Below you’ll find breaking news as well as reports, updates on our campaigns, and victories.
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Press Release
Lebanon: Deadly Attack by Israeli Authorities on Journalists Must be Investigated as a War CrimeÂ
Israeli strikes a group of seven journalists in south Lebanon on 13 October, which killed Reuters journalist Issam Abdallah and injured six others.
December 7, 2023
Press Release
Fresh Evidence of Police Misuse of Tear Gas Leading to Protesters’ Deaths and Injuries – Updated Investigative Website
Amnesty International today published new evidence of the misuse of tear gas by security forces in several countries in the second half of 2020, including during protests around the election in Uganda, the Black Lives Matter movement in the USA, and in the repression of protesters in Lebanon.
February 1, 2021
Press Release
Military and security forces in Lebanon attack unarmed protesters following explosions
Doctors who had attended the protests said they soon realized dozens of people required urgent medical care. They reported injuries and wounds on heads, faces, necks, arms, chests, backs, legs, and spleens. Doctors were also targeted with tear gas as they tried to treat injuries. Doctor Elie Saliba told Amnesty International that he was assaulted three times on August 8 while in Martyr’s Square: he was hit by a pump action pellet in the shoulder, then by a spray of pellets on the head and face, and then beaten by army officers.
August 11, 2020
Press Release
Beirut explosion in Lebanon must be independently investigated
Responding to the devastating explosion in Beirut yesterday that killed scores of people and left thousands more injured, Julie Verhaar, Acting Secretary General of Amnesty International, said: “The horrific scenes in the aftermath of the explosion yesterday were devastating for a country already suffering under the strain of multiple crises. Our thoughts are with the victims and their families at this tragic time. “Whatever may have caused the explosion, including the possibility of a large amount of ammonium nitrate stored unsafely, Amnesty International is calling for an international mechanism to be promptly set up to investigate how this happened. “Amnesty…
August 5, 2020
Press Release
Migrant domestic workers in Lebanon must be protected during COVID-19 pandemic
The Lebanese government must announce a set of immediate measures to protect migrant domestic workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, Amnesty International said today. The authorities must ensure that migrant domestic workers are protected from exploitative working conditions during lockdown, and that all domestic workers - including the undocumented - have access to healthcare during the pandemic. An estimated 250,000 migrant domestic workers remain trapped under the country’s kafala system, putting their rights and lives at risk during the outbreak. “The kafala system has always been a form of imprisonment in the home for migrant domestic workers. While staying at home will help prevent…
April 14, 2020
Press Release
Workshop for media featuring Nazanin Boniadi and the Middle East Institute will examine COVID-19 impact on the Middle East and North Africa
As part of a series of workshops exploring human rights concerns related to the COVID-19 response, Amnesty International USA will be holding a workshop titled “The impact of COVID-19 on the Middle East and North Africa”. The workshop will cover how COVID-19 has disrupted the lives of millions of people living throughout the Middle East and North Africa and discuss ways the impact can be mitigated, ways that the public is coming together during the pandemic, as well as recommendations of how governments can respond. These are extraordinary times, but it’s critical to stress that respect for human rights is…
April 7, 2020
Press Release
Arbitrary Arrests and Beatings of Protesters in Lebanon Must Immediately End
The Lebanese Internal Security Forces, including anti-riot police, used excessive and unlawful force against protesters on the nights of January 14 and 15, subjecting scores of protesters to brutal beatings and carrying out waves of arbitrary arrests of many peaceful protesters after two nights of clashes with a minority of protesters.
January 16, 2020
Press Release
Lebanon Must Investigate Alarming Use of Force on Largely Peaceful Protests
The authorities in Lebanon must launch a thorough, independent and effective investigation into last Saturday’s violent crackdown on largely peaceful protesters – the most aggressive since nationwide anti-government demonstrations began two months ago, said Amnesty International today.
December 19, 2019
Press Release
Investigate Excessive Use of Force Including Use of Live Ammunition to Disperse Protests in Lebanon
The Lebanese army used excessive force, including live fire, to disperse protests in northern Lebanon, seriously injuring at least two people according to eyewitness testimony and analysis of verified video footage, Amnesty International said today.
November 1, 2019
Press Release
Report: Over Two Years Later, Families Still Left in Limbo After Trump’s Muslim Ban Face Impossible Circumstances
When President Trump signed what has become known as the Muslim ban during his first week in office, he set into motion a series of events that continue to leave families in uncertainty and danger to this day, according to a new report by Amnesty International USA. In some cases, these families were cleared to come to the United States in late 2016 and early 2017, only to be stranded in countries where they face restrictive policies, increasingly hostile environments, and often lack the same rights as permanent residents or citizens. The new report, “The Mountain is in Front of…
June 17, 2019
Report
The Mountain is in Front of Us and the Sea is Behind Us: The Impact of US Policies on Refugees in Lebanon and Jordan
When President Trump signed what has become known as the Muslim ban during his first week in office, he set into motion a series of events that continue to leave families in uncertainty and danger to this day, according to a new report by Amnesty International USA. In some cases, these families were cleared to come to the United States in late 2016 and early 2017, only to be stranded in countries where they face restrictive policies, increasingly hostile environments, and often lack the same rights as permanent residents or citizens. The new report, “The Mountain is in Front of…
June 17, 2019
Report
Human rights in the Middle East and North Africa: A review of 2018
The international community’s chilling complacency towards wide-scale human rights violations in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) has emboldened governments to commit appalling violations during 2018 by giving them the sense that they need never fear facing justice, said Amnesty International as it published a review of human rights in the region last year. The report Human rights in the Middle East and North Africa: A review of 2018 describes how authorities across the region have unashamedly persisted with ruthless campaigns of repression in order to crush dissent, cracking down on protesters, civil society and political opponents, often with tacit support…
February 26, 2019