The COVID-19 pandemic is impacting all of us around the world. It’s an unsettling time filled with concerns, challenges, and anxieties.
As a global organization, Amnesty International knows this pandemic reveals the interconnectedness of our world in a very personal way. We also know that in trying times like these, the best of humanity can rise.
This is a time when we have the opportunity to help end demonization and anger – and move forward with empathy and kindness. While people may need to be physically distant, we remain united.
5 ways the coronavirus affects human rights: pic.twitter.com/aWoRyiniFo— Amnesty International USA (@amnestyusa) March 11, 2020
WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS
1. FREE KELLY
Join the Translatin@ Coalition and Amnesty International for a virtual event to discuss the situation of trans women in US immigration detention during COVID-19 and the campaign to#FreeKelly, a trans woman asylum seeker in detention for over 2.5 years
Register for Thursday, April 30 at 2pm
RSVP on Facebook
Take action now
2. ICE Must Release Families In Detention
Paola (20) and Jose (1), Ana (22) and Victoria (3), and Karla (43) and Katherine (15) fled violence and persecution in their home countries, only to be locked up when they asked for safety here. They remain detained by ICE in Texas, despite increasing health complications.
Send an email to ICE
See our statement
WHAT ARE WE DOING?
Amnesty International continues to take our role as a watchdog for human rights very seriously:
- We are working to ensure that all governments put human rights at the center of their responses to the outbreak
- We are also ramping up our response efforts to advocate for marginalized groups and those most at risk. All people can get COVID-19, but some may face adverse impacts and additional challenges in accessing care.
Respecting human rights is not a luxury that can only be afforded once the threat for public health has been minimized.
WHAT ARE WE CALLING FOR?
- The response to COVID-19 must center human rights at all stages of the crisis – prevention, preparedness, containment, and treatment – in order to best protect public health and support people who are most at risk.
- The U.S. administration must act to protect the human rights of all people, including the right to health, as governmental authorities at the federal, state, tribal, and local level respond to the humanitarian and public health challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.
- All people should have the same access to care and safety – and no one should be treated as an afterthought.
‘WE ARE ADRIFT, ABOUT TO SINK’: THE LOOMING COVID-19 DISASTER IN UNITED STATES IMMIGRATION DETENTION FACILITIES
TOP TEN WAYS THAT the COVID-19 pandemic affects gun violence across the U.S.
ORGANIZING FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Organizing for human rights can be overwhelming and social distancing is challenging us to recalibrate our patterns of behavior, but know you are not alone.
Join Amnesty International staff and grassroots activists from throughout the country as we venture into the world of virtual organizing and activism in this new weekly blog series.
- Blog 1: Organizing for human rights in the time of a global pandemic
- Blog 2: Transitioning to virtual activism: tips for effect and engaging online meetings (Video version here)
- Blog 3: Staying active while you’re staying home
- Blog 4: Be the bridge: Building a human rights movement during and beyond COVID-19
- Blog 5: Earth Day 2020: COVID-19 and the climate crisis
MEMBER SPOTLIGHT:
AIUSA’s University of Michigan student chapter is calling on our government to prioritize the rights of all people during its COVID-19 response.
INDIVIDUALS AT RISK
This crisis is impacting people all around the world, including those who are already at elevated risk of human rights abuses.
Learn about their cases and how you can help!
MIDDLE EAST & NORTH AFRICA
- EGYPT: Detained lawyer at risk
- EGYPT: Detained researcher in critical condition
- EGYPT: Health concerns
- EGYPT: Loss of contact with journalist
- IRAN: Prisoners at risk of COVID-19 infection
- IRAN: Tortured prisoners need care
- IRAQ: Assistant judge’s trial postponed
- MADAGASCAR: Woman in pre-trial detention
- SAUDI ARABIA: Palestinian men face unfair trial
EUROPE & CENTRAL ASIA
- AZERBAIJAN: Activist detained, health at risk
- AZERBAIJAN: Harassment of activist and family must stop
- BELARUS: Young prisoners’ health at risk
- KAZAKHSTAN: Activist jailed for criticism
- KYRGYZSTAN: Prisoner of conscience at risk
- PAKISTAN: Fears for disappeared defender
- PAKISTAN: Prisoners at heightened risk of COVID-19
- RUSSIA: Detained rights defender must be released
- RUSSIA: Journalist receives death threats
- TAJIKISTAN: Independent journalist imprisoned
- TURKEY: Prisoners’ release law must not discriminate
AFRICA
- COTE D’IVOIRE: Opposition leader in need of medical care
- KENYA: Evicted residents vulnerable
- NIGER: Victory! Journalist reporting on COVID-19 given suspended sentence
- SOMALILAND: Journalist must be released
Asia & the pacific
- CHINA: Covid-19 activist at risk
- PHILIPPINES: Quezon City residents face charges
- INDIA: Crackdown on dissent continues
- INDIA: Detained protesters at risk
AMERICAS
GOVERNMENT ADVOCACY
LETTERS TO THE GOVERNMENT
- Letter to President Donald Trump on Human Rights in COVID-19 Response
- Letter to Congress on Enhanced Judicial Authority and Indefinite Detention
- Signed Letter to Congress on Prioritizing Resources for Refugees
- Signed Letter to Congress on the Need to Protect Privacy in the Response to the COVID-19
- Letters on COVID-19 and Immigration Detention to the Governors of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington
- Signed Letter to the Vice President and Other Federal, State and Local Leaders from Public Health and Legal Experts in the United States
- Letter on COVID-19 and Immigration Detention to the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration Customs Enforcement
- Letter to President Trump on Healthcare Access and Equipment
- Letter to governors, Release People from Jails and Prisons in Response to COVID-19
GUIDANCE AND BRIEFINGS
- Capitol Hill Briefing on Technology, Surveillance and Privacy in the Age of COVID-19
- Americas at a Crossroads In Response to COVID-19: Dos and Don’ts for Authorities (English/Spanish)
- Briefing Paper: Responses to COVID-19 and States’ Human Rights Obligations – Preliminary Observations
STATEMENTS
FOREIGN POLICY
ASIA & PACIFIC
REGIONAL
- Pacific Countries Must Not Use COVID-19 to Regress on Human Rights
- South Asia: As COVID-19 spreads, fears rise for people at higher risk
CHINA
ROHINGYA
MEDIA WORKSHOPS
1. Detention during COVID-19
2. Surveillance during COVID-19
3. COVID-19 and gun violence in the U.S. (Coming soon)
BLOGS
- As Gender-Based Violence Increases Under COVID-19, Congress’s Inaction is More Appalling Than Ever
- 10 Ways to Protect the Human Rights of All People in the COVID-19 Pandemic
- The COVID-19 crisis underscores the need to release Leonard Peltier
- The right to health is not negated by a person’s incarceration