Below you’ll find breaking news as well as reports, updates on our campaigns, and victories.
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Report
Scars of Survival: Gun Violence and Barriers to Reparation in the USA
Survivors of gun violence in the USA suffer years of trauma and pain due to a destructive combination of government policies which ignore their needs, Amnesty International said today as it released new research into the experiences of gunshot survivors. Describing gun violence in the USA as a “human rights crisis”, Scars of Survival: Gun Violence and Barriers to Reparation in the USA highlighted how survivors are often unable to access healthcare and other forms of support due to catastrophic medical expenses and excessive bureaucracy. It called on the US government to put in place necessary mechanisms to ensure survivors of…
July 11, 2019
Press Release
TripAdvisor Staff Urged to Speak Out Against Firm’s Role in Sustaining Illegal Israeli Settlements
Amnesty International has called on TripAdvisor employees to use their power to demand that their company stops profiting from war crimes by listing tourist attractions and properties in illegal Israeli settlements across the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT).
July 9, 2019
Update
Amnesty International Statement for House Oversight Hearing on “Kids in Cages”
For PDF, click here: 07.08.2019 Amnesty International Statement for House Oversight Subcommittee Hearing July 9, 2019 Rep. Jamie Raskin Chair Rep. Chip Roy Ranking Member House Committee on Oversight & Government Reform Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Re: Amnesty International Statement for Hearing on “Kids in Cages: Inhumane Treatment at the Border” On behalf of Amnesty International USA and our over two million members and supporters in the United States, we submit this statement for the record. Amnesty International is an international human rights organization with national and…
July 9, 2019
Press Release
Same-Sex Marriage to be Legalized in Northern Ireland and UK Must Legislate on Ending Abortion Ban
Today marks huge progress for the rights of Northern Irish citizens, said Amnesty International, as MPs voted through amendments to the Northern Ireland Executive Formation Bill which will see same-sex marriage legalized, while the UK Government is forced to legislate for abortion reform, including decriminalization.
July 9, 2019
Press Release
Virginia Lawmakers Turn Their Backs on Virginians Senselessly Killed
Responding to a special session of the General Assembly on a package of gun violence prevention bills in the wake of a mass shooting in Virginia Beach, Ernest Coverson, the End Gun Violence Campaign Manager, at Amnesty International USA said: “It is an embarrassment to this state that Virginia lawmakers would turn their backs on the human rights crisis occurring right in their backyard. Countless lives could be saved, if only Virginia lawmakers make the overdue commitment to taking action. “The ability to go about your daily life in safety and security, free from fear, is at the very heart…
July 9, 2019
Press Release
Taliban bombings in Afghanistan chillingly disregard human life
The Taliban’s killing of civilians through a continuous spate of bombings demonstrates the armed group’s chilling disregard for human lives, Amnesty International said today.
July 9, 2019
Press Release
Trump Administration Commission on Unalienable Rights Politicizes Human Rights for Hate
Reacting to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's announcement today of a creation of a Commission on Unalienable Rights, Joanne Lin, national director of advocacy and government affairs at Amnesty International USA said: "This administration has actively worked to deny and take away long-standing human rights protections since Trump's inauguration. If this administration truly wanted to support people's rights, it would use the global framework that's already in place. Instead, it wants to undermine rights for individuals, as well as the responsibilities of governments. "This approach only encourages other countries to adopt a disregard for basic human rights standards and…
July 8, 2019
Press Release
Abhorrent attack on migrant detention center in Libya must be investigated as a war crime
The International Criminal Court must order an urgent investigation into an abhorrent attack on the Tajoura immigration detention center in eastern Tripoli, Libya, in which at least 40 refugees and migrants were killed and more than 80 injured, said Amnesty International. “This deadly attack which struck a detention center where at least 600 refugees and migrants were trapped in detention with no means of escape, and whose location was known to all warring parties, must be independently investigated as a war crime. The International Criminal Court should immediately investigate the possibility that this was a direct attack on civilians,” said…
July 3, 2019
Report
Georgia/Russia: Post-conflict boundary splits communities, leaving thousands in limbo
Russia’s and the de facto authorities’ attempts to physically demarcate a boundary between the breakaway territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia/Tskhinvali Region and the rest of Georgia have led to severe restrictions on freedom of movement and other human rights violations, with families separated by barbed wire, cut off their livelihoods and at risk of arbitrary detention if they try to cross, Amnesty International said in a new report today.
July 3, 2019
Press Release
UN arms embargo violations put Tripoli’s 1.2 million civilians in grave danger
The lives and security of Tripoli’s 1.2 million civilians hang in the balance as warring parties use a range of sophisticated weapons imported into Libya in contravention of a UN arms embargo, Amnesty International said today as it released a new video marking three months since the battle began. The escalating violence since April 4, has forced more than 100,000 civilians to flee from their homes and knocked out the electricity supply for long periods each day – impacting health care and other basic services in many parts of the city. Rocket and artillery strikes often hit civilian areas far from the…
July 2, 2019
Press Release
Egypt: Series of draconian laws ‘legalizes’ unprecedented repression six years since fall of Morsi
The Egyptian authorities are attempting to normalize human rights violations by passing a series of laws to “legalize” their escalating crackdown on freedom of expression, association and assembly, said Amnesty International, six years since recently deceased former President Mohamed Morsi was ousted from power on 3 July 2013.
July 2, 2019
Report
‘Saving lives is not a crime’: Politically motivated legal harassment of migrant human rights defenders by the USA
Since 2018, the US government has conducted an unlawful and discriminatory campaign of intimidation, threats, harassment, and criminal investigations against people who defend the human rights of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers on the US–Mexico border, Amnesty International said in a new report released today. ‘Saving lives is not a crime’: Politically motivated legal harassment of migrant human rights defenders by the USA reveals how the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) have increasingly misused the criminal justice system to deter activists, lawyers, journalists, and humanitarian volunteers from challenging – or simply documenting – the systematic human…
July 2, 2019