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Press Release

Regional leaders must prioritize the protection of human rights in their final declaration at the VIII Summit of the Americas and take immediate action to fulfil that commitment in their respective countries, Amnesty International said ahead of the summit in Lima, Peru, tomorrow. “From the discriminatory polices pushed by the Donald Trump administration to the violent repression of demonstrations in Honduras and Venezuela, the Americas has suffered an alarming pushback against human rights in the last years,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International. “Confronted by the growing demonization of communities at risk and human rights defenders, regional leaders…

April 11, 2018

Press Release

Responding to the appointment of Win Myint as the new President of Myanmar, James Gomez, Amnesty International’s Director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, said: “The Myanmar authorities should use the appointment of a new President as an opportunity to step back from the brink. We’ve seen a dramatic deterioration in the human rights situation in the last year, most especially for the Rohingya community who have been targeted in a brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing involving crimes against humanity. “While the military still wields considerable power, the civilian-led government most do more to end discrimination and ensure that perpetrators of…

March 28, 2018

Report

Twitter’s recent claim to “stand with women around the world” rings hollow in light of the multi-billion-dollar social media platform’s longstanding failure to protect women users from violence and abuse, said Amnesty International today as it published new research into women’s experiences on the platform. The new report, #ToxicTwitter: Violence and abuse against women online, shows that the company is failing to respect the human rights of women because of its inadequate and ineffective response to violence and abuse. It includes a series of concrete recommendations for how Twitter can become a safer place for women. “Women have the right to…

March 20, 2018

Press Release

Two women human rights defenders jailed for defending women’s rights and opposing the death penalty are being subjected to escalating ill-treatment in Shahr-e Rey prison, a former industrial chicken farm in Varamin, a town on the outskirts of Tehran, Amnesty International revealed. The organization is calling for the women’s immediate and unconditional release. Atena Daemi and Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee are being held in unsanitary conditions in the quarantine section of the prison and their access to the outside world is being severely restricted. People detained in this section are given inadequate food and provided with salty water to drink. Golrokh…

March 9, 2018

Press Release

A warning by Iranian police that women could be jailed for up to a decade for joining protests against compulsory veiling has put dozens at immediate risk of unjust imprisonment and represents an alarming escalation of the authorities’ violent crackdown on women’s rights, said Amnesty International. More than 35 women have been violently attacked and arrested in Tehran alone since December 2017 for taking part in ongoing peaceful protests against the discriminatory and abusive practice of compulsory veiling. In an official statement on 23 February, the police warned that women would now be charged with “inciting corruption and prostitution,” which…

February 26, 2018

Press Release

One year after President Trump reinstated the “global gag rule,” which bars health care providers around the world from providing or counseling clients on abortions, human rights and women’s rights groups issued a call for an end to the policy once and for all. Amnesty International USA and the Center for Health and Gender Equity (CHANGE) call on President Trump to rescind the policy and for Congress to pass the Global HER Act to end it. “The global gag rule does nothing to save lives,” said Margaret Huang, executive director of Amnesty International USA. “If anything, it places more lives…

January 22, 2018

Report

States around the world are failing in their duty to effectively protect people who defend human rights, leading to an escalation in preventable killings and enforced disappearances, Amnesty International said today.

December 4, 2017

Press Release

A bipartisan group of senators reintroduced the International Violence Against Women Act (IVAWA) today. Amnesty International USA urged lawmakers to support the bill and push for its quick passage, reaffirming the United States’ role as an important ally for millions of women worldwide whose right to live free from violence is under daily threat.

November 14, 2017

Press Release

Amnesty International USA will honor Charon Asetoyer, a member of the Comanche nation and a lifelong Native American women’s health advocate and activist, at this year’s Ginetta Sagan Award Reception tomorrow night in San Francisco. The award, named in honor of a WWII resistance fighter who went on to become a powerful advocate for Prisoners of Conscience, is given annually to honor courageous women around the world who stand up for the rights of women and children who face grave human rights violations.

October 10, 2017

Press Release

Responding to the Saudi Arabian government’s announcement that women will be allowed to drive, Philip Luther, Amnesty International's Research and Advocacy Director for the Middle East and North Africa, said: 

September 27, 2017

Report

A quarter of a century after the start of the conflict, more than 20,000, survivors of wartime sexual violence in Bosnia and Herzegovina are still being denied justice, said Amnesty International in a new report.

September 11, 2017

Press Release

The rape of a teenage girl ordered by a village council in ‘revenge’ for a rape allegedly committed by her brother is the latest in a long series of horrific incidents and must lead to urgent reforms, said Amnesty International today.

July 27, 2017