Below you’ll find breaking news as well as reports, updates on our campaigns, and victories.
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Report
Iraq: Women and children with perceived ties to IS denied aid, sexually exploited and trapped in camps
Iraq: Women and children with perceived ties to IS denied aid, sexually exploited and trapped in camps Iraqi women and children with perceived ties to the armed group calling itself the Islamic State (IS) are being denied humanitarian aid and prevented from returning to their homes, with an alarming number of women subjected to sexual violence, Amnesty International said in a new report published today. The Condemned: Women and Children Isolated, Trapped and Exploited in Iraq reveals widespread discrimination against women living in camps for internally displaced people (IDPs) by security forces, members of camp administrations and local authorities, who believe…
April 16, 2018
Press Release
Syria: Block on Douma chemical attack investigation must be lifted immediately
Responding to news that inspectors from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) have still not been granted access by the Syrian authorities to the site in Douma where 75 people were killed last week following a suspected chemical weapons attack by government forces, Sherine Tadros, Head of Amnesty International’s UN Office in New York said: “The OPCW team must be granted full and unfettered access to the site in Douma without further delay. Their investigation is crucial in uncovering the exact circumstances behind the appalling images that united the world in horror this month. Every day that passes…
April 16, 2018
Report
Cuba: Change of leadership must herald a new era for human rights
The end of Raúl Castro’s mandate as president of Cuba, expected to come on April 19, presents a historic opportunity to overhaul the state of human rights in Cuba, Amnesty International said today, as it published a roadmap for how the new administration can improve the nation’s human rights record: Transform confrontation into dialogue.
April 15, 2018
Press Release
Strikes Must Minimize Further Harm to Civilians in Syria
According to reports, the United States, the United Kingdom, and France have launched a strike against targets in Syria. Raed Jarrar, advocacy director for Middle East North Africa, issued the following statement:
April 13, 2018
Press Release
Nigeria: Government still failing victims of Boko Haram four years on from Chibok
Responding to the commemoration of the fourth anniversary of the abduction of 276 school girls in Chibok, Osai Ojigho Director Amnesty International Nigeria said: “What happened in Chibok should have served as a wake-up call to the Nigerian government. Yet four years on, thousands more women and girls have been taken from their homes and forced to live in captivity, in events largely unnoticed and unreported by media. “The time is long overdue for the government to deliver meaningful action on behalf of all the victims of Boko Haram’s crimes. This starts by doing more to secure the release of…
April 13, 2018
Press Release
Israel/OPT: Israeli forces must end the use of excessive force in response to “Great March of Return” protests
The Israeli authorities must put an immediate end to the excessive and lethal force being used to suppress Palestinian demonstrations in Gaza, Amnesty International said as fresh protests have started today.
April 13, 2018
Press Release
Americas: Summit leaders must prioritize solving grave human rights challenges
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
Report
Research Shows a Global Trend Towards Abolition of the Death Penalty, But More Work Remains
In its annual assessment of the death penalty, Amnesty International’s research points to a further global decrease in 2017, down from the high peaks recorded for total executions in 2015 and death sentences in 2016. According to the report that was published today, 106 countries had abolished the death penalty in law for all crimes by the end of 2017 and 142 countries had abolished the death penalty in law or practice. These figures reaffirm the global trend towards abolition of the death penalty. Only a few countries carry out executions. Just four countries were responsible for 84% of all…
April 11, 2018
Update
Letter to Senators Pompeo Nomination
On behalf of Amnesty International USA (“AIUSA”) and our more than one million members nationwide, we hereby submit this statement for the hearing record. The President’s nominee, Michael Pompeo, to be the next Secretary of State has raised concern, at home and abroad, about the administration’s commitment, or lack thereof, to human rights. This Committee is taking up the Pompeo nomination at a time when the world is facing a growing threat of thermonuclear war, an unprecedented 65.6 million people around the world have fled their homes in search of humanitarian protection, and journalists and human rights defenders are being…
April 11, 2018
Press Release
Myanmar: Case against Reuters journalists upheld as media restrictions intensify
Responding to the decision by a Myanmar court to press forward with the criminal case against Reuters journalists, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, James Gomez, Amnesty International’s Director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific said:Â
April 11, 2018