Below you’ll find breaking news as well as reports, updates on our campaigns, and victories.
If you are a member of the press, please reach out to [email protected]
![](/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/GettyImages-1166065869.jpg)
Press Release
Gender-Based Violence and Femicide Offenders in South Africa Must Face Justice
In response to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s address to the nation and hundreds who had gathered in Cape Town to protest against soaring gender-based violence and femicide rates in the country, Shenilla Mohamed, Executive Director of Amnesty International South Africa, said:
September 5, 2019
![Yellow and white graphic with the Amnesty international logo on the bottom left and the word](/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Breaking-Twitter.jpg)
Press Release
Another Weekend, Another Carnage That Could Have Been Prevented
Responding to shootings in Midland and in Odessa, Texas tonight, Ernest Coverson the campaign manager of Amnesty International USA End Gun Violence campaign said: "On yet another weekend, this country is reeling from carnage that could have been prevented. Enough is enough. We need the government to take action in passing common sense gun safety reforms that make everyone safer. By prioritizing guns over people, the U.S. is putting entire communities at risk." Background Last month, Amnesty International published a report examining whether the U.S. has met its obligation under human rights law to provide effective remedies to survivors of…
August 31, 2019
![](/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/GettyImages-1150150549.jpg)
![](/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/GettyImages-1150150549.jpg)
Press Release
Vicious Attack Against Pro-Democracy Protest Organizer in Hong Kong
Responding to an attack in Hong Kong on Thursday lunchtime against Jimmy Sham, the convenor of the Civil Human Rights Front, by masked men wielding baseball bats, Man-kei Tam, Director of Amnesty International Hong Kong, said:
August 29, 2019
![U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media in the East Room of the White House](/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/GettyImages-1198921922.jpg)
![U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media in the East Room of the White House](/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/GettyImages-1198921922.jpg)
Press Release
Trump Administration Uses Disaster Relief to Fund a Disaster of Its Own Making
Responding to reports that DHS intends to reprogram disaster relief funds for ICE detention beds and funds for temporary court structures for hearings associated with the “Remain in Mexico” program, Amnesty International USA advocacy director for the Americas Charanya Krishnaswami said: “This decision is an outrageous misuse of resources. At the start of hurricane season, DHS is robbing hundreds of millions of dollars from disaster relief to fund a disaster of its own making. It is using vital funds to further some of its cruelest policies – putting asylum-seekers in harm’s way and detaining families and children in search of…
August 27, 2019
![Yellow and white graphic with the Amnesty international logo on the bottom left and the word](/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Breaking-Twitter.jpg)
![Yellow and white graphic with the Amnesty international logo on the bottom left and the word](/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Breaking-Twitter.jpg)
![Yellow and white graphic with the Amnesty international logo on the bottom left and the word](/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Breaking-Twitter.jpg)
Press Release
New Flores Regulations Brazenly Attack Children’s Rights
According to reports, the Trump administration is issuing a final rule that will effectively terminate the 1997 Flores Settlement Agreement, which mandates that children cannot be held in immigration detention for more than 20 days. Denise Bell, researcher for refugee and migrant rights issued this statement: “These new regulations are extraordinarily cruel. It is beyond logic and humanity to attempt to keep children locked up for as long as possible, especially when we know that this subjects them to trauma and extreme distress. Children who have already endured violence and persecution would be harmed even further by this policy. The…
August 21, 2019
![](/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/plannedparenthood.jpg)
![](/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/plannedparenthood.jpg)
Press Release
Planned Parenthood Withdrawal from Title X Demonstrates Cruel Policies
“The Trump administration's restrictions on Title X trample on sexual and reproductive rights, putting the lives of all pregnant people at significant risk, especially low-income women. Over four million people in the United States who depend on health care will be impacted because of these cruel policies aimed at Planned Parenthood."
August 19, 2019
![](/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/GettyImages-93459070.jpg)
![](/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/GettyImages-93459070.jpg)
Press Release
10 Years Since the Killing of Chechen Human Rights Defender Natalia Estemirova, No Justice in Sight
On the tenth anniversary of the murder of prominent Chechen human rights defender Natalia Estemirova, Amnesty International and 12 international and Russian human rights groups are calling on the Russian authorities to fulfill their long-overdue obligation to effectively investigate this horrendous crime and bring the perpetrators to justice in fair trials. “The courage and selflessness of Natalia Estemirova, who investigated abductions, extrajudicial executions and other grave violations of human rights in Chechnya, was unparalleled. There is no doubt that she paid with her life for this fearless work. Ten years on, the Russian authorities have manifestly failed to find the…
July 15, 2019
![](https://www.amnestyusa.org/wp-content/themes/thinkwp-aiusa/assets/images/default-image.png)
![](https://www.amnestyusa.org/wp-content/themes/thinkwp-aiusa/assets/images/default-image.png)
Press Release
Criminalization of Sex Between Men in Military in South Korea Fuels Violence, Abuse and Discrimination
Gay and trans soldiers in South Korea face violence, harassment and pervasive discrimination due to the criminalization of consensual sex between men in the military, Amnesty International said as it released a new report outlining why this unjust law must be abolished.
July 11, 2019
![](/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/GettyImages-482691198.jpg)
![](/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/GettyImages-482691198.jpg)
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
![Secretary Of State Mike Pompeo Addresses The Media](/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/GettyImages-1135974489.jpg)
![Secretary Of State Mike Pompeo Addresses The Media](/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/GettyImages-1135974489.jpg)
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
![](/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/263055_Kachin-State-December-2018.jpg)
![](/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/263055_Kachin-State-December-2018.jpg)
Report
“Fleeing my whole life”: Older people’s experience of conflict and displacement in Myanmar
Tens of thousands of older women and men from ethnic minorities across Myanmar who faced military atrocities and were forced to flee their homes are being let down by a humanitarian system that often fails to adequately address their rights and needs, Amnesty International said in a report published today. “Fleeing my whole life”: Older people’s experience of conflict and displacement in Myanmar is the organization’s first comprehensive investigation into the specific ways older people’s rights and dignity are not respected amid armed conflict and crisis, as well in the provision of humanitarian assistance. “For decades, Myanmar’s ethnic minorities have suffered recurrent abuse at…
June 17, 2019
![](/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/GettyImages-180960948.jpg)
![](/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/GettyImages-180960948.jpg)
Press Release
More than 1 million people join global campaign to demand Iranian government release Nasrin Sotoudeh
More than a million people in more than 200 countries and territories across the globe have come together to express their outrage at the sentencing of prominent Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh to 38 years and six months in prison and 148 lashes after two grossly unfair trials, Amnesty International announced today, as signatures demanding her release were handed in to Iranian embassies around the world. To mark one year since Nasrin Sotoudeh’s arrest, Amnesty International is organizing a global handover of the signatures collected, calling on the Iranian authorities to release her immediately and unconditionally. Under Iran’s sentencing…
June 12, 2019