Newsroom

Update

For PDF version click here: Letter to Senate leadership calling for ER session on gun violence (Aug 2019)   August 15, 2019 The Honorable Mitch McConnell                                  The Honorable Chuck Schumer Majority Leader                                                          Minority Leader United States Senate                                      …

August 15, 2019

Press Release

In response to police operations on August 11, where rounds of tear gas and rubber bullets were fired, Man-Kei Tam, Director of Amnesty International Hong Kong said: “Hong Kong police have once again used tear gas and rubber bullets in a way that have fallen short of international standards. Firing at retreating protesters in confined areas where they had little time to leave goes against the purported objective of dispersing a crowd.” According to media reports, one protester suffered from a ruptured eye in Tsim Sha Tsui after being shot by what appeared to be a bean bag projectile from the police. Police fired multiple rounds of tear gas and pepper ball projectiles were…

August 12, 2019

Update

Amnesty International USA Comments on Interim Final Rule Regarding Asylum Eligibility Amnesty International USA submitted the following comments in response to the July 2019 interim final rule (EOIR Docket ID No. 19-0504) barring eligibility for asylum for virtually all asylum-seekers who have crossed through another country in transit to the United States. We are profoundly concerned about how this rule eviscerates the right to seek asylum in the United States and will result in countless wrongful returns of individuals to places where they fear grave harm. Our opposition to the third-country transit rule here is rooted in our expertise in…

August 9, 2019

Press Release

Amnesty International USA today made an announcement calling for Congress to cut short its August recess and call an emergency session to immediately address gun violence in the United States. Ernest Coverson, End Gun Violence campaign manager at Amnesty International USA said:  “We can no longer accept the dangerous reality in which we live. The House has passed several measures that would help reduce gun violence, but the Senate has yet to bring them up for discussion even though lives are at stake.”  “Gun violence in the U.S. is a human rights crisis. This is an emergency. It will continue…

August 9, 2019

Press Release

Amnesty International today issued a travel warning calling for possible travelers and visitors to the United States to exercise extreme caution when traveling throughout the country due to rampant gun violence, which has become so prevalent in the United States that it amounts to a human rights crisis. It aims to hold up a mirror to the U.S. using the model of the United States Department of State’s travel advice for U.S. travelers to other countries. “Travelers to the United States should remain cautious that the country does not adequately protect people’s right to be safe, regardless of who they…

August 7, 2019

Update

The Amnesty International travel advisory for the country of the United States of America calls on people worldwide to exercise caution and have an emergency contingency plan when traveling throughout the USA. This Travel Advisory is being issued in light of ongoing high levels of gun violence in the country.  

August 7, 2019

Press Release

Responding to President Donald Trump’s speech following a spate of mass shootings over the weekend, Ernest Coverson, Amnesty International USA’s End Gun Violence campaign manager said: “Gun violence reform cannot come at the expense of the human rights of any community. When President Trump links background checks for guns with immigration reform, he is once again demonizing immigrants and communities of color. The Trump administration will stop at nothing to shut down the border and limit safety to those who most need it. It is outrageous to denounce bigotry in one breath and terrorize the community that was targeted in…

August 5, 2019

Press Release

Amnesty International will divest from fossil fuel companies in acknowledgement that investment in an industry whose products are the primary source of the climate crisis is at odds with the organization’s mission of protecting and championing human rights.

August 5, 2019

Press Release

Responding to a mass shooting that occurred in a mall in El Paso, Amnesty International USA End Gun Violence campaign manager Ernest Coverson issued the following statement:

August 3, 2019

Press Release

Responding to news that the Homestead facility holding unaccompanied children is being emptied out, Amnesty International researcher for refugee and migrant rights Denise Bell issued the following statement:

August 3, 2019

Update

July 30, 2019 The Honorable Mike Pompeo Secretary of State U.S. Department of State 2201 C St. N.W. Washington D.C., 20520 Dear Secretary Pompeo: RE: The ASEAN Ministerial Meetings and Amnesty International’s Human Rights Concerns in Thailand In advance of your travel to Thailand, Amnesty International urges you to inform the Thai authorities of your concerns regarding serious and ongoing human rights violations in the country. In light of the fact that the recent elections took place in a heavily restricted environment for human rights—including the country’s ongoing restrictions on freedom of expression and assembly, court cases against peaceful critics,…

August 2, 2019

Press Release

The plans for a UN investigation into attacks targeting hospitals in Idlib, and other buildings clearly identified as civilian objects by the UN, offer hope that perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity can be identified and held accountable.

August 1, 2019