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Tens of thousands of older women and men from ethnic minorities across Myanmar who faced military atrocities and were forced to flee their homes are being let down by a humanitarian system that often fails to adequately address their rights and needs, Amnesty International said in a report published today. “Fleeing my whole life”: Older people’s experience of conflict and displacement in Myanmar is the organization’s first comprehensive investigation into the specific ways older people’s rights and dignity are not respected amid armed conflict and crisis, as well in the provision of humanitarian assistance. “For decades, Myanmar’s ethnic minorities have suffered recurrent abuse at…

June 17, 2019

Press Release

Following the suspension of Sudan from the African Union after the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) led the horrific slaughter of more than 100 peaceful protestors over the past three days, Amnesty International’s Secretary General Kumi Naidoo said: “The Transitional Military Council of Sudan must immediately withdraw all members of the Rapid Support Forces from policing and law enforcement anywhere in Sudan and especially in Khartoum. They must be ordered off the streets and confined to their barracks in the interests of public safety. “What we have witnessed in the past three days is horrific and barbaric. The senseless killing of protestors must…

June 6, 2019

Report

Following a recent investigation in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, Amnesty International has gathered new evidence that the Myanmar military is committing war crimes and other human rights violations. The military operation is ongoing, raising the prospect of additional crimes being committed. The new report, “No one can protect us”: War crimes and abuses in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, details how the Myanmar military, also known as the Tatmadaw, have killed and injured civilians in indiscriminate attacks since January 2019. The Tatmadaw forces have also carried out extrajudicial executions, arbitrary arrests, torture and other ill-treatment, and enforced disappearances. The report examines the period of…

May 29, 2019

Update

To view  PDF version please click here Human Rights on Capitol Hill - late May Edition Human Rights on Capitol Hill published by Amnesty International USA May 22, 2019 In this edition of Human Rights on Capitol Hill: Pride Around the World- June marks Pride month, an international celebration of the LGBTQ community Taiwan- First in Asia: Parliament legalizes same-sex marriage China- Amnesty International documents plight of transgender individuals S.- Amnesty International USA continues fight for transgender woman seeking asylum S. Gun Violence Awareness Month- As the U.S. marks Gun Violence Awareness month this June, will the Senate finally pass legislation…

May 22, 2019

Update

May 9, 2019 Honorable Patrick M. Shanahan Acting Secretary of Defense U.S. Department of Defense 1000 Defense Pentagon Washington, DC 20301 Dear Secretary Shanahan: The undersigned groups write to ask that you reverse the recent decision to stop collecting and releasing important information on stability in Afghanistan. We are deeply concerned that the military will no longer assess insurgent or government control at the district level in Afghanistan, as noted in the latest report from the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) report. This information is vital to the American public’s understanding of the war in Afghanistan. Not tracking…

May 16, 2019

Update

May 2, 2019 The Honorable James Inhofe Chairman, Armed Services Committee United States Senate Washington, DC 20515 The Honorable Jack Reed Ranking Member, Armed Services Committee United States Senate Washington, DC 20510 The Honorable Adam Smith Chairman, Armed Services Committee United States House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515 The Honorable Mac Thornberry Ranking Member, Armed Services Committee United States Senate United States House of Representatives Washington, DC 20510 Washington, DC 20515 Dear Messrs. Chairmen and Ranking Members: We, the undersigned human rights, civil liberties, transparency, and faith-based organizations, write to urge you to strengthen oversight, transparency, and accountability surrounding U.S.…

May 2, 2019

Press Release

Responding to the United States Department of Defense report to Congress on civilian casualties from US military operations, Daphne Eviatar, the Director of Security With Human Rights at Amnesty International USA said: “The latest report is a welcome step for accountability for civilian casualties as a result of U.S operations, but many more are required, to both acknowledge the full scale of the damage and for the survivors still struggling with the aftermath. “The Department of Defense unfortunately still significantly undercounts civilian casualties caused by U.S. led operations, as demonstrated by our recent, detailed reporting on civilian casualties in Somalia…

May 2, 2019

Press Release

Ahead of the May 1 deadline for the United States Department of Defense to report back to Congress on civilian casualties from US military operations, Daphne Eviatar, the Director of Security With Human Rights at Amnesty International USA said: "We hope to finally see an honest assessment of the devastating impact that U.S. lethal strikes have had, and a truthful recognition of civilian deaths and injuries as a result of U.S. actions. The survivors, families, and community members have a right to that acknowledgement. “Our recent research on the ground in Syria and in Somalia demonstrates why this is so critical. Effective public scrutiny…

April 29, 2019

Press Release

The US-led military Coalition must end almost two years of denial about the massive civilian death toll and destruction it unleashed in the Syrian city of Raqqa, Amnesty International and Airwars said today as they launched a new data project on the offensive to oust the armed group calling itself “Islamic State” (IS). The interactive website, Rhetoric versus Reality: How the ‘most precise air campaign in history’ left Raqqa the most destroyed city in modern times, is the most comprehensive investigation into civilian deaths in a modern conflict. Collating almost two years of investigations, it gives a brutally vivid account of more…

April 25, 2019

Update

April 12, 2019 Amnesty International USA Welcomes The “Enhancing Human Rights Protections in Arms Sales Act of 2019 Amnesty International USA welcomes the introduction of the “Enhancing Human Rights Protections in Arms Sales Act of 2019, S. 854 in the Senate. This bill is a strong repudiation of the Trump administration’s irresponsible approach to the oversight and regulation of US arms exports, which has recently led to concerns about the diversion of weapons sold to UAE and US complicity in war crimes by the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen. Concerns over the use of US made weapons in the commission of…

April 22, 2019

Press Release

Responding to news that former Sudan president Omar Al-Bashir is being detained in Kober prison in Khartoum, Joan Nyanyuki, Amnesty International’s Director for East Africa, the Horn and the Great Lakes, said:

April 17, 2019

Press Release

Responding to a news report that more than 700 refugees and migrants in Libya were trapped in a detention center in Qasr bin Ghasher in close proximity to intense armed clashes in Tripoli, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa, Magdalena Mughrabi, said:

April 15, 2019