MIL NGO Engine

Source: Greenpeace Statement –

SYDNEY, Thursday 3 September 2026 — Greenpeace Australia Pacific has branded the Albanese government’s approval of BHP’s coal mine extension in Central Queensland an affront to Pacific leaders and communities grappling with climate disasters, and a reckless move that undermines Australia’s partnership with the Pacific as the PM meets regional leaders at the Pacific Islands Forum.

The approval of BHP’s coal Saraji Mine Grevillea Pit Continuation Project, an extension of one of Australia’s largest coal mines, would allow mining to continue for another 30 years, locking in the production and export of polluting coal and fuelling dangerous extreme weather disasters and sea level rise in Australia and across the Pacific. It will be the 10th fossil fuel project approved during this term of government and the 37th new fossil fuel project approved since the Albanese government was elected in 2022. 

The announcement comes as a UN report warns of dangerous climate overshoot, and just two months before Federal Climate and Energy Minister Chris Bowen is due to take the reins of UN climate negotiations at COP31 — a moment that will test the government’s climate credibility and bring global attention to Australia’s fossil fuel exports. It also comes as fracked gas from the Beetaloo Basin climate bomb started flowing. 

Speaking from Palau, Dr Simon Bradshaw, COP31 Lead at Greenpeace Australia Pacific, said: “It is deeply insincere for Prime Minister Albanese to meet Pacific leaders here in Palau to discuss security, the energy crisis, and regional threats, while his government fast-tracks the biggest security threat to the Pacific, the climate crisis.

“As leaders meet, thousands remain missing or dead in the Nepal-Tibet floods. Parts of Australia are bracing for a heatwave that will see temperatures approach 40 degrees, just days out of winter, and a new report finds 2,000 kilometres of coral reefs along the WA coast experienced the worst coral bleaching on record.

“We are witnessing dangerous climate change driven by the production, export and burning of fossil fuels, wreaking havoc across the world. Continuing down the path of fossil fuels and approving new coal is an act of recklessness at a pivotal moment in the world’s energy transition and response to the climate crisis. Communities must not pay the price for fossil fuel greed. 

“No more double talk. Australia must get squarely behind longstanding Pacific leadership on climate change, fight to protect the all-important goal of limiting warming to 1.5°C, and ensure that COP31 builds further momentum in the global transition away from fossil fuels.

“A pathway back to 1.5°C is possible. The Pacific Pre-COP and COP31 in Türkiye are critical moments for Australia to work with Pacific leaders to better align energy, climate and trade policies towards a prosperous shared future beyond fossil fuels.”

-ENDS-

Media contact

Kate O’Callaghan on 0406 231 892 or [email protected] 

Source: Oxfam –

Source: Amnesty International –

Reacting to the detention of Lidiya (Lida) Moniava, a Russian civil society activist and prominent charity leader, for alleged “dissemination of false information” about the Russian Armed Forces, Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, said:

“The criminal case against Lida Moniava is yet another brazen attempt by Russia’s authorities to crackdown on any expression of anti-war sentiment. This assault on one of Russia’s most prominent charity leaders is designed to silence not only her, but the entire civil society.”

“The Russian authorities must immediately end the criminal prosecution of Lida Moniava for peacefully exercising her right to freedom of expression. They must repeal the country’s repressive ‘war censorship’ legislation and release all those imprisoned solely for the peaceful exercise of their right to express opposition to the war.”

This assault on one of Russia’s most prominent charity leaders is designed to silence not only her, but the entire civil society

Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia

Background

Lida Moniava has worked in the charity sector since 2008, including with “Podari Zhizn” (Gift a Life) foundation, which helps children with oncological and haematological diseases, and “Vera” (Faith), a hospice where she coordinated palliative care for children. In 2014, she became deputy director of the children’s hospice “Dom s Mayakom” (House with a Lighthouse) and in 2018 became director of its charitable foundation.

On 2 September 2026, Lida Moniava was detained in Moscow under charges of “public dissemination of knowingly false information about the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation” (Article 207.3 of the Criminal Code). Her home was searched and she was questioned by members of the Investigation Committee, a stand-alone agency tasked with investigating serious crime. On the same day, she was placed in a temporary detention facility for two days until the court decides on her pretrial restrictions.

According to her lawyer, the criminal case concerns a Telegram post by Lida Moniava in February 2023.  

In February 2026, a court fined Lida Moniava 45,000 roubles (US$ 580) for allegedly “discrediting” the Russian Armed Forces. The proceedings concerned three posts on her Telegram channel, including posts referring to Russia’s war against Ukraine and to reported Russian strikes in Kryvyi Rih and Sumy.

Source: Greenpeace Statement –

Over 20,000 people have signed an online petition demanding that the city’s parks be protected under Bengaluru Rising Campaign

Bengaluru, September 2, 2026: Citizens groups and Greenpeace India welcome Chief Minister D K Shivakumar’s statement that the Karnataka Government will review the Parks Amendment Bill and allow the matter to be discussed again in the Legislative Assembly. 

The CM’s statement comes after sustained public opposition, with thousands of Bengaluru residents coming together under the rallying cry “Not 5%. Not 1 inch. Leave Our Parks Alone” to oppose the proposed amendment allowing portions of parkland to be diverted for infrastructure projects. In just seven days, over 20,000 people have signed an online petition demanding that the city’s parks be protected. The movement was initiated and mobilised under the Bangalore Rising campaign along with citizen groups and civil society organisations demanding protection of Bengaluru’s green commons. 

“What the movement has shown us is that Bengaluru is watching and its people care deeply about how the city is being shaped. Thousands showing up and over 20,000 people signing  this petition sends a clear message: our parks are not land banks for concrete development. Opening the bill for review is a welcome first step, but discussion cannot be mistaken for a rollback. The amendment must be withdrawn, and decisions affecting Bengaluru’s green and blue spaces must be transparent and participatory,” said Selomi Garnaik, Climate and Energy Campaigner, Greenpeace India.

Greenpeace India and citizen groups call for meaningful public consultation on any infrastructure proposal that could affect the city’s green and blue spaces including parks, lakes, wetlands, forests or other green and blue commons.  The movement advocates for formal recognition of urban green spaces as essential environmental safeguards- ensuring their ecological, social and health values are given legal protection at par with concrete infrastructure.

“Revisiting the amendment is not enough. We demand that the Bill be withdrawn and that the government initiate a meaningful public consultation on the future of Bengaluru’s parks,” said Leon from Bangalore Environment Forum. 

At a time when Bengaluru is experiencing rising temperatures, worsening air pollution, water stress, flooding and rapid urbanisation, the city needs more green spaces, not fewer. The government should use this moment to develop a long-term Green Space Protection Plan with strong legal safeguards, a transparent inventory of public green spaces, restoration of degraded areas and a commitment to expanding equitable access across the city.

Media Queries: Nibedita Saha | [email protected]

Source: Amnesty International –

Ahead of the final appeal hearing at Tunisia’s Court of Cassation on 3 September in the unjust “conspiracy case”, which is a chance to overturn the convictions of opposition figures jailed solely because of their peaceful political opposition, Sara Hashash, Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International said: 

“Tunisia’s authorities must seize this opportunity to rectify a travesty of justice that has upturned the lives of 34 prominent opposition figures, human rights defenders and lawyers who were convicted on unfounded charges in a mass trial marred by due process violations. These defendants were targeted with politically motivated charges and should have never been imprisoned in the first place. Many of them have been languishing in jail with deteriorating health problems, with recent successive heatwaves further worsening detention conditions inside poorly ventilated cells. 

It is time to put an end to this pattern of instrumentalizing the justice system to target dissent. 

Sara Hashash, Amnesty International

“The authorities must overturn these unjust convictions and sentences and release all those arbitrarily detained in this case. It is time to put an end to this pattern of instrumentalizing the justice system to target dissent. Authorities must ensure that prison conditions across the country comply with international standards and that all detainees have regular access to their families, lawyers and adequate healthcare. “ 

Source: Médecins Sans Frontières –

Natalia Romero Peñuela/MSF

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Source: Amnesty International –

Ahead of the 4 September meeting between Austria, Denmark, Germany, Greece and the Netherlands to discuss progress on plans to deport people to so-called “return hubs” in countries outside Europe where they may never have set foot, likely be to centres or facilities funded by EU member states, Eve Geddie, Director of the European Institutions Office of Amnesty International, said:

“By their very design, and wherever they may be located, ‘return hubs’ carry a risk of grave human rights violations, including arbitrary detention, torture and ill-treatment, and forced onward returns to countries of origin. There is a real danger that these locations will, in practice, become cruel black holes for human rights to outsource or offshore detention and deportation. Any responsible government should reject these plans outright.

“We are particularly alarmed that discussions are reportedly zeroing in on two countries with appalling human rights records: Uganda and Rwanda – despite ongoing conflict and political instability in the Great Lakes Region.

“These negotiations, and the EU’s broader so-called ‘migration diplomacy’ approach, are based on deep power asymmetries reflecting an unabashed attempt by the EU to shirk its migration responsibilities and shift them on to countries in the Global South that are already doing far more than Europe to receive refugees and with fewer resources.

“From the Italy-Albania deal and governments’ past attempts to outsource or offshore their migration policies, we already know that ‘return hubs’ will disproportionately harm racialized people. Following the shameful chants to ‘send them back’ heard in the European Parliament in June, governments across the political spectrum are now dancing to this same xenophobic and racist tune – willing to pursue an agenda to increase deportations at seemingly any cost. Amnesty International will continue to expose the harms and illegalities of these policies – and to resist them.”

Background

Amnesty International has repeatedly warned that ‘return hubs’ cannot be implemented in a human rights-compliant manner, given the severe risk of rights violations, as with all past attempts to outsource migration responsibilities.

While specific details have yet to be disclosed, there is a real danger that “return hubs” will in practice become deportation and detention sites involving automatic – and therefore arbitrary and unlawful – detention; refoulement, including in return hubs or through onward deportations; torture, inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment; and restrictions on access to due process and effective remedies, among other abuses.

Negotiations between these five EU member states are reported to be particularly advanced with Uganda and Rwanda, despite the well-documented human rights violations in both countries. There have also been reports of a planned centre in Uganda, which could become operational in 2027, that could accommodate up to 10,000 people.

The EU Return Regulation, which is yet to be formally adopted but will provide the legal basis for “return hubs” in EU law, states that these agreements may only be reached with countries where “international human rights standards and principles […] are respected.”

Amnesty International has long documented rights violations in Uganda, including repression, unlawful detention and deportations, and notably its extreme anti-LGBTQ+ law, which criminalizes consensual same-sex acts and carries the death penalty for the offence of ‘aggravated homosexuality’.

The Rwandan government and military control and closely support the M23 armed group in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which has perpetrated serious abuses that may amount to war crimes. In its ruling in 2023, the UK Supreme Court found that Rwanda was not a safe third country for the UK to forcibly transfer people seeking asylum, given the country’s record of repression, restrictions on media and political freedoms, extrajudicial killings, arbitrary detention, ill-treatment and torture. In September 2025, the European Parliament called on the European Commission to review assistance, including financial aid, to Rwandan public institutions involved in arbitrary detentions, torture or unfair trials.

Source: Greenpeace Statement –

KOROR, PALAU, Wednesday 2 September 2026 — The new global heating projection by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has laid bare the dire realities of inevitable climate disaster, loss and damage for the Pacific and Australia in a 1.8°C world, with Greenpeace warning ‘we are now in bloody dangerous territory’, and must do everything possible to return warming to 1.5°C.

The report, Limiting Overshoot – Navigating exceedance of 1.5°C and pathways towards return, released as world leaders meet at this year’s Pacific Islands Forum in Palau, highlights the urgency of the climate crisis, the greatest security threat facing the Pacific. It comes as fracked gas from the Beetaloo Basin, one of Australia’s biggest climate bombs, began flowing for the first time.

Australia is the biggest polluter of all Pacific Islands Forum member states, far exceeding all other forum members combined. Greenpeace is calling on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to centre Pacific priorities at the Forum, and walk the talk on climate solutions as a genuine family member of the Pacific.

Speaking from Palau, Shiva Gounden, Head of Pacific at Greenpeace Australia Pacific, said: “The latest UNEP report has printed in black and white that fossil fuel-hungry nations have overstepped, overshot and overindulged at the expense of Pacific lives, livelihoods, cultures and communities. This year’s Pacific Islands Forum has made it more apparent than ever that climate change is the region’s greatest security threat, and we cannot waste time on geopolitical power games when our world is sinking beneath our feet.

“As a person from the Pacific, I know our communities will not quietly accept these dire warnings of climate overshoot as our fate; we are already living and fiercely resisting this reality every single day. With every increment of warming, our lands, our livelihoods, and our island homes are threatened, but the Pacific’s resolve only grows stronger. We draw strength from our ocean and those who walked before us; our people are the protectors of the frontlines of climate change and the beacons of climate justice.

“By harnessing the natural power of our sun, winds, and seas through a rapid transition to renewable energy, and uniting in true global collaboration, we can steer back to 1.5°C  – this is our moral, legal, and scientific imperative. A Fossil Fuel Free Pacific can breathe life back into the lungs of our islands.”

Also in Palau, Dr Simon Bradshaw, COP31 Lead and climate expert at Greenpeace Australia Pacific, said: “The UN report is warning that we are now in bloody dangerous territory. It lays bare the deadly consequences of reckless fossil fuel expansion, and a failure to listen to Pacific voices and to the decades of emphatic scientific warnings.

“It is a damning indictment of government climate inaction and negligence, coming just days after fracked gas from the Beetaloo Basin started flowing and Woodside’s disastrous Browse gas mega project undergoes Federal decision — two carbon bombs that would lock in decades of dangerous climate pollution and push us past the point of no return.

“Every new fossil fuel project pushes us closer to dangerous and irreversible tipping points in the climate system, with almost unimaginable consequences for the safety and security of communities in the Pacific, Australia and around the world.

“The task now is to minimise the magnitude, duration and consequences of any temperature overshoot. A pathway back to 1.5°C is possible but this pathway cannot be paved by fossil fuels.

“Accelerating the shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy, and working with our big energy partners across Asia to decarbonise together, is not only the path back from the climate brink, but also the key to our energy security and our future prosperity.”

Also in Palau, Vishal Prasad, Director of Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change, said: “This report is terrifying for the young people of the Pacific. We know what 1.5, and what anything beyond it, means for our future, our families, our culture and our environment. 1.5 to stay alive has never been just slogan. It is our reality.

“The International Court of Justice has made it clear: keeping to 1.5 is not a choice, it is a legal obligation. Every new fossil fuel project drives us further from it. So we are not asking for your goodwill. We are not begging you. We are telling you what international law requires of you: end fossil fuel expansion. No new coal, no new oil, no new gas. Your corporate profits cannot be allowed to extinguish our future.”

—ENDS—

Greenpeace Australia Pacific has delegates from the Pacific and Australia at the PIFLM in Palau available for interview

Headshots can be found here

Media contact: Kimberley Bernard in Palau on +61407 581 404 or [email protected] 

Source: Amnesty International –

Angolan women and children displaced by drought into Namibia face serious human rights abuses arising from a lack of safe and legal migration pathways for people forced across borders by natural disasters, Amnesty International said in a new report. 

The report, “The Drier it Gets, the Longer You Have to Walk: The Human Rights Impacts of Drought-Induced Displacement on Angolan Women and Children in Namibia, documents the devastating consequences of recurrent drought in southern Angola and the human rights impacts experienced by those displaced into Namibia, including persistent fear of arrest, detention and deportation, which in turn influences their daily decisions about whether to seek healthcare and other services.  

“Namibian authorities must establish a rights-based approach to migration, ensuring that people displaced by drought and other natural disasters can access basic rights, including registration and documentation.” Said Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East and Southern Africa.

“The protection of already marginalized Angolans who are forced to move to Namibia in search of livelihoods is not just a humanitarian concern. This is a human rights crisis that demands international solidarity, including legal protection against refoulement,” said Tigere Chagutah.

Namibian authorities must establish a rights-based approach to migration,ensuring that people displaced by drought and other natural disasters can access basic rights, including registration and documentation.

Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East and Southern Africa

Between May 2024 and May 2026, Amnesty International interviewed at least 167 people, including displaced people, community leaders, government officials, representatives of civil society organizations (CSOs), academics, and members of the UN Country Team.

At the time of publication, Nambian government officials had not responded to Amnesty International’s request for comment.