safe and legal abortions in the state. In a press release, [...]

Australia’s coalition government and the Labor Party Wednesday passed legislation enabling the Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum to proceed at the end of 2023. The Referendum (Machinery Provisions) Amendment Bill of 2022 amends the Referendum (Machinery Provisions) Act of 1984 to align the referendum with federal voting on issues such as postal voting and foreign [...]

John Pesutto, leader of the Liberal Party in the Australian state of Victoria, said Monday that MP Moira Deeming’s presence at an anti-trans rally with neo-Nazi ties on Saturday is grounds for expulsion from the party. Pesutto told ABC radio that “Deeming not only attended this protest on the steps of Parliament, but was actively [...]

The Australian Human Rights Commission Wednesday renewed its call for Australia to adopt its own national human rights act, releasing a position paper detailing what the act might include. Stating that Australia is the only liberal democracy in the world that does not have a national act or charter of rights that explains what people’s [...]

The UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) Monday opened with an announcement from UN Secretary-General António Guterres that “ender equality is still over 300 years away, while progress on women’s rights is ‘vanishing.'” Despite the fact that Guterres called the Commission on the Status of Women is one of the most important events in [...]

UN experts Monday welcomed Armenia’s commitment to combat the use of mercenaries and private security companies. The Armenian government made the commitment during an eight-day visit by UN experts to the country. UN experts aimed to investigate legal frameworks in Armenia after the ratification of the International Convention Against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training [...]

Israeli ministers Sunday advanced a bill that would reinstate the country’s death penalty in a push led by the far-right to counteract terrorism. The Ministerial Committee for Legislation voted to advance the bill, which has been welcomed by National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s extremist Otzma Yehudit party. “We have now passed the death penalty [...]

Australia Minister for Immigration Andrew Giles announced Monday that the Australian government will give more than 20,000 refugees living in the country a pathway to permanent visas. The move would grant a more secure future to refugees with temporary visas who have been “in limbo” for over a decade. Delivering on an election commitment, the [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) Thursday welcomed decisions by Demark and Sweden to grant all women and girls from Afghanistan refugee status in the Scandinavian countries. HRW said the two nations should be models for other countries around the world to follow. The organization explained: Since the Taliban takeover, thousands of Afghans have been stranded in [...]

Australian Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek Wednesday refused an application from mining magnate Clive Palmer to build an open cut coal mine ten kilometres from the world heritage-listed Great Barrier Reef. The refusal marks the first time that Australian authorities have blocked a coal mine under the Environment Protection Biodiversity Conservation Act. About 9,000 public submissions [...]