Newsroom

Update

In this edition of Human Rights on Capitol Hill: (1)   Family separation: Amnesty International demands that administration immediately halt family separation. (2)   North Korea: Amnesty International calls on Trump administration to raise human rights in all discussions with North Korea. (3)   Rohingya: Amnesty International urges Senate to quickly pass legislation holding Myanmar military officials accountable for atrocities against the Rohingya. (4)   Syria: U.S.-led coalition against IS failed to take basic precautions to minimize civilian deaths and casualties in Raqqa. (5)   Refugees: Amnesty International presents June 14 Hill briefing on worldwide refugee trends. (6)   Hungary: Hungary poised to implement draconian initiative aimed at criminalizing individuals who aid asylum…

June 18, 2018

Press Release

The sickening images of children cruelly separated from their parents and held in cages as a result of Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ policy of ‘zero-tolerance’ will leave an indelible stain on the reputation of the USA, said Amnesty International today.

June 18, 2018

Press Release

This year’s Kyiv Pride demonstration, which brought together thousands of people in a display of solidarity with the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) community in Ukraine, is a significant human rights achievement for the country, Amnesty International said today. “In a country where homophobic attitudes are still strong, and where LGBTI rights activists face growing intimidation, harassment and violence from far-right groups, the Kyiv Pride demonstration was a genuine achievement and celebration of national significance,” said Amnesty International Director Oksana Pokalchuk. “Respect for human dignity, freedom and equality is the cornerstone of any healthy society. One cannot but…

June 18, 2018

Report

The Israeli government’s transfers of Eritrean and Sudanese asylum-seekers is cruel and illegal, Amnesty International said today, as it released a new report titled Forced and Unlawful: Israel’s Deportations of Eritrean and Sudanese Asylum-Seekers to Uganda. In October 2017, Israel announced that it would start deporting Eritrean and Sudanese nationals to an unnamed “third country” in Africa that had agreed to receive them, widely reported to be Uganda and Rwanda. However, the Israeli government was unable to confirm which countries had agreed to cooperate in deportation agreements and the Supreme Court ordered the suspension of all deportations of Sudanese and Eritrean nationals.…

June 17, 2018

Update

June 13th, 2018   Amnesty International USA participated in Refugee Council USA's ("RCUSA") Letter A Day campaign in honor of World Refugee Day on June 20th. RCUSA is a coalition of 25 US-based NGOs dedicated to refugee protection and support of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. During the month of June, many members of RCUSA, including Amnesty International USA, sent a letter to Congress explaining why refugee resettlement needs continued support. As World Refugee Day is dedicated to raising awareness of the situation of refugees around the world, each letter hopes to highlight the importance of resettlement as a durable solution to the world's most…

June 15, 2018

Press Release

The Kyrgyzstani authorities must ramp up their efforts to put an immediate end to the appalling practice of “bride kidnapping”, Amnesty International said today as details emerged that an 18-year-old woman has been abducted and raped in an effort to force her to marry her attacker. The latest incident, which occurred on June 10 according to a local human rights organization, follows the kidnapping and murder of 20-year-old medical student Burulay Turdaliyeva in late May which triggered a public outrage. “These two horrific crimes have taken place within just 14 days of each other, suggesting that though laws exist to…

June 15, 2018

Press Release

Japanese authorities must urgently launch an investigation into payments that a subsidiary of the multinational brewing giant Kirin made to Myanmar’s military and authorities at the height of an ethnic cleansing campaign against the Rohingya population in late 2017, Amnesty International said today.

June 14, 2018

Press Release

Responding to the arbitrary detention and beating during arrest of scores of demonstrators and bystanders, including an Amnesty International staff member, Laith Abu Zeyad, by Palestinian security forces, Philip Luther, Amnesty International’s MENA Research and Advocacy Director said: “The Palestinian authorities in the West Bank revealed a dark underbelly of violence and dysfunction yesterday, when its security forces launched a vicious crackdown on peaceful protesters demonstrating against sanctions on Gaza. Palestinian security officers, many in civilian clothes, assaulted and arrested dozens of demonstrators and bystanders and beat them while in custody, including Amnesty International campaigner Laith Abu Zayed, who was there to…

June 14, 2018

Press Release

Responding to news that the prominent British human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell has been arrested and charged with a criminal offence after staging a protest near Moscow’s Red Square about LGBTI rights in Chechnya, Kate Allen, Amnesty International UK’s Director, said: “The response to Peter Tatchell’s protest is straight out of the Russian authorities’ playbook - protest in a high-profile location like Red Square, hold a placard criticising Putin or speak in support of LGBTI right in public, and face immediate arrest by the police. “In present-day Russia, there’s no right to peacefully protest, no right to publicly stand up…

June 14, 2018

Press Release

Responding to reports that Abdulrasheed al-Faqih, the Executive Director of Mwatana Organization for Human Rights, was arrested this morning while on his way to Sey’oun airport in the southern Yemeni city of Mukalla, Samah Hadid, Middle East Campaigns Director at Amnesty International, said: “Abdulrasheed al- Faqih is one of Yemen’s most prominent human rights defenders and has worked tirelessly to expose the myriad human rights abuses committed by all parties in Yemen’s brutal conflict. He was arrested this morning by security forces affiliated to the internationally recognized Yemeni government while travelling to seek medical treatment, and we are now extremely concerned for his safety.…

June 14, 2018

Press Release

The Pakistani authorities must end the current crackdown on human rights defenders, activists, journalists and other members of the civil society and ensure that human rights are fully respected and protected in the lead up to next month’s general elections, Amnesty International said today. On 25 July 2018, in general elections held across the country, Pakistanis will elect their next civilian government. Amnesty International is alarmed by the ongoing wave of arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, attacks on the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. “Key freedoms are under relentless attack in Pakistan, with the authorities cracking down on…

June 14, 2018

Press Release

The bill to decriminalize abortion in Argentina, approved today by the Chamber of Deputies, is a fundamental step for the rights of women and people capable of conceiving, and a way of combating structural violence, said Amnesty International. “We’re celebrating this first step taken by the Chamber of Deputies in its decision to move towards decriminalizing abortion. New legislation could end a vicious circle where women have no option but to risk their lives, their health, and their freedom if they are sent to prison. Classifying the legal termination of a pregnancy as a crime has no basis in international…

June 14, 2018