Newsroom

Press Release

A Saudi Arabia-led coalition attack with a US-manufactured bomb, which turned a civilian home into rubble and killed or injured six members of the same family, is the latest in a long string of potential war crimes Amnesty International has documented over the past three years of Yemen’s devastating conflict.

March 22, 2018

Press Release

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

Report

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

In advance of a deadline for the Trump Administration to disclose reported changes loosening the restrictions for using lethal force overseas, 13 organizations signed this statement of concern.

March 7, 2018

Press Release

Reacting to the UN’s claim that Myanmar is continuing its campaign of ethnic cleansing against Rohingya including through “forced starvation”, James Gomez, Amnesty International’s Director of Southeast Asia and the Pacific, said: “The UN’s findings sadly echo our own – there is no question that the Myanmar authorities’ vicious campaign of ethnic cleansing against Rohingya is still ongoing. Fleeing Rohingya told us how they are still being forcibly starved in a bid to quietly squeeze them out of the country. “This is yet more evidence that any plans for organized repatriation of Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh are extremely premature. No…

March 6, 2018

Press Release

Responding to the news that the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) finally voted today on a much-delayed resolution calling for humanitarian aid into Eastern Ghouta and a partial ceasefire, Sherine Tadros, Head of Amnesty International’s UN Office said: “It shouldn’t require a Security Council resolution or a ceasefire for starving civilians to be allowed life-saving assistance and protection from being deliberately bombarded. These are the requirements of international humanitarian law. But now that the resolution has finally passed, the Security Council must follow through and ensure that attacks on civilians are ended and unfettered access to humanitarian assistance is provided without delay.…

February 24, 2018

Press Release

The Guantánamo military judge handling the case of the alleged USS Cole bomber halted the trial following months of failed attempts to get three civilian defense attorneys who resigned from the case last year to return. Amnesty International USA’s Security with Human Rights Director, Daphne Eviatar, issued the following statement: “The military commissions at Guantánamo have been a farce since the beginning, and do nothing except delay justice. Today’s actions show that these sideshows will never result in a fair trial and will only consume more time and resources. We already have a tried-and-tested mechanism to handle these cases in…

February 16, 2018

Press Release

The Myanmar security forces’ devastating campaign against the Rohingya population in northern Rakhine State is far from over, Amnesty International said today, as it published new evidence of ongoing violations that have forced hundreds more people to flee in recent weeks.

February 7, 2018

Press Release

The Syrian government’s use of internationally banned chemical weapons was laid bare once again on February 4 when a chlorine gas attack on the town of Saraqeb left 11 people in need of emergency treatment, according to testimony gathered by Amnesty International.

February 6, 2018

Press Release

Responding to news that the US government has imposed an arms embargo on South Sudan, now in its fifth year of an armed conflict that has led to widespread abuses and relentless suffering, Amnesty International USA’s Africa Advocacy Director Adotei Akwei said: “This long overdue announcement by the Trump administration must spur the UN Security Council to take greater action to prevent further killings of civilians and other gross human rights violations in South Sudan by imposing a comprehensive arms embargo to cut off the flow of weapons to the country.

February 2, 2018

Press Release

The Nigerian authorities’ response to communal violence is totally inadequate, too slow and ineffective, and in some cases unlawful, Amnesty International said today, as clashes between herdsmen and farmers in Adamawa, Benue, Taraba, Ondo and Kaduna have resulted in 168 deaths in January 2018 alone.

January 29, 2018

Press Release

The government of Bangladesh’s announcement that it is to postpone the return of Rohingya refugees to Myanmar is a welcome relief for hundreds of thousands currently living in Bangladesh, Amnesty International said today. Implementing a returns arrangement finalized last week in its current form would put the safety and rights of more than 650,000 Rohingya who fled a brutal military crackdown last year in serious jeopardy.

January 22, 2018