Amal Clooney urges Australia to be 'a leader in human rights' during Senate inquiry – video
This article is more than 4 years old
Human rights barrister Amal Clooney has urged Australian MPs to introduce laws to allow for the use of targeted sanctions against human rights violators around the world. Appearing via video link, Clooney warned that authoritarian governments and individuals will use the cover of the coronavirus crisis to permanently erode civil liberties and conceal abuses. She urged Australian lawmakers to follow in the footsteps of the US, UK and Canada and introduce the Magnitsky Act. 'You can send a message to those who engage in corruption and human rights abuses, that Australia's banks and schools and beaches are off limits', Clooney told a Senate inquiry.