Below you’ll find breaking news as well as reports, updates on our campaigns, and victories.
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Press Release
Amnesty International to Participate in Hearings and Events at IACHR Sessions
Amnesty International will participate in public hearings on protests and security in Honduras and on limits of access to asylum in the United States, as well as side events on institutional violence and discrimination against women engaged in sex work in the Americas, and on women’s sexual and reproductive rights in Venezuela, during the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights’ 173rd Period of Sessions from September 23 to October 2 in Washington DC.
September 20, 2019
Press Release
Shocking disregard for civilians as U.S. drone strike in Afghanistan adds to death toll
Responding to the reported killing of numerous farmers in a U.S. drone strike in Afghanistan, on the same day that 20 civilians were reportedly killed in a suicide bomb attack on a hospital, Amnesty International USA’s Security with Human Rights Director Daphne Eviatar said: “On yet another deadly day in Afghanistan, once again it is civilians who bear the brunt of the violence involving armed groups, the Afghan government and their backers in the U.S. military. “That a U.S. drone strike purportedly targeting IS militants could instead result in the deaths of scores of farmers is unacceptable and suggests a shocking disregard for…
September 19, 2019
Press Release
Arbitrary Arrests, Brutal Beatings and Torture in Hong Kong Police Detentions Revealed
A new Amnesty International field investigation has documented an alarming pattern of the Hong Kong Police Force deploying reckless and indiscriminate tactics, including while arresting people at protests, as well as exclusive evidence of torture and other ill-treatment in detention.
September 19, 2019
Press Release
Marshall Billingslea Should Not be Confirmed for Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights
As today’s hearing takes place before the United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Marshall Billingslea’s nomination to be Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights at the Department of State, given Mr. Billingslea’s well-documented history of advocating for the use of torture and other unlawful interrogation practices, Amnesty International USA is calling on the Committee to vote No. “There has been ample evidence that Mr. Billingslea encouraged the use of interrogation methods that amount to torture or other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment while he served in the Bush Administration”, said Daphne Eviatar, Director of Security with…
September 19, 2019
Press Release
Lethal Force Legislation Could Save Lives and Protect Communities
In response to the introduction of the Police Exercising Absolute Care for Everyone (PEACE) Act by Representatives Ro Khanna and Lacy Clay, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Amnesty International USA and Families United 4 Justice released the following statement: Kanya Bennett, Senior Legislative Counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union, said: “When law enforcement uses deadly force, there's a human toll that comes along with that decision. Very often that decision results in destroyed families and neighborhoods. The Police Exercising Absolute Care for Everyone (PEACE) Act respects the sanctity of life by requiring that police use lethal force only…
September 18, 2019
Press Release
UN Secretary-General Must Publicly Denounce Human Rights Violations In Xinjiang
Antonio Guterres should publicly and unequivocally condemn the Chinese authorities’ abusive policies in Xinjiang and call for an immediate closure of camps containing an estimated one million Turkic Muslims, a coalition of five human rights groups, including Amnesty International, said in a letter to the UN Secretary-General.
September 17, 2019
Press Release
Greta Thunberg and Fridays for Future receive Amnesty International’s top honor
Climate change activist Greta Thunberg and the Fridays for Future movement of school-children have been honored with Amnesty International’s Ambassador of Conscience Award for 2019, the human rights organization announced today. The awards ceremony took place in Washington D.C., USA, while further events were held in cities around the world, honoring Fridays for Future activists who represent the movement. Upon receiving the award, Greta Thunberg said: “This award is for all of those millions of people, young people, around the world who together make up the movement called Fridays for Future. All these fearless youth, fighting for their future. A…
September 17, 2019
Press Release
Trump Administration’s Asylum Ban Could be a Death Sentence for People Seeking Safety
Today, Amnesty International condemned the Supreme Court’s decision allowing the Trump administration’s asylum ban to temporarily proceed. Charanya Krishnaswami, the Advocacy Director for the Americas at Amnesty International USA, stated: “The asylum ban the Supreme Court has upheld could be a death sentence for people in search of safety and protection. The asylum ban is grounded in an ideology of hatred and xenophobia, and it cannot stand. “Every person has the right to seek safety: this is a moment that will prove itself infamous, when the country turned its back on those it used to welcome and chose to ignore…
September 12, 2019
Press Release
18 Months On, Brazilian Authorities Must Not Let Marielle Franco Killing Remain Unsolved
Six months after authorities in Rio de Janeiro arrested two men accused of killing Marielle Franco and her driver, Anderson Gomes, and committed to continue the investigations in meetings with Amnesty International and Marielle’s family, they have yet to make any meaningful progress in identifying those who ordered the crime and their motives.
September 11, 2019
Press Release
Response To Reports Of Foreign Nationals Detained In Iran
Responding to media reports that two British-Australian women and an Australian man have been detained in Iran, with one of the women said to have been sentenced to ten years in jail, Eilidh Macpherson, Amnesty International UK’s Individuals at Risk Campaigns Manager, said:
September 11, 2019
Press Release
Amnesty Responds to Decision on Third Country Asylum Ban:Â Safety Should Not Depend on Where People Ask for Protection
Responding to the Ninth Circuit’s decision halting the nationwide injunction of the Trump administration’s third country asylum ban, Amnesty International USA’s advocacy director for the Americas, Charanya Krishnaswami, said: “The Ninth Circuit has restored an impossible and cruel situation, where parts of the U.S. are now asylum-free zones. People’s ability to access safety should not depend on where they happened to ask for protection. “The asylum ban will force people to seek asylum in countries that are unsafe. Asylum-seekers have the right to protection, safety, and a fair process. We are deeply disappointed with this decision.”
September 11, 2019
Press Release
361 Bipartisan Elected Officials from 46 States Urge President Trump to Welcome Refugees
361 local and state elected officials from 46 states expressed their strong support for resettling refugees in their communities in a bipartisan letter sent to President Trump. The letter, supported by Amnesty International, HIAS, the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP), and Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS), urges the President to restore the number of refugee admissions to its historical average and resettle at least 95,000 refugees in Fiscal Year 2020. The letter was signed by Governors Jay Inslee of Washington and Tim Walz of Minnesota. They were joined by 64 Mayors, including Mayor Eric Garcetti of Los Angeles, Mayor Lori…
September 11, 2019