Mariam Veiszadeh: Shedding Light and Hope on Islamophobia in Australia

'Islamophobia in Australia', Mariam Veiszadeh's address to the Castan Centre's Human Rights Law conference on 22 July 2016, had a heightened sense of urgency given the international situation. She is the founder and President of the Islamophobia Register Australia which "seeks to provide a means for incidents of Islamophobia and Anti-Muslim sentiments to be reported, recorded and analysed".

This video contains her presentation and the question session that followed:



Mariam's speech was blunt, personal yet conciliatory:

My relationship with islamophobia over the years has taken many forms – from being an advocate against it, to becoming a victim of it and everything in between.

...My message is for the backyard bigots and the backyard sheikhs and everyone in between.

...The utter irony is that all of the parties involved on each end of the extreme spectrum cling on to the false hope that their words and actions are actually tackling and thereby reducing endemic and institutionalised Islamophobia and global injustices (in the case of the young disillusioned souls, falling prey to radicalisation) or in turn, reducing and countering radicalisation, terrorism and/or the perceived Muslim threats (in the case of the islamophobes - both at an individual and institutional level).

...Put simply, there are far too many disaffected and disillusioned people amongst us on both ends of the spectrum.

We need to work together to bring them into the fold. Both the ones on this end of the extreme spectrum and the ones on the other end of the spectrum.

Nevertheless, Mariam did not shy away from the horrific consequences of what she calls normalisation of islamophobia:

Of particular concern is the fact that our data contains in it an alarming number of incidents in which mothers are harassed in the presence of young children.

Mariam discussed the impact of Pauline Hanson's One Nation party with her anti-Muslim policies, and the rise of Donald Trump's islamophobia.

She also tackled growing of dehumanisation in Australian society:

When you oppress me by sending me threats of death, violence and rape, simply because I speak out about the islamophobia that my community and I are facing, a process of dehumanisaton is taking place.

However, Mariam finished on a positive note:

Let the reasonable voices unite and let us expend our energies into trying to inject love and compassion into a world that is being increasingly filled with destruction and despair for the forces binding us together are stronger than the forces pulling us apart.

And when we lose hope, as I sometimes do, let us look down at the face of our future generations, reflect on their futures, reflect on our hopes and dreams, and pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and light that damn candle again, for darkness cannot drive out darkness. Only light can do that.

The transcript of her speech can be accessed here. In addition there is an video interview with Mariam:

Calls to Stop Imminent Round of Executions in Indonesia

Julian McMahon, one of the lawyers for the Bali Nine drug traffickers Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran who were executed in 2015, warned last week that more executions were imminent in Indonesia. His address to the Castan Centre's Human Right Law conference in Melbourne last week about recent developments regarding capital punishment in Indonesia and the Philippines was timely indeed.

Indonesia is apparently to go ahead with a new round of executions in coming days. Many of the prisoners have been convicted of drug offences.

McMahon spoke of the "logic of executions in our region" being "political gain".

He argued that, "the death penalty is part of a growing zeitgeist [mood]... a desire to be seen as tough and merciless."

"The whole debate is purely political..." with "Indonesia working in countries around the world to save its citizens on death row... with no other country as successful, as determined or hardworking in saving its own citizens". He pointed out that the Indonesian government claims that in the last 5 years 285 have been saved, including drug offenders.

He argued that the situation in Indonesia must be seen through the "prism of domestic politics with drugs used to distract from other problems".

He hoped that we can "move on the debate" by "assisting Indonesia as much as possible in fighting these drug problems".

The full audio of his presentation can be heard here.

Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch has voiced its strong opposition:

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo of Indonesia should urgently commute the death sentences of at least 14 people who face imminent execution for drug trafficking...[He] should acknowledge the death penalty’s barbarity and avoid a potential diplomatic firestorm by sparing the lives of the 14 or more people facing imminent execution...

Amnesty International has joined the call to abandon the executions:

Indonesian President Joko Widodo... will be putting his government on the wrong side of history if he proceeds with a fresh round of executions... President Widodo’s era was supposed to represent a new start for human rights in Indonesia. Sadly, he could preside over the highest number of executions in the country’s democratic era at a time when most of the world has turned its back on this cruel practice...

You can add your voice by clicking on the link in their tweet:

More executions will undermine #humanrights leadership in #Indonesia https://t.co/ECxe6UiGnk #KeepHopeAlive @jokowi pic.twitter.com/HMxdw9Cbri

— Amnesty Australia (@amnestyOz) July 27, 2016

UPDATE:

Indonesia has executed the first four of 14 drug convicts on death row (BBC News)

Human Rights Video: Do We Have a Right to Vote?

Do We Have a Right to Vote?

Who has the right to vote (and who should) and when can that vote be taken away?

Monash University's Castan Centre for Human Rights Law tackles these issues in the latest of its video series "Have You Got That Right?".

Human Rights Videos: Have You Got That Right?

The Castan Centre for Human Rights Law has launched a new video series - Have You Got That Right?:

Have You Got That Right? is an innovative series of videos answering important human rights questions quickly, clearly and in a way that won’t put you to sleep.

The project will be broken into a number of 10-episode series, each with a different theme. Series one blends comedy with serious academic content, while series two will be interview-based.

Knowledge is power, and these videos will empower people to better understand how human rights protect the most vulnerable people.

Each series has 10 episodes. What are Human Rights? and Marriage Equality are now online with 8 to follow.

Each video has very useful additional information about the Law and a collection of excellent Resources.

Susan Ryan: 'Human Rights Never Age'

Susan Ryan, Australian Commonwealth Age Discrimination Commissioner, addressed the Castan Centre for Human Rights Law Conference on 20 July 2012.

She gave an ' outline of the Age Discrimination Act 2004 (Cth) and how it operates. She will discuss gaps in the ADA and other laws and policies which discriminate on the basis of age. Commissioner Ryan will outline opportunities to address these issues, including the federal government's consolidation of anti-discrimination laws and the Australian Law Reform Commission inquiry into barriers to work for older persons.'

Asylum Seekers: People Just Like Us

"I remain ready, willing and able to work with anyone who wants to promote the human rights of asylum seekers.

But I also remain ready, willing and able to work against those who don't."

Allan Asher, former Australian Commonwealth Ombudsman, addressed the Castan Centre for Human Rights Law Conference on 20 July 2012.

From the conference papers:

"This paper sets out the experiences of an Immigration Ombudsman who mistakenly believed that the government was genuine in its commitment to the compassionate and tolerant treatment of asylum seekers and to the honouring of our international treaty obligations.

Key issues include: conditions in detention centres, treatment of juvenile crew, management of suicide and self-harm, community detention, security assessments, poor administrative practice, and failure to support oversight."

'No Winners, No Losers: Just Truth, Justice and Mercy'

"I have a growing disquiet that asking, that expecting, the majority of Australians to vote YES in a referendum to include first peoples in the body of the Constitution and to removing the clause that allows discrimination based on race, in the next three to five years or so, will fail."

Dr. Kerry Arabena, Professor and Director of Research for the School for Indigenous health in the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences at Monash University, addressed the Castan Centre for Human Rights Law Conference on 20 July 2012.

The program notes for her presentation 'No Winners, No Losers: Just Truth, Justice and Mercy - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and Constitutional Reform' included:

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have a history being framed by Australians as either competent or lacking competence; whether we need to be controlled or whether we can take responsibility; whether we are affected by the problems or we are the problem; or whether we are one of you and able to be included, or we are different and need to be excluded. In this presentation, Kerry Arabena explores national discourses relating to Constitutional reform and explores how language is being used to bring about a 'Yes' vote in the referendum. First she reviews the current discourses framing the First Peoples' responses to the Constitutional reform process. Second, she identifies a campaign based on a concept of preciousness by way of providing an alternative discourse than that which is currently popularised in some media. Finally, she explores what a discourse would need to achieve - what compelling narratives do we need to build a positive public response that allow us all to participate in nation building projects across Australia?