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Press Release

Nicaragua: Government commitment to dialogue appears insincere

In response to the constant repression of the Nicaraguan population by the government of President Daniel Ortega, Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International, said:

July 3, 2018

Sheet of paper Report

Sierra Leone: New government must prioritize ending police crackdowns on peaceful protesters

The new government of Sierra Leone must start fulfilling its promises to improve the human rights situation in the country by lifting restrictions on peaceful demonstrations and ending entrenched impunity for police killings of protesters, Amnesty International said in a new report published today.

July 2, 2018

Smoke rises above a rebel-held town east of the city of Daraa during airstrikes by Syrian regime forces on June 30, 2018. - At least eight battered rebel-held towns in southern Syria returned to regime control under Russian-brokered deals after nearly two weeks of bombardment, a Britain-based monitor said. (Photo by Mohamad ABAZEED / AFP) (Photo credit should read MOHAMAD ABAZEED/AFP/Getty Images)

Press Release

Syria: Civilians in Daraa trapped as attacks intensify

Civilians in Syria’s southern Daraa province are facing death and destruction as the government ramps up a merciless campaign of indiscriminate artillery shelling and air strikes that include repeated attacks on hospitals, Amnesty International said today. The organization has urged the Jordanian government to open its borders to people seeking to flee the area, beginning with those who are sick and injured.

July 2, 2018

A policeman stands guard as Papuans walk to block the road to the airport in Timika, Indonesia's Papua province December 18, 2009. Indonesian police on Wednesday said they had killed a leader of Papua's main separatist group near Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold Inc's huge mine in the remote easternmost part of the country. Kelly Kwalik, the highest commander of the Free Papua Movement (OPM), was killed by police in a raid in Timika, Papua, on Wednesday morning, Papua police spokesman Agus Rianto said. REUTERS/Muhammad Yamin (INDONESIA POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - GM1E5CI1F3W01

Sheet of paper Report

Indonesia: Police and military unlawfully kill almost 100 people in Papua in eight years with near total impunity

Indonesian security forces have unlawfully killed at least 95 people in little more than eight years in the restive eastern provinces of Papua and West Papua, with the overwhelming majority of perpetrators never being held to account for these crimes, Amnesty International reveals in a new report today. All but 10 of the victims were of Papuan ethnicity.  The report, “Don't bother, just let him die": Killing with impunity in Papua, describes how police and soldiers have shot dead peaceful independence activists and protesters, as well as dozens of other Papuans in non-political contexts, including a mentally disabled young man. Despite President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo promising to…

July 1, 2018

Press Release

Amnesty International USA Joins Families Belong Together to Call for End of Family Separation

U.S. authorities must put an immediate end to both the separation and detention of children and families who come to the US border with Mexico seeking asylum, while also immediately reuniting the thousands of families who remain separated as a result of the Trump administration’s unlawful and damaging policies, said Amnesty International ahead of the Global Day of Action against these practices planned for June 30.

June 28, 2018

Press Release

Mexico: Authorities must guarantee respect for human rights in violent context surrounding elections

Faced with the most violent election process in its history, Mexico must take serious measures to guarantee that its citizens can exercise their human rights, including the right to participation in public affairs during the elections this Sunday, Amnesty International said today.

June 28, 2018

Mercy and Daniel Pangain Malawi has seen a surge in killings of people with albinism, whose body parts are used in ritual practices, systematic failure of policing in Malawi has left this vulnerable group living in fear. Since November 2014, at least 18 people have been killed and at least five have been abducted and remain missing. Their bones are believed to be sold to practitioners of traditional medicine in Malawi and Mozambique for use in charms and magical potions in the belief that they bring wealth and good luck. The macabre trade is also fuelled by a belief that bones of people with albinism contain gold. Amnesty International believes that the actual number of people with albinism killed is likely to be much higher due to the fact that many secretive rituals in rural areas are never reported. There is also no systematic documentation of crimes against people with albinism in Malawi.

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End violence against people with albinism: Towards effective criminal justice for people with albinism in Malawi

The Malawian authorities must urgently overhaul the criminal justice system to protect people with albinism, who face the persistent threat of being killed for their body parts in a country where the vast majority of these horrific crimes remain unresolved and unpunished, Amnesty International said in a new report released today. Since November 2014, the number of reported crimes against people with albinism in Malawi has risen to 148 cases, including 14 murders and seven attempted murders, according to police figures. However, Amnesty International has established that at least 21 people with albinism have been killed since 2014. “People with albinism deserve to…

June 27, 2018

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Myanmar: Military top brass must face justice for crimes against humanity targeting Rohingya

Amnesty International has gathered extensive, credible evidence implicating Myanmar’s military Commander-in-Chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, and 12 other named individuals in crimes against humanity committed during the ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya population in northern Rakhine State. The comprehensive report, “We Will Destroy Everything”: Military Responsibility for Crimes against Humanity in Rakhine State, Myanmar, calls for the situation in Myanmar to be referred to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for investigation and prosecution. “The explosion of violence – including murder, rape, torture, burning and forced starvation – perpetrated by Myanmar’s security forces in villages across northern Rakhine State was not the…

June 26, 2018

Photo by Eric Thayer/Getty Images

Press Release

Amnesty International USA Reaction to Supreme Court Ruling on Muslim Ban

The following can be attributed to Ryan Mace, Grassroots Advocacy & Refugee Specialist at Amnesty International USA: “This hateful policy is a catastrophe all around – not only for those who simply want to travel, work, or study here in the States, but for those seeking safety from violence as well. While this decision doesn’t address the separate and equally harmful ban on refugees, it cruelly traps people in conflict-afflicted countries and prevents them from seeking safety in the U.S. or being reunited with family. Some of the people banned from this policy are fleeing conflicts that the United States has had…

June 26, 2018

An injured anti-government protester receives medical attention after being hit by a pellet during a march in support of "the Mothers of April" - whose children died in the protests - on Nicaragua's National Mothers Day at the Engineering University in Managua on May 30, 2018. (Photo by DIANA ULLOA / AFP) (Photo credit should read DIANA ULLOA/AFP/Getty Images)

Press Release

Nicaragua: Government’s shameful denial of human rights violations is part of its strategy of repression

In response to the government of President Daniel Ortega’s outright rejection of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights’ report on grave human rights violations committed in the context of the recent protests in Nicaragua, Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International, said: “It’s shameful that the government of President Ortega is denying the undeniable. There is a wealth of evidence, including thousands of testimonies, to show that the Nicaraguan state has committed terrible human rights violations and continues to do so on a daily basis. This has to stop before more lives are lost.  “The government’s reaction to today’s findings…

June 22, 2018

US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley (R) delivers a speech during a session entitled ?Human Rights and Democracy in Venezuela? on the sideline of the United Nations Human Rights Council on June 6, 2017 in Geneva. The United Nations Human Rights Council opens a new session, with a speech from US envoy Nikki Haley following threats from Washington to quit the council over its treatment of Israel. / AFP PHOTO / Fabrice COFFRINI (Photo credit should read FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty Images)

Press Release

Haley’s hostility towards human rights organizations a sad moment for U.S.

In response to a letter sent by the United States Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley to human rights groups, accusing them of blocking reform at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), Salil Shetty, Amnesty International’s Secretary General, said: “Following the USA’s showy departure from the Human Rights Council, Nikki Haley’s letter is another sign that the Trump administration prefers confrontation to compromise.  “This letter expresses open hostility towards human rights organizations with different opinions to the United States. As civil society, our job is to hold those in power to account, and refusing to engage with anyone who disagrees…

June 21, 2018

A Yemeni woman sits next to blankets and upholstery distributed by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to those affected by the conflict in the country, in the coastal town of Hodeida, on April 11, 2018. (Photo by ABDO HYDER / AFP) (Photo credit should read ABDO HYDER/AFP/Getty Images)

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Yemen: Restrictions to life-saving supplies putting millions of civilians at risk

Millions of lives are at risk because the entry of essential goods such as food, fuel and medical supplies into war-torn Yemen is being restricted by the Saudi Arabia-led coalition and their distribution then delayed by the country’s Huthi de facto authorities, Amnesty International warned in a new report released today. The report, Stranglehold, documents how the coalition has imposed excessive restrictions on the entry of essential goods and aid, while the Huthi authorities have obstructed aid movement within the country. These obstacles – compounded by a deadly Saudi-led military assault on the vital port city of Hodeidah – have…

June 21, 2018