4 Sep 2004

Pacific focus to Amnesty International conference

8:23 am on 4 September 2004

The promotion and protection of human rights in the Pacific is the focus of Amnesty International Australia's first annual human rights conference, being held this weekend in Brisbane.

The conference, Human Rights: A Pacific Agenda "Partnerships and Perspectives", will raise awareness of critical human rights issues

The conference brings together panellists and speakers from international, regional and national non-government and government organisations from throughout the region.

The National Director of Amnesty International in Australia, Mara Moustafine, says the main aim of the conference is to build partnerships to promote an effective Pacific human rights agenda:

"Some of the issues that the conference will be addressing include Australia's role in promoting and protecting human rights in the region; the lessons from intervention in the Solomon Islands; violence against women in the region and that's looking at it both in conflict and post-conflict situations and in the community; refugees and asylum seekers and the protection of human rights defenders."