Below you’ll find breaking news as well as reports, updates on our campaigns, and victories.
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Press Release
Jamaica: Amnesty International supporters take half a million actions to end impunity for unlawful police killings
Accompanied by relatives of people killed by police across the Americas, Amnesty International today delivered 64,331 letters and signatures to the office of Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness as part of a campaign that has generated 500,000 actions urging his government to protect victims’ families from pervasive police intimidation and guarantee their access to justice.
March 15, 2018
Press Release
Brazil: Authorities must investigate the killing of human rights defender Marielle Franco
The targeted assassination of Marielle Franco, a 38-year-old human rights defender and city councilor known for denouncing police abuses and extrajudicial executions, is a sickening development that must be fully investigated, said Amnesty International today. Marielle was shot dead in Rio de Janeiro’s Estacio neighborhood on Wednesday night. Her driver was also killed and a press officer was injured in the attack. “This a chilling development and is yet another example of the dangers that human rights defenders face in Brazil. As a member of Rio de Janeiro’s State Human Rights Commission, Marielle worked tirelessly to defend the rights of…
March 15, 2018
Press Release
SYRIA: Seven years of catastrophic failure by the international community
To mark the seventh anniversary of the Syria conflict, Amnesty International is calling for the international community to assume its responsibilities and urgently act to end the suffering of millions of Syrians and bring an end to the bloody assault on besieged civilians in Eastern Ghouta and Afrin. “The international community’s catastrophic failure to take concrete action to protect the people of Syria has allowed parties to the conflict, most notably the Syrian government, to commit war crimes and crimes against humanity with complete impunity, often with assistance of outside powers, particularly Russia. Every year we think it is just…
March 15, 2018
Press Release
El Salvador: Government must decriminalize abortion following release of woman jailed for stillbirth
Maira Verónica Figueroa Marroquín, a 34-year-old woman who spent 15 years in prison after suffering a stillbirth, was released from prison on Tuesday following the reduction of her 30-year sentence for “aggravated homicide” under El Salvador’s total abortion ban. In response to her release, Erika Guevara-Rosas, Amnesty International’s Americas Director, said:
March 14, 2018
Press Release
Philippines: Duterte’s misguided ICC withdrawal comes too late to stop wheels of justice
Responding to Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte’s pledge to withdraw the country from the International Criminal Court today (ICC), Amnesty International’s Regional Director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific James Gomez said: “This is a misguided and deeply regrettable move by President Duterte, and the latest signal that powerful individuals in the Philippines are more interested in covering up their own potential accountability for killings than they are in ensuring justice for the many victims of the country’s brutal ‘war on drugs’. “Fortunately for those victims, Duterte’s announced withdrawal comes too late to stop the ICC’s preliminary examination and…
March 14, 2018
Press Release
Pompeo and Haspel Must Disavow Torture and Other Abuses as Nominees for State and CIA
In response to reports that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will be replaced by current CIA director Mike Pompeo – who will in turn be replaced by current CIA deputy director Gina Haspel -- Margaret Huang, executive director of Amnesty International USA, issued this statement: “Both Pompeo and Haspel have deeply alarming records when it comes to human rights. Before they assume positions that could have repercussions for human rights around the world, they should be given utmost scrutiny by the Senate in the confirmation process. “Pompeo has previously voiced his support for interrogation tactics like waterboarding and there are…
March 13, 2018
Press Release
Bangladesh: International support for Rohingya refugees is urgently needed
Responding to the news that UN officials have called for nearly $1bn (USD) in assistance for the nearly one million Rohingya refugees living in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar District, Amnesty International’s South Asia Director, Biraj Patnaik, said:
March 12, 2018
Report
Remaking Rakhine State
Myanmar’s Rakhine State is being militarized at an alarming pace, as authorities are building security force bases and bulldozing land where Rohingya villages were burned to the ground just months ago, Amnesty International said in a new briefing today. Through eyewitness testimony and expert analysis of satellite images, Remaking Rakhine State reveals how flattening of Rohingya villages and new construction have intensified since January in areas where hundreds of thousands fled the military’s campaign of ethnic cleansing last year. New roads and structures are being built over burned Rohingya villages and land, making it even less likely for refugees to…
March 11, 2018
Press Release
Iran: New evidence of appalling treatment of women human rights defenders held in Shahr-e Rey prison
Two women human rights defenders jailed for defending women’s rights and opposing the death penalty are being subjected to escalating ill-treatment in Shahr-e Rey prison, a former industrial chicken farm in Varamin, a town on the outskirts of Tehran, Amnesty International revealed. The organization is calling for the women’s immediate and unconditional release. Atena Daemi and Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee are being held in unsanitary conditions in the quarantine section of the prison and their access to the outside world is being severely restricted. People detained in this section are given inadequate food and provided with salty water to drink. Golrokh…
March 9, 2018
Press Release
Washington State Passes Law Addressing Lethal Force by Police
The Washington state legislature passed two measures last night which will help hold police accountable when they use lethal force, and will require additional training for police officers to help avoid potentially deadly confrontations.
March 9, 2018
Press Release
Venezuela: Unattended health rights crisis is forcing thousands to flee
Severe violations of the right to health, as well as difficulties accessing food and other basic services, are putting thousands of people’s lives at risk in Venezuela and fueling a regional forced migration crisis, Amnesty International said today on the launch of its digital platform Emergency Exit.
March 9, 2018
Press Release
Congressional Funding for Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission Acknowledges Critical Work
Reacting to news that Congress will direct funds to the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission for the first time, Joanne Lin, National Director of Advocacy and Government Relations stated: “These funds are an important acknowledgment of the Commission’s critical work. Congress sends a strong message that defending human rights is more important now than ever. These funds will allow the Commission to fulfill the vision of Tom Lantos – who survived the horrors of the Holocaust – to ensure that human rights are protected worldwide.”
March 8, 2018