Below you’ll find breaking news as well as reports, updates on our campaigns, and victories.
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Report
MAURITANIA: “A SWORD HANGING OVER OUR HEADS” : THE REPRESSION OF ACTIVISTS SPEAKING OUT AGAINST DISCRIMINATION AND SLAVERY IN MAURITANIA
This report seeks to analyze patterns of repression used against human rights defenders in Mauritania, particularly those who expose and combat slavery and discrimination, since the last presidential elections in 2014. There has been an increasing number of bans on peaceful protests and associations, arbitrary arrests, torture and other ill-treatment and persecution of human rights defenders, as well as mushrooming of repressive legislations which further undermine human rights work. Download Report
March 22, 2018
Press Release
Israel/OPT: Palestinian child activist Ahed Tamimi sentenced to 8 months in prison
The continued imprisonment of Palestinian child activist Ahed Tamimi is a flagrant attempt to intimidate those who dare challenge the circumstances of the ongoing occupation, Amnesty International said today after she was sentenced to eight months and a 5,000 shekels fine (around US$ 1,400) with a three year suspended sentence after entering into a plea deal at Ofer military court in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
March 21, 2018
Press Release
Iraq: Alarming reports of more than 3,000 people facing death over terror-related offenses
Responding to an Associated Press report that Iraqi authorities have detained or imprisoned at least 19,000 people accused of links to the armed group calling itself the Islamic State (IS) or other terror-related offences, and sentenced more than 3,000 of them to death, Lynn Maalouf, Middle East Research Director at Amnesty International, said:
March 21, 2018
Press Release
Nigeria: Authorities must ensure Dapchi schoolgirls’ welfare
Responding to today’s release of 101 of the schoolgirls abducted from a school in Dapchi, northern Nigeria by the armed group Boko Haram last month, Amnesty International’s Nigeria Director Osai Ojigho said:
March 21, 2018
Press Release
University of Vermont Passes “Refugees Welcome” Resolution
The University of Vermont Student Government Association passed a resolution last night declaring the school to be a “Refugees Welcome” zone.
March 21, 2018
Report
Online abuse of women thrives as Twitter fails to respect women’s rights
Twitter’s recent claim to “stand with women around the world” rings hollow in light of the multi-billion-dollar social media platform’s longstanding failure to protect women users from violence and abuse, said Amnesty International today as it published new research into women’s experiences on the platform. The new report, #ToxicTwitter: Violence and abuse against women online, shows that the company is failing to respect the human rights of women because of its inadequate and ineffective response to violence and abuse. It includes a series of concrete recommendations for how Twitter can become a safer place for women. “Women have the right to…
March 20, 2018
Press Release
New Arms Deal Risks Trampling Human Rights
According to reports, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and U.S. President Trump finalized a new $12.5 billon arms deal in a meeting today at the White House. Raed Jarrar, advocacy director of Middle East North Africa at Amnesty International USA, issued this statement:
March 20, 2018
Press Release
Nigeria: Security forces failed to act on warnings about Boko Haram attack hours before abduction of schoolgirls
Nigerian security forces failed to act on advance warnings that a convoy of Boko Haram fighters was heading towards a town where they abducted 110 schoolgirls last month, an investigation by Amnesty International has revealed. The military failed to respond while Boko Haram conducted an armed raid on the Government Girls Science and Technical College in Dapchi, Yobe state, on 19 February in an assault with chilling echoes of the infamous Chibok girls’ abduction of 2014. “The Nigerian authorities must investigate the inexcusable security lapses that allowed this abduction to take place without any tangible attempt to prevent it,” said…
March 19, 2018
Press Release
The Death Penalty Is Never an Appropriate Response to a Public Health Crisis
Responding to an initiative announced by President Donald Trump on the use of the death penalty as a means to address the opioid crisis, Amnesty International’s Senior Program Officer for Criminal Justice, Kristina Roth stated: “We are deeply concerned about the administration’s plans to address the United States opioid crisis, by ramping up the use of the death penalty. The death penalty is the ultimate denial of human rights. All people have the right to life, and we all have the right to be free from cruel, inhuman, or degrading punishment. These are human rights that people have, regardless of…
March 19, 2018
Press Release
Amnesty International Calls for Withdrawal of Haspel’s Nomination for CIA Director and Investigation of Her Alleged Role in Torture
Responding to reports that Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) deputy director Gina Hapsel may have been involved in torture and enforced disappearances at a CIA “black site”, Amnesty International is calling on President Trump to withdraw her nomination for CIA Director pending full investigation of the allegations.
March 19, 2018
Press Release
U.S. Risks Complicity by Selling Arms to Saudi Arabia
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is visiting the United States this week from March 19 to 22. On Tuesday, he is expected to meet with U.S. President Trump at the White House. Raed Jarrar, advocacy director of Middle East North Africa at Amnesty International USA, issued this statement:
March 19, 2018
Report
Nigeria: Amnesty activists uncover serious negligence by oil giants Shell and Eni
A groundbreaking research project by Amnesty International has exposed evidence of serious negligence by oil giants Shell and Eni, whose irresponsible approach to oil spills in the Niger Delta is exacerbating an environmental crisis. Through the Decoders network, an innovative platform developed by Amnesty International to crowdsource human rights research, the organization enlisted thousands of supporters and activists to collect data about oil spills in the Niger Delta. Their findings were then analyzed by Amnesty International’s researchers and verified by Accufacts, an independent pipelines expert. According to this publicly available data, Amnesty International found that Shell and Eni are taking…
March 15, 2018