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Recent:
  • Unknown
Past:
  • The Guardian
  • The Lowy Institute
  • Human Rights Watch
  • SudburyStar
  • Canberra Times
  • Foreign Policy
  • ABC.net.au
  • Al Jazeera English
  • Mamamia
  • The Age

Past articles by Elaine:

My Amah was sold for silver as a child. I didn’t realise she was trafficked until I was a human rights advocate

Elaine Pearson embarked on a sterling career in human rights, but it took years to realise her own grandmother had been a victim of human trafficking → Read More

ASEAN governments need to act on Myanmar

The execution of four opposition activists by the junta needs urgent action from governments of all stripes. → Read More

How Australia Should Help Afghans Living in Fear

For many Afghans, the return of the Taliban is a devastating new chapter for a country long wracked by conflict. → Read More

Sri Lankans Are Still Waiting for Justice on Wartime Abuse

The Sri Lankan government’s abuses during its civil war more than a decade ago may seem like a distant memory, but for the families of the victims they remain a continuing source of pain. → Read More

Pearson: China's bully tactics haven't silenced Australia

China has kidnapped Australian citizens, restricted Australian exports and imposed tariffs. Yet the Australian government’s policy toward China has been principled and surprisingly vocal. → Read More

Australians Trapped in Syria Need Government's Help

Earlier this month, the US government announced it had "brought back every American supporter of ISIS known to be held by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) against whom we have charges" from northeast Syria. → Read More

Australian Journalists Forced to Leave China

The Australian government helped two Australian journalists living in China leave the country yesterday after a five-day diplomatic standoff. They left weeks after Chinese authorities detained another Australian journalist. → Read More

What Jimmy Lai's Arrest Means

The Hong Kong government has wasted no time in using its new national security law to arrest critics and attack press freedom. → Read More

Critical Test of Academic Freedom for Australian Universities

The University of New South Wales boldly urges students to "bring your difference." Unfortunately, my recent experience suggests that the university might be more interested in damage control than an open marketplace of ideas. But this is a test of academic freedom that UNSW can't afford to fail. → Read More

Seven Years of Suffering for Australia’s Asylum Seekers, Refugees

This Sunday marks the seventh anniversary of Australia’s disastrous decision to resume its policy of transferring asylum seekers offshore. Since July 2013, Australia has forcibly transferred more than 3,000 asylum seekers who traveled there by boat to camps on Papua New Guinea and Nauru. → Read More

The Australian government must step up to save its own citizen

Given his age and medical condition he is at increased risk of serious illness. Australia's diplomats should demand Vietnam consider his humanitarian release an immediate priority. → Read More

Australia Should Prioritize Rights as Asia Battles Covid-19

Authoritarian-leaning countries in southeast Asia are using the Covid-19 pandemic as a pretext to further repress human rights, which the Australian government cannot afford to ignore. → Read More

Human Rights Watch Mourns the Loss of Sue Beecher

It is with deep sadness that we mourn the loss of Sue Beecher, a dear partner, friend, and supporter of Human Rights Watch in Australia. → Read More

Coronavirus Poses Added Risks to Australia’s Immigration Detainees

In Australia, as people grumble about closed beaches and extended isolation at home due to the coronavirus, spare a thought for those in immigration detention. → Read More

Five Urgent Issues for Indonesia’s President to Address

On February 10, Indonesian President Joko Widodo will address Australia’s parliament. Indonesia is often referred to as the democratic success story of Southeast Asia and a model of Muslim democracy, yet it has been responsible for significant backsliding on human rights in recent years. → Read More

Five urgent issues for Indonesia’s president

Joko Widodo’s Australian visit is an opportunity to call out the worsening human rights situation in Indonesia. → Read More

Trump’s Attack on Asylum-Seekers Was Made in Australia

The Australian government has spent the past two decades making it harder to claim asylum and detaining legitimate refugees far from its borders. Now Trump… → Read More

What Next for Australian ISIS Suspects?

The Australian government is taking an important step by helping eight Australian children of suspects of the Islamic State (also known as ISIS) return home from northeast Syria. The children were held for months without charge under horrific conditions in Syria’s al-Hol Camp. The youngest is two years old. → Read More

Australian Children are Trapped in Syria and the Government Must Bring Them Home

An ABC Four Corners investigation has exposed the callous indifference of Australian officials over the return of Australian children held without charge in foreign camps for families of Islamic State members. → Read More

Australian children are trapped in Syria and the government must bring them home

There is no excuse for governments to abandon children and other nationals held without charge in squalid conditions, writes Elaine Pearson. → Read More