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Update

Letter to Congress on the Implementation of Leahy Law on Nigerian Security Forces To view PDF click here: AIUSA letter to Congress on implementation of Leahy Law on Nigerian security forces_ January 17, 2019 The Honorable James Risch The Honorable Eliot Engle Chairman Chairman Senate Foreign Relations Committee House Foreign Relations Committee The Honorable Robert Menendez The Honorable Michael McCaul Ranking Member Ranking Member Senate Foreign Relations Committee House Foreign Relations Committee The Honorable James Inhofe The Honorable Adam Smith Chairman Chairman Senate Armed Services Committee House Armed Services Committee The Honorable Jack Reed The Honorable Mac Thornberry Ranking Member Ranking…

January 18, 2019

Press Release

In response to a report from the Health and Human Services (HHS) inspector general’s office confirming that thousands more families were separated at the border than previously acknowledged by US authorities, Amnesty International regional researcher Brian Griffey issued the following statement:

January 17, 2019

Press Release

Governor J.B. Pritzker signed a bill today that will make it easier to oversee and track down careless gun dealers in Illinois. Senate Bill 337 creates the Combating Illegal Gun Trafficking Act, the Firearm Dealer Certification Act and Gun Trafficking Information Act, which will collectively require  annual training for gun dealers, mandate safe storage of their weapons to prevent theft, require that employees at gun dealer businesses also undergo background checks, and prohibit new gun dealers from opening a business within 500 feet of any school or daycare.

January 17, 2019

Update

Human Rights on Capitol Hill January Human Rights on Capitol Hill published by Amnesty International USA  January 16, 2019  In this edition of Human Rights on Capitol Hill: 1) Amnesty International USA Urges Congress to Protect the Human Rights of Refugees by Declining Funding for the President’s Border Wall 2) During Trip to the Middle East, Secretary Pompeo Condones the Murder of Jamal Khashoggi and Human Rights Abuses Committed by the Sisi Regime 3) Saudi Arabia and Yemen - Congress Must Halt Weapons Sales to Saudi Arabia 4) Amnesty International USA’s National Security Priorities for 2019 5) United Nations –…

January 16, 2019

Press Release

Amnesty International Kenya joins other Kenyans and persons of good will around the world in expressing shock and outrage at the attacks that deliberately targeted and caused damage to lives and property at 14 Riverside Drive, Nairobi, this afternoon. According to media reports, the insurgent group Al Shabaab has claimed responsibility for the attacks. If the intention of the attackers is to intimidate and create fear among Kenyans, this will have the opposite result. Kenyans shall rally as they have done in the past to protect their constitutional rights and freedoms. We urge the security agencies to promptly and effectively…

January 16, 2019

Press Release

Following today’s International Criminal Court (ICC) decision to acquit Laurent Gbagbo and Charles Blé Goudé, Marie-Evelyne Petrus Barry Amnesty International’s West and Central Africa Director said: “The acquittal of Gbagbo and Blé Goudé is a crushing disappointment to victims of post-election violence in Cote d’Ivoire. However, the judges found that the Office of the Prosecutor had not presented evidence needed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt. The Chamber ordered both accused to be immediately released. “The Office of the Prosecutor is likely to appeal this acquittal and the arrangements for the accused to be released will be addressed during…

January 15, 2019

Press Release

The following can be attributed to Margaret Huang, executive director of Amnesty International USA: “Warehousing thousands of children in tents for weeks and months on end has been one of the most disastrous policies of the Trump administration responding to children and families seeking safety at the border. We welcome the closure of the children’s detention camp in Tornillo and will hold the government to account in its assurance that the majority of the children will be moved to loving homes. Any children relocated to government shelters must be placed with waiting families and sponsors as soon as possible. “But…

January 11, 2019

Press Release

UPDATE: This statement has been modified to reflect a clarification by US forces that the early stages of the withdrawal involve military equipment, but not troops, leaving Syria. Reacting to today’s statement by the US-led Coalition that it has begun “the process of deliberate withdrawal” from Syria, Lynn Maalouf, Amnesty International’s Middle East Research Director, said: “It is deplorable that the US-led Coalition continues to ignore its responsibility of carrying out any meaningful investigations into the hundreds of civilian deaths it caused in Raqqa and elsewhere – even as it starts to withdraw from Syria. “The Coalition is unashamedly ignoring…

January 11, 2019

Press Release

Responding to news that a Myanmar court has rejected the appeal by Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, Tirana Hassan, Amnesty International’s Director of Crisis Response said: “The decision to keep these two brave and innocent Reuters journalists behind bars plays in the hands of the Myanmar authorities’ attempt to hide the truth about the atrocities committed in Rakhine. “Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were convicted on trumped-up charges. The massacre that they were investigating at the time of their arrest has been admitted to by the Myanmar military, and a senior police officer testified in court…

January 11, 2019

Press Release

The military prison at Guantánamo Bay remains a stain on the human rights record of the United States and continues to present site for ongoing violations as long as it stays open, said Amnesty International USA on the eve of the January 11 anniversary of its opening. “When President Trump revoked President Obama’s order to close the military prison at Guantánamo, he opened the door for a whole new era of horrific human rights violations to take place,” said Daphne Eviatar, director of Security with Human Rights at Amnesty International USA. “While the prison should have been relegated long ago…

January 10, 2019

Press Release

Responding to news that the UN have granted refugee status to Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun, an 18-year old Saudi woman, and put her forward for resettlement to Australia, Amnesty International’s Middle East Director of Campaigns Samah Hadid said: “Rahaf’s story sends an important message: people around the world rallied to support her plea for protection, and people power prevailed over those who tried to oppress her. Rahaf took incredible risks to flee her family home and break Saudi Arabia’s male guardianship rules. In just a few days, her story became an inspiration to millions worldwide. Let it remind the world of…

January 9, 2019

Press Release

Following news of the disembarkation of 49 men, women and children stranded at sea for 19 days while their requests for safe harbor were refused, Elisa De Pieri, Amnesty International’s Researcher on Southern Europe, said: “After nearly three weeks of being tossed around in stormy seas these women, men and children are now safely on dry land, but the fact that it took so long is shameful. “The dangerous, unseemly spectacle of politicians bickering whilst women, men and children are stranded in a sea of cruel indifference, must not be repeated. “The Italian and Maltese authorities have brazenly undermined the search and rescue system and…

January 9, 2019