Below you’ll find breaking news as well as reports, updates on our campaigns, and victories.
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Press Release
US Must Allow Survivors of Domestic Violence and Gang Violence to Seek Asylum
Judge Emmet Sullivan, on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, today struck down a decision instituted by former Attorney General Jeff Sessions that made it almost impossible for victims of domestic and gang violence to seek asylum in the United States. Reacting to the order, Amnesty International USA Director of the Gender, Sexuality and Identity Program, Tarah Demant stated: “Survivors of domestic violence and gang violence have already been terrorized at home and have made the dangerous journey to the U.S. to seek protection. They have the right to seek protection in the United States as they…
December 19, 2018
Press Release
Crowdsourced Twitter study reveals shocking scale of online abuse against women
Amnesty International released a ground-breaking study into abuse against women on Twitter today, conducted with Element AI, a global artificial intelligence software product company. The findings showed that although the abuse cut across the political spectrum, women of color were much more likely to be impacted, and black women are disproportionately targeted. More than 6,500 volunteers from 150 countries signed up to take part in Troll Patrol, a unique crowdsourcing project designed to process large-scale data about online abuse. Volunteers sorted through 228,000 tweets sent to 778 women politicians and journalists in the UK and the US in 2017. Amnesty…
December 18, 2018
Press Release
Amnesty welcomes reports of an end to Dragonfly
Responding to media reports that Google will shut down Dragonfly, its censored search app for China, Amnesty International’s Secretary General Kumi Naidoo said:
December 17, 2018
Press Release
Hungary: Police must rein in unnecessary and excessive force used against protesters
The police must rein in unnecessary and excessive force, including the use of tear gas, against peaceful protesters, Amnesty International said today ahead of further demonstrations planned tonight in Budapest. “Demonstrators are expected to descend onto Budapest’s streets tonight for a sixth night of anti-government protests. Last night we witnessed displays of unnecessary and excessive force against peaceful protesters that included the use of tear gas. This must not be repeated again. The police must use force only when strictly necessary and only when all other means to contain the violence have failed," said Massimo Moratti, Deputy Director for Europe…
December 17, 2018
Report
Government failures fuel escalating conflict in Nigeria between farmers and herders as death toll nears 4,000
The Nigerian authorities’ failure to investigate communal clashes and bring perpetrators to justice has fueled a bloody escalation in the conflict between farmers and herders across the country, resulting in at least 3,641 deaths in the past three years and the displacement of thousands more, Amnesty International revealed today. In a new report, “Harvest of Death: Three Years of Bloody Clashes Between Farmers and Herders”, Amnesty International found that 57 per cent of the 3,641 recorded deaths occurred in 2018. Security forces were often positioned close to the attacks, which lasted hours and sometimes days, yet were slow to act. In…
December 16, 2018
Press Release
Nigeria: UNICEF suspended amid absurd smear campaign
Responding to the Nigerian army’s suspension of UNICEF from operations in northeast Nigeria over allegations of spying and collaborating with Boko Haram, Osai Ojigho, Director of Amnesty International Nigeria, said: “Amnesty International strongly condemns attempts by the Nigerian army to demonize UNICEF’s lifesaving work in the northeast of the country, where the Boko Haram conflict has created one of the deadliest humanitarian disasters in the world. We see the suspension of UNICEF as part of a wider drive to intimidate international humanitarian and human rights organizations who are working to save lives in this devastating conflict. “The Nigerian army has accused UNICEF…
December 14, 2018
Press Release
Construction of Border Wall Could Risk Thousands of Lives
In response to reports that a 7-year-old Guatemalan girl has died of dehydration and exhaustion after being taken into Border Patrol Custody, Amnesty International tactical campaigns manager Ashley Houghton issued this statement:
December 14, 2018
Press Release
Police must end use of excessive force against protesters and high school children in France
French authorities must exercise restraint when policing demonstrations expected on Saturday and avoid any repetition of the injuries caused by their extremely heavy-handed response to protests by the “gilets jaunes” and high school movements, said Amnesty International. Police used rubber bullets, sting-ball grenades and tear gas against largely peaceful protesters who did not threaten public order and the organisation has documented numerous instances of excessive use of force by police. “As the clouds of tear-gas lift, a clearer picture has emerged which shows police have used excessive force against largely peaceful protesters, journalists and even children,” said Rym Khadhraoui, Amnesty International’s West Europe…
December 14, 2018
Press Release
CAR: Up to 100 civilians shot and burnt alive as UN peacekeepers leave posts in Alindao
The United Nations must carry out a thorough investigation into UN peacekeeping troops’ response to a recent attack that killed as many as 100 civilians in a displaced persons camp in the Central African Republic, Amnesty International said today in a new report. According to multiple eyewitnesses, UN peacekeepers did not engage an attack by an armed group but instead retreated in an armored vehicle to their central base, leaving thousands of civilians unprotected at the camp in Alindao on November 15. An immediate and impartial inquiry must focus, in particular, on whether the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in…
December 14, 2018
Press Release
Senate Resolution Is Welcome First Step, But More is Needed
Responding to the passage in the United States Senate today of a Joint Resolution Supporting a Diplomatic Solution in Yemen and Condemning the Murder of Jamal Khashoggi, Philippe Nassif, Advocacy Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International USA stated: “Today’s vote is a step in the right direction, but a timely, credible, and transparent UN investigation into the killing of Jamal Khashoggi is the most comprehensive way for his family, and the world, to receive the full truth about what happened to him, and those responsible, however high their rank or status, to be held to…
December 13, 2018
Press Release
Ceasefire in Hodeidah brings long-awaited glimmer of hope to millions in Yemen
Responding to news that the warring parties in Yemen have agreed to a ceasefire for the port city of Hodeidah, Lynn Maalouf, Amnesty International’s Middle East Director of Research said: “Today’s announcement of a ceasefire agreement in Hodeidah brings hope to millions of civilians who are heavily dependent on the port for access to essential goods and humanitarian aid. “The conflict has had a devastating impact in terms of interrupting vital supplies in and around Hodeidah. Both parties to the conflict have deliberately impeded humanitarian assistance in violation of international humanitarian law. They must now provide prompt and unhindered access…
December 13, 2018
Report
Islamic State’s destructive legacy decimates Yezidi farming in Iraq
As part of its brutal campaign against northern Iraq’s Yezidi minority, the armed group calling itself Islamic State (IS) committed war crimes and crimes against humanity when it sabotaged irrigation wells and destroyed other farming infrastructure, Amnesty International said in a new report today. A year after Iraq’s government declared military victory over IS, Dead Land: Islamic State’s Deliberate Destruction of Iraq’s Farmland details how the armed group also burnt orchards, looted livestock and machinery and laid landmines in farming areas. “The damage to Iraq’s countryside is as far-reaching as the urban destruction, but the consequences of the conflict on…
December 12, 2018