Rights +
Justice
MAPW defends and upholds human rights, and works for peace with justice.
MAPW defends whistleblowers from persecution, and upholds the principle that society is served when wrongdoing is exposed and wrongdoers are held accountable.
We support efforts to investigate and prosecute alleged war crimes committed by any armed force, anywhere. We work with our partners to advocate for victims of war crimes.
Most casualties of war are non-combatants. We work to highlight the short and long term effects of conflict on civilian populations.
We advocate for the lawful protection of civilians, healthcare workers, and healthcare facilities in the ongoing war on Gaza.
News: Rights + Justice
Mine Ban Treaty: Withdrawals are threat to progress
MAPW and colleagues around the globe respond to four nations' withdrawal from the Mine Ban Treaty.
Read MorePosition paper: Medical evacuation in Gaza
A humanitarian corridor to East Jerusalem hospitals must be reopened.
Read MoreNew report highlights torture of healthcare workers in Palestine
Independent Australia carries a MAPW piece on evidence gathered by PHR Israel.
Read MoreDefend Dissent: write to your MP
Ask your MP to protect our democratic right to dissent and demonstrate.
Read MoreDoctors detained and tortured; an appeal from Israeli colleagues for action
MAPW urges the Australian Medical Association to take urgent advocacy action for Palestinian doctors.
Read MoreAustralia’s words on Gaza a far cry from its deeds
Australia’s failure to take strong actions for the protection of the Palestinian people is to be contrasted with the courage of the many Israelis, and Jews throughout the world, who are struggling for justice.
Read MoreTrump proposal: illegal, inhumane
Trump's proposal to forcibly displace Palestinians from Gaza is outrageous. So why doesn't Australia say so?
Read MoreMin. Wong: More must be done
In correspondence with the Foreign Minister, MAPW continues to urge greater action to protect life in Gaza.
Read MoreIncarceration of Gaza Medics
MAPW's Dr Safiyyah Abbas speaks with Radio 3CR on the incarceration of Gaza medics, and the ongoing assault on Palestinian's right to healthcare.
Read MoreCeasefire welcome, but urgent action needed to address traumas in Gaza
Global health leaders call for urgent access to the Gaza Strip to address the devastating humanitarian crisis.
Read MoreWar Crimes
We work for accountability for all war crimes, by all perpetrators.
Australia in Afghanistan
In 2020 MAPW joined with key Australian and Afghan organisations to call for a swift and just response to the landmark Inspector General of the Australian Defence Force (IGDAF) Report of Inquiry into the conduct of Australian Special Forces in Afghanistan, known as the Brereton report.
The report detailed 23 incidents of the alleged unlawful killing of 39 people, and cruel treatment of two others.
The report found the circumstances of the killings would constitute war crimes.
Other key findings included:
- Planting of evidence on victims to mask crimes
- Coercion of new troop members to kill as a form of initiation
- Falsified operational reports
- A culture of elitism and entitlement amongst Special Forces
- Failure to accept credible complaints about Australian conduct from Afghan civilians and human rights groups
- Download the 2020 Media Release
- Read MAPW President’s response to the findings of the Brereton report, published in the Canberra Times, 15 November 2020.
- Read Paul Daley’s comment in The Guardian
- Learn about work for reparations by the Australian Centre for International Justice
Palestine and Israel
MAPW works to uphold international law, including the right to health and life, in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Following the escalation of hostilities in Gaza in October 2023, MAPW has been a vocal critic of the Australian government’s failure to act decisively to protect civilians and healthcare in Gaza in the face of credible evidence of wide scale breaches of international law.
- Read our letter to Foreign Minister Marise Payne, May 2022
- Read our letter to Foreign Minister Wong on the need for a ceasefire, October 2023
- Read MAPW statements calling for impartial application of the rule of law in Palestine and Israel, October 2023
- Read our open letter on civilian protection to Foreign Minister Wong, November 2023.
- Read our response to Israel military raids on Dar Al-Shifa Hospital, November 2023
- Read MAPW President Dr Sue Wareham’s speech in support of David McBride, 2019
- Read MAPW’s appeal to PM Albanese to intervene in the case of Julian Assange, 2022
- Watch MAPW President Dr Sue Wareham on Doctors for Assange’s appeals to the UK Home Secretary, 2022
- Read more about medical advocacy for Julian Assange in Croakey Health Media
Whistleblowers
We are staunch defenders of people who blow the whistle on wrongdoing.
MAPW recognises:
- The importance of upholding the rule of law, impartially, as a prerequisite for peace;
- The need for citizens to be accurately informed as to what is done in their name, so that governments can be held accountable for actions that undermine peace
- The need to protect those who disclose alleged war crimes or other violations of international law committed by Australia or our allies.
MAPW supports and stands in solidarity with those who disclose alleged crimes committed in the name of Australians. We call for the prosecution of those who are accused of having committed crimes, rather than those who disclose them. We condemn the increasing use by government of a “national security” pretext for the persecution of journalists and other whistle-blowers.
In 2023, MAPW was amongst inaugural supporters of the Whistleblower Justice Fund.