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
MAPW, HSAPW call for UniMelb to Drop Actions Against Students
In a letter to the Chancellor and Vice Chancellor, MAPW and HSAPW call for disciplinary action against students involved in activism for Gaza be dropped.
Read MoreTransparency? Melbourne University Disclosures on Weapons Links Stir More Questions
Student protestors forced UniMelb to disclose information - but is the picture complete?
Read MoreAdvocacy to Ahpra on Practitioner’s Rights and Obligations
Since November 2023, MAPW has been engaging with Ahpra to defend health practitioners' right to advocate for people in Gaza.
Read MoreAttacks on Rafah ‘safe zone’ are abhorrent
People in Gaza have been systematically and forcibly displaced at a mass scale, repeatedly ‘evacuated’ through ‘safe routes’ into ‘humanitarian zones’ where – rather than being protected - they have been subjected to attack.
Read MoreStatement on sentencing of David McBride
MAPW deplores the six-year sentence given to David McBride.
Read MoreEnvironmental effects of war on Gaza
Mounting evidence suggests Israel has conducted intentional, indiscriminate, and disproportionate attacks against the environment in Gaza.
Read MoreMinister Wong: take meaningful action on Gaza
Australia must impose consequences for breaches of ICJ orders, international laws.
Read MoreStatement on Gaza, 20 March 2024
There is nothing in recent memory that matches the scale of the atrocities being inflicted on the civilians of Gaza, who appear to be being punished for their very existence.
Read MoreSenior Paediatricians and Child Health Experts Appeal: Stop the War on Children in Gaza
MAPW endorses a call from distinguished paediatricians and child health professionals.
Read MoreDay X: Last ditch attempts to save Assange
MAPW President Dr Sue Wareham joins the global #DayX rally and vigil in support of Julian Assange.
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.