Newsroom

Update

On July 24 Amnesty International USA (AIUSA) sent out a letter to members of the House of Representatives expressing its support and urging for the sponsorship of H.R. 6193 Central America Family Protection and Reunification Act. The letter reiterated AIUSA's belief that the only acceptable legislation for U.S. foreign policy in Central America is one that protects human rights, and this bill importantly highlights and combats the environment of domestic violence, rape, sex trafficking and the femicide that drives woman to flee for safety. The full letter is attached below.

July 25, 2018

Press Release

BRICS nations must put human rights at the forefront of their discussions, said Amnesty International India and South Africa in a joint statement released at the commencement of the 10th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg today. All the BRICS countries face a number of human rights challenges. In Brazil, there are still no answers for the murder of Marielle Franco, a human rights defender who was killed in Rio De Janeiro. In Russia, LGBTI people face serious threats and live in constant fear. In China, a Tibetan HRD, Tashi Wangchuck, was handed an unjust five year prison sentence after being featured…

July 25, 2018

Update

On July 23, 2018 Amnesty International USA ("AIUSA") and our more than one million members and supporters nationwide, called on the U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security to reject all funding increases for Customs and Border Protection ("CBP") and Immigration and Customs Enforcement ("ICE") in the recently released FY19 DHS Appropriations Bill.   Our letter to Chairman Frelinghuysen and Ranking Member Lowey outlines that there is no justification for increased spending on border enforcement and additional ICE detention beds.  Instead AIUSA proposed that the committee: Not provide funds to expand mass family detention Approve a FY19 DHS…

July 24, 2018

Press Release

The House Appropriations Committee must reject all funding increases for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in next year’s budget for the Department of Homeland Security, Amnesty International urged in a letter as the committee prepares to mark up the FY19 DHS budget. The current bill proposes increased spending on border enforcement, including an unprecedented $5 billion for President Trump’s Border Wall, as well as funds for 44,000 ICE detention beds per day, a record high. “This bill will threaten asylum seekers at every turn. It will fuel this administration’s cruel policies of detaining, deporting,…

July 24, 2018

Press Release

As the State Department hosts the first Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom, Amnesty International USA urges the Trump Administration to examine its own policies of religious discrimination, while at the same time addressing religious persecution worldwide. “Religious freedom is under attack in all corners of the world, which is why it’s more important than ever that the U.S. government lead by example,” said Joanne Lin, National Director of Advocacy and Government Affairs at Amnesty International USA. “We recognize the significance of the State Department promoting religious freedom abroad. However, any genuine commitment to religious freedom requires this administration to look…

July 24, 2018

Press Release

Responding to the release of the final text for the Global Compact on Refugees, which was agreed by UN Member States, Charmain Mohamed, Head of Refugee and Migrant Rights at Amnesty International, said: “The Global Compact was an ambitious endeavor that should have created a wholesale change in the way governments treat refugees. Sadly, world leaders were not up to the challenge of delivering the bold and brave solutions that are so urgently needed. “The final text simply entrenches the current unsustainable approach whereby wealthier states can pick and choose which, if any, measures they take to share responsibility. This will leave…

July 24, 2018

Press Release

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte today attacked critics of his deadly ‘war on drugs,’ telling human rights activists: “your concern is human rights, mine is human lives” and promising the continuation of a “relentless and chilling” campaign. In response, Rachel Chhoa Howard, Amnesty International’s Philippines Researcher, said: “Thousands of people in the Philippines have died as a direct result of President Duterte’s murderous policies, which have mostly targeted the country’s poorest people. Duterte’s claim to be a defender of human life is an insult to the families of these victims, especially coming after his public vow to continue the killings. “While human…

July 23, 2018

Press Release

Following this evening’s airing of Showtime’s, Who Is America, host Sacha Baron Cohen will be auctioning off the “Water Board Kit” seen in his interview with former Vice President Dick Cheney to benefit Amnesty International. The auction is now live here and will run until Tuesday, July 24. In the piece, Cohen asked former Vice President Dick Cheney about interrogation and torture. Amnesty International has long called for the use of simulated drowning and other acts of torture to be banned as interrogation techniques.  

July 22, 2018

Press Release

Peaceful protesters in southern Iraq and Baghdad fear authorities are deliberately disabling internet access before security forces attack and open fire on them, Amnesty International has learned. Trusted sources told the organization they believe internet access is being cut off to prevent them sharing footage and pictures of the excessive and unnecessary force used by security forces, including the use of live ammunition, in cities in the southern governorates of the country, especially Basra. “We are closely monitoring the escalating situation across southern Iraq and are extremely worried by reports that security forces are beating, arbitrarily detaining and even opening…

July 19, 2018

Press Release

Australia’s notorious policy of detaining refugees and people seeking asylum in horrific offshore detention centres is in danger of being replicated by other countries, including some EU member states which are seeking to force people rescued at sea to disembark at locations outside Europe where they would be exposed to serious human rights violations, said Amnesty International Australia. In an open letter to European Council President Donald Tusk, written to coincide with the 5thanniversary of Australia’s “Regional Resettlement Arrangement” on 19 July, the organisation urged EU heads of state to heed the lessons of the illegal Australian policy, which has…

July 19, 2018

Press Release

Three months after the government of President Daniel Ortega first unleashed its lethal strategy of repression on student demonstrators on 18 April, Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas Director at Amnesty International, said: “Three months after the state repression began in Nicaragua, around 300 people have been killed – the vast majority of them by police or pro-government armed groups. President Ortega has shown time and again that he will stop at nothing to crush all those who dare to oppose his government and anyone unfortunate enough to get in the way, including children, students, victims’ mothers and members of the clergy.” “In…

July 18, 2018

Press Release

Responding to the fact that Turkey’s the state of emergency will not be renewed when it expires at the end of the day, Fotis Filippou, Amnesty International’s Deputy Europe Director said: “Whilst the lifting of the two-year state of emergency is a step in the right direction, it needs to be accompanied by urgent measures if it is to be anything more than a cosmetic exercise. “Over the last two years, Turkey has been radically transformed with emergency measures used to consolidate draconian powers, silence critical voices and strip away basic rights. Many will remain in force following the lifting of the state…

July 18, 2018