Below you’ll find breaking news as well as reports, updates on our campaigns, and victories.
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Press Release
Romania: Rights groups submit legal challenge against ‘homophobic’ referendum
A planned referendum to change the definition of family in Romania’s constitution could lead to a breach of international human rights standards and increase homophobic discrimination in the country, said Amnesty International as it joined other rights groups in intervening in a case before the Romanian Constitutional Court. Amnesty International, together with ECSOL (European Commission on Sexual Orientation Law) and ILGA-EUROPE (European Region of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association), will make legal submissions today on the constitutionality of the 7 October vote. The referendum could result in making it impossible to protect same-sex unions in the future. Currently, same-sex couples do not have…
September 14, 2018
Press Release
Brazil: Failure to identify Marielle Franco’s killers after six months is unacceptable
The Brazilian authorities’ failure to identify all those responsible for the killing of human rights defender Marielle Franco, six months after she was brutally shot dead, raises concerns about their commitment to deliver justice for this atrocious crime and ensure a safe environment for human rights defenders in the country, Amnesty International said today. Marielle Franco and her driver Anderson Gomes were killed in their car in Rio de Janeiro on March 14. She was shot in the head four times. Media reports suggest that the killing was carefully planned, believed to have involved agents of the state and the security forces. “Today sadly…
September 14, 2018
Press Release
Syria: Unlawful attacks using cluster munitions and unguided barrel bombs intensify as Idlib offensive looms
The Syrian government, backed by Russia, has intensified unlawful attacks on civilians in Idlib using internationally banned cluster munitions and unguided barrel bombs in a prelude to a widely anticipated military offensive, Amnesty International said today.
September 14, 2018
Press Release
United States / Mexico: Possible deportation fund between USA and Mexico is shameful business
The Trump administration´s intentions to pay the Mexican government millions of dollars to deport irregular migrants is risky business that must not be permitted, said Amnesty International today. This came in response to a New York Times article printed 13 September detailing $20 million dollars of foreign assistance proposed by the Trump administration to US Congress for the deportation of at least 17,000 irregular migrants by the Mexican government.
September 13, 2018
Press Release
A year on from Hurricane Maria, new evidence shows how Puerto Ricans were denied essential water
Amnesty International is demanding that the Puerto Rican and US federal authorities initiate an independent investigation into the authorities' response to Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, which cost 2,975 lives. The call comes amid new revelations of a large stockpile of drinking water amassing on the runway of the airport in Ceiba, with no sign it was distributed for months on end to the hard-hit population. “The death toll in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria was so massive because authorities failed to put in place basic safeguards that could have saved hundreds if not thousands of lives. President Trump’s government’s…
September 13, 2018
Press Release
Amnesty International USA Will Continue Its Fight for New Hampshire to Abolish the Death Penalty
Reacting to news that the New Hampshire state legislature has failed to override the Governor’s veto, which would have ended the death penalty in New Hampshire once and for all, Kristina Roth, Senior Program Officer at Amnesty International USA stated: “The death penalty is the ultimate denial of human rights. It is a cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment. By vetoing this bill, which had broad bipartisan support, the Governor defends a practice that serves no legitimate public interest, neither deterring crime nor improving public safety. “Amnesty International and New Hampshire citizens who believe in the illegitimacy of the death penalty…
September 13, 2018
Press Release
Myanmar: Aung San Suu Kyi in shameful defense of Reuters journalists’ conviction
Responding to comments by Myanmar's State Counsellor, Aung San Suu Kyi, at the World Economic Forum in Hanoi today defending the conviction of Reuters journalists Wa Lone, and Kyaw Soe Oo, Minar Pimple, Amnesty International’s Senior Director of Global Operations, said: “This is a disgraceful attempt by Aung San Suu Kyi to defend the indefensible. To say that this case had ‘nothing to do with freedom of expression’ and that Wa Lone, and Kyaw Soe Oo ‘were not jailed for being journalists’ is a deluded misrepresentation of the facts. “These two men were convicted under a draconian, colonial-era law that was deliberately…
September 13, 2018
Report
In the Line of Fire: Human Rights and the U.S. Gun Violence Crisis
The U.S. government has allowed gun violence to become a human rights crisis, according to “In the Line of Fire: Human Rights and the U.S. Gun Violence Crisis,” a new report from Amnesty International. The report examines how all aspects of American life have been compromised in some way by the unfettered access to guns, with no attempts at meaningful national regulation.
September 12, 2018
Press Release
The US Must Support ICC Victims of Most Serious Crimes
Reacting to news that John Bolton, Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, propose that the Trump administration ban International Criminal Court (ICC) judges and prosecutors from entering the US, impose sanctions on any funds they have in the States, and prosecute them in the US court system, Adotei Akwei, Deputy Director Advocacy and Government Relations at Amnesty International USA stated: “The United States’ attack on the International Criminal Court is an attack on millions of victims and survivors who have experienced the most serious crimes under international law and undermines decades of groundbreaking work by the international community…
September 10, 2018
Press Release
Cambodia: Release of Kem Sokha must be made permanent
Responding to the news that opposition leader Kem Sokha has been released from prison on bail and is now being held under house arrest, Minar Pimple, Amnesty International’s Senior Director of Global Operations said:
September 10, 2018
Report
Curaçao: Authorities are denying protection to people fleeing the crisis in Venezuela
Authorities in the Caribbean island of Curaçao, part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, must protect people who are fleeing the human rights crisis in nearby Venezuela and put an end to the appalling conditions they face upon reaching Curaçao, said Amnesty International in a report published today.
September 9, 2018
Update
Human Rights on Capitol Hill September edition
Human Rights on Capitol Hill published by Amnesty International USA September 7, 2018 In this edition of Human Rights on Capitol Hill: 1) Turkey – Human Rights Defenders and Political Dissidents are Under Attack 2) Myanmar - Senior Military Officials Should be Held Accountable for Crimes Against Humanity 3) Amnesty International Recommends Key Human Rights Issues to Raise at U.N. General Assembly 4) Yemen - U.S. Should Stop Supplying Weapons to Saudi Arabia-Led Coalition 5) Syria – Department of Defense Should Investigate Civilian Casualties 6) Kenya – Amnesty International Presses Presidents on Human Rights Record 7) Mauritania – Trump Administration…
September 7, 2018