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Press Release

Responding to reports of a cooperative agreement between the United States and Honduras, which would potentially force certain asylum-seekers to request asylum there, Charanya Krishnaswami, the advocacy director for the Americas at Amnesty International USA, said:

September 25, 2019

Press Release

Gun violence has become so prevalent in the United States that it amounts to a human rights crisis. The week of July 28, 2019 our country saw four mass shootings, not including shootings in Chicago which killed eight and wounded forty-seven. TODAY, Wednesday, September 25 from 1:00 - 3:30 pm, a coalition of gun violence prevention organizations will hold a rally to draw attention to the crisis, remember the lives of those lost, and push for action. A visual action will involve people who have lost loved ones to gun violence carrying black and white photos of those they’ve lost. The rally is…

September 25, 2019

Press Release

In advance of today’s House Judiciary Committee hearing on the impact of assault weapons, Amnesty International USA submitted this statement urging approval of the Assault Weapons Ban of 2019 (H.R. 1296). Amnesty International USA’s deputy director of advocacy and government relations, Adotei Akwei, said: “Relentless gun violence, including the horrific mass shootings in Gilroy, El Paso, Dayton and Odessa, highlight the devastating impact of assault weapons. Equipped with large capacity magazines, assault weapons are designed to kill as many people as possible in the shortest amount of time. These weapons of war don’t belong on our streets and in our…

September 25, 2019

Update

For PDF version click here: Human Rights on Capitol Hill late September Human Rights on Capitol Hill published by Amnesty International USA  September 25, 2019  In this edition of Human Rights on Capitol Hill: 1) This Month’s Feature U.S.-Mexico Border:  Trump Administration’s Relentless Assault on Asylum Seekers at the U.S. Border Results in Asylum Ban 2.0 and Unsafe Agreement with El Salvador 2) Major Human Rights News a) National Defense Authorization Act (“NDAA”) – Amnesty International USA Urges Conferees to Include Human Rights Amendments in Final Bill b) Myanmar – Amnesty International USA Urges Senate to Include the Burma Act…

September 25, 2019

Press Release

Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the BURMA Act, legislation which would advance efforts to hold senior Myanmar military leaders accountable for crimes against the Rohingya and against other ethnic minorities in Kachin, Rakhine, and Shan States.

September 24, 2019

Update

Statement for the Record from Amnesty International USA House Committee on the Judiciary Hearing On Protecting America from Assault Weapons September 25, 2019 Chairman Jerold Nadler                                  Ranking Member Doug Collins Committee on the Judiciary                             Committee on the Judiciary US House of Representatives                           US House of Representatives 2138 Rayburn House Office Building            …

September 24, 2019

Press Release

Ahead of further protests expected on Friday, world leaders must confront President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and utterly condemn the crackdown he has waged to counter the outbreak of protests in recent days, said Amnesty International as heads of state meet at the UN General Assembly in New York this week.

September 24, 2019

Update

As representatives on House and Senate Armed Services Committees work with their counterparts in the Senate to pass the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), Amnesty International USA and our more than two million members and activists across the country strongly urge members and conferees of both committees to consider the NDAA’s impact on human rights. Multiple amendments and provisions in the NDAA can take pivotal steps towards ending gun violence in the U.S., supporting women in Afghanistan, cutting off U.S. support for the Saudi led coalition in Yemen, ending human rights abuses in Myanmar, and achieving other human rights gains…

September 24, 2019

Update

In advance of the Committee on the Judiciary’s Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship and Committee on Foreign Affairs’ Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Joint Hearing on "Oversight of the Trump Administration’s Muslim Ban", Amnesty International USA submitted this statement for the record. Amnesty International calls on the US to: Reaffirm its commitment to sharing responsibility for refugee protection by admitting more refugees, abandoning policies that undermine resettlement, and adhering to the principle of nondiscrimination in refugee protection. Additionally, Amnesty International calls on Congress to: Push the Administration to commit to resettling 95,000 refugees in the Presidential Determination for FY 2020…

September 24, 2019

Update

On September 24, 2019, Amnesty International USA's Advocacy Director for the Americas, Charanya Krishnaswami, offered the following statement in a hearing before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on "Limitations to Access to Asylum in the United States." The testimony is below and available as a PDF here.   Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Public Hearing: Limitations on Access to Asylum and Refuge in the United States for Citizens of the Northern Triangle Countries   Statement of Charanya Krishnaswami, Americas Advocacy Director Amnesty International USA September 24, 2019   On behalf of Amnesty International USA, I thank the Commissioners for…

September 24, 2019

Press Release

Responding to reports of a cooperative agreement between the United States and El Salvador, which would potentially force certain asylum-seekers to request asylum there, Charanya Krishnaswami, the advocacy director for the Americas at Amnesty International USA, said: “This agreement makes a mockery of the right to asylum. People should not be forced to seek safety in countries where they will not be safe.  “El Salvador has one of the highest rates of violence in the world, including gender-based violence so rampant that Amnesty International declared it one of the most dangerous countries in the world to be a woman. It…

September 20, 2019

Press Release

October 2, 2019 marks one year since Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi Arabian journalist who went into self-exile in the United States, entered into a Saudi consulate in Istanbul to obtain marriage documents, never to be seen again. Questions still remain about the killing of Jamal Khashoggi and a credible, transparent investigation into the full truth about what happened to him, those responsible, how high their rank or status, or how they will be held to account has yet to materialize.  On the one-year anniversary of Khashoggi’s killing, Amnesty International is continuing calls on the U.N. to investigate the matter and…

September 20, 2019