US President Donald Trump’s executive order on immigration came under tough criticism by Amnesty International. Picture: Evan Vucci/AP

And part of our special relationship with the US means calling out things that are wrong, especially when it contravenes our own values of giving people a fair go.

A new report released today by Amnesty International State of the World’s Human Rights highlights how political leaders have become complacent in standing up for what’s right.

Amnesty said blame, hate and fear were at the centre of global political trends last year and 2017 was now the time for leaders to come together instead of moving apart.

The report, which looks at global human rights trends over the past year and covers 159 countries, including Australia, calls for strong leadership and consistency among global leaders.

Amnesty acknowledged Australia’s positive move in ratifying the Optional Protocol on the Convention Against Torture.

However National Director at Amnesty International Australia Claire Mallinson said it was ironic our government didn’t call out President Trump’s own views on promoting torture.

“This positive move will ring hollow if Australia does not stand up to our allies when they promote torture,” she said.

US President Donald Trump, pictured on the phone with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull last month. Picture: Alex Brandon/APSource:AP

“Our Government has remained shamefully silent in response to President Trump’s indications he plans to reintroduce torture practices like waterboarding and reopen CIA black-site prisons.”

Amnesty said as Australia bids for membership of UN Human Rights Council, strong and consistent leadership is needed here now more than ever.

Ms Mallinson also said Australia had refrained from condemning Mr Trump’s executive orders to halt refugee resettlement and discriminatory attempts to prevent people from seven majority-Muslim countries from entering the US.

While acknowledging the US was a major ally of Australia and our government had to exercise a high level of diplomacy, Ms Mallinson said that didn’t mean our own Prime Minister or government couldn’t be truthful with a friend.

“Silence in the face of bullying or abuse as good as consenting,” she said.

“Friends and allies have to honest with each other.

“Trump openly talks about reintroducing waterboarding and Australia says nothing?”

Speaking of the US refugee deal and the fallout from the Trump/Turnbull call, Ms Mallinson said no one would really know what was said in that phone call where the PM was reportdly blasted by the President.

But she said the fact remained that Australia was in control of its own destiny and should resettle asylum seekers on Manus Island and Nauru ourselves without relying on the US.

Ms Mallinson said it was time that political leaders lifted their game, called out hateful actions, and lived up to values of decency and a fair go for all.

“If Australia is serious about being a human rights leader, it must lead with consistency,” she said.

“Our Government can’t be saying one thing on the one hand and commit to some human rights agendas such as global abolition of the death penalty, while carrying out policies of deliberate abuse and staying shamefully silent in the face of atrocities on the other.”

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte promised to kill 100,000 drug dealers when he rose to power last May Picture: Simeon Celi Jr./Presidential Photographers Division, Malacanang Palace/APSource:AP

‘POLITICS OF HATE’

In its report, Amnesty said 2016 was a year marked globally by hateful rhetoric and fear driven politics which had resulted in a rise in discrimination and hate crimes, particular in Europe and America.

“While world leaders should have been working together to protect people caught up in conflict and respond proactively to the global refugee crisis, they turned their backs instead,” Ms Mallinson said.

The rise of Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte over 12 months also alarmed the human rights group over his controversial and tough anti-drug policy which saw 7000 people killed.

“His idea to kill drug users is just one example of the hateful rhetoric we saw last year,” Ms Mallinson said.

“In 2016 we saw a live stream of horror from Aleppo, thousands of people killed by the police in the Philippines’ ‘war on drugs’, use of chemical weapons and hundreds of villages burned in Darfur, but the silence from the international community was deafening.”

‘NATIONAL SHAME’

Australia also earned a mentioned in the report with the country being named and shamed for several issues including discriminatory same sex marriage laws.

Our harsh counter-terrorism laws which saw legislation passed allowing children as young as 14 to be put on control orders was also raised as a huge concern.

But Amnesty’s biggest criticism was directed at our “shocking” levels of indigenous incarceration.

According to the report, indigenous people were 24 times more likely to be detained than non-indigenous children

This frame grab from Four Corners broadcast in Australia on July 25, 2016 and released on July 26, 2016 shows the disturbing conditions within youth detention centres in the Northern Territory.Source:ABC

Ms Mallinson said indigenous children were also more likely to face court, and be sent to prison and called for more prevention and intervention programs to help turn the shocking statistic around.

“These kids have got more chance of going to jail than going to uni,” she said.

“For so many people Australia really is the lucky country but for our first people our national justice system is a disgrace.”

She said the high incarceration levels were a national scandal with what took place at Don Dale in the NT, sparking a Royal Commission and shining a spotlight onto Australia.

Amnesty also criticised children as young as 10 being detained in Australia when the international minimum was 12.

Australia was also criticised for its failure to resettle more than 1400 in offshore detention on Manus Island and Nauru.

It said the hard line policies amounted to a deliberate policy to deter asylum-seekers from trying to reach Australia by boat.

Amnesty also said the agreement with the US to resettle “some people warehoused on Nauru and Manus Island” meant the Government finally acknowledged that Australia’s offshore processing policy is untenable.

“The Australian Government can no longer deny what’s going on in our name,” Ms Mallinson said.

“While there have been signs of progress, we must all hold our Government to account and demand that 2017 is the year the Government follows through in putting an end to these abuses and ensuring they never happen again.”

[email protected]

Asylum seekers pictured at Manus Island detention centre, Papua New Guinea, which came under criticism in the Amnesty report. Picture: Image/Eoin Blackwell/AAPSource:AAP