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Press Release

Responding to reports that the United States was responsible for the deaths of nine civilians, including children as young as two, in a residential neighborhood in Kabul, Paul O’Brien, the executive director of Amnesty International USA said: “Survivors awake today in Afghanistan with the unimaginable pain of having lost their loved ones with no accountability for those who have committed the airstrikes. The United States has been killing civilians in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, and Somalia for years, under the guise of the so-called “war on terror,” with impunity. The United States has a responsibility to the families of those killed…

August 30, 2021

Press Release

The past 20 years have seen a fundamental shift in how information about human rights abuses come to light – in Afghanistan and other places. The increasing availability of mobile phones and internet access – especially in urban centers – has provided a critical conduit for activists, human rights defenders, civil society and journalists to monitor events, document human rights abuses and war crimes as they occur, and mobilize for justice and accountability.

August 30, 2021

Press Release

The Taliban and the international community must urgently reach an agreement to extend the August 31 deadline for completing evacuations out of Afghanistan, Amnesty International said today, to help protect thousands of Afghans who are increasingly at risk of violent reprisal attacks. President Joe Biden has said the U.S. is on track to pull its troops out of Afghanistan in five days, despite calls to delay the withdrawal following reports of escalating Taliban threats to human rights defenders, women and girls, ethnic and religious minorities, lawmakers and journalists. In a recent on-the-ground investigation, Amnesty International researchers revealed that nine Hazara men…

August 26, 2021

Press Release

Responding to President Biden's remarks today, the executive director of Amnesty International USA, Paul O'Brien, released the following statement: "In his speech, President Biden had a lot to say about the state of Afghanistan and U.S. government efforts. But by reiterating that he will end U.S. evacuation operations by the August 31st deadline, he communicated one message to those most at risk in Afghanistan: “This White House’s preferred policy option is to abandon you to your fates.” "At this very moment, the Taliban is tracking and targeting people because of their beliefs, associations, or their identity, gender, religious affiliation, ethnic…

August 24, 2021

Press Release

The UN Human Rights Council today failed the people of Afghanistan after neglecting to establish an independent mechanism to monitor ongoing crimes under international law and human rights violations and abuses, Amnesty International said today. At the opening of today’s UNHRC special session, the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the UN Special Procedures and a host of other civil society speakers - including Amnesty International - unequivocally called for the creation of a robust investigative mechanism. Such a mechanism would allow for monitoring and reporting on human rights violations and abuses, including grave crimes under international…

August 24, 2021

Press Release

Following President Biden's speech on the situation in Afghanistan, Paul O'Brien, Executive Director of Amnesty International USA (AIUSA), issued the following statement:

August 20, 2021

Press Release

Leading human rights organizations called today on President Biden to urgently do more to evacuate Afghans from harm’s way, raising concerns that the ongoing approach of the Biden administration risks jeopardizing the lives of thousands and advocating for US forces to remain on the ground until the most at-risk Afghans are safely out of the country, including past August 31. The signatories to a letter sent to President Biden include Human Rights First, Human Rights Watch, HIAS, Freedom House,  Scholars at Risk and several other organizations and express serious concerns of the credible threat of retaliation thousands of Afghans would…

August 20, 2021

Press Release

Taliban fighters massacred nine ethnic Hazara men after taking control of Afghanistan’s Ghazni province last month, Amnesty International said today. On-the-ground researchers spoke to eyewitnesses who gave harrowing accounts of the killings, which took place between July 4-6 in the village of Mundarakht, Malistan district. Six of the men were shot and three were tortured to death, including one man who was strangled with his own scarf and had his arm muscles sliced off. The brutal killings likely represent a tiny fraction of the total death toll inflicted by the Taliban to date, as the group have cut mobile phone…

August 19, 2021

Press Release

Responding to the Taliban’s push into Kabul over the weekend, Amnesty International joined Freedom House in calling on President Biden to ensure the safe evacuation of human rights defenders, women’s rights activists, media workers, and individuals who have provided assistance to foreign governments and for the White House to provide a lifeline to millions of internally displaced Afghans and Afghan refugees. The human rights organizations called on the Biden Administration to work with the United Nations to develop a functioning humanitarian infrastructure to assist the people of Afghanistan and to provide justice for victims of human rights abuses. Paul O’Brien,…

August 16, 2021

Press Release

Responding to the collapse of the Afghan government following the seizure of power by the Taliban and the chaotic scenes at Kabul airport as thousands of people attempt to leave the country, Agnes Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General, said:  “What we are witnessing in Afghanistan is a tragedy that should have been foreseen and averted. It will only be compounded further without swift and decisive action from the international community. Thousands of Afghans at serious risk of Taliban reprisals - from academics and journalists to civil society activists and women human rights defenders - are in danger of being abandoned…

August 16, 2021

Press Release

Civilians must be allowed safe passage out of Lashkar Gah following three days of intense fighting between Afghan government and Taliban forces that has blocked all exit routes from the city and forced at least 35,000 people to flee their homes, said Amnesty International. The heavy fighting, in which Afghan forces supported by United States airstrikes are defending the Helmand Province capital from a Taliban assault, has taken out power across the entire city as well as telephone lines and internet access. With nowhere to go, some of the tens of thousands displaced are reported by local media to have…

October 14, 2020

Press Release

Responding to today's announcement of U.S. sanctions against the International Criminal Court (ICC), Daniel Balson, advocacy director at Amnesty International USA, said: "The Trump administration's decision to enact sanctions against senior ICC staff is another brazen attack against international justice. The court is made up of legal professionals who have dedicated their professional lives in pursuit of justice for victims and survivors of some of the most horrific crimes, including crimes against humanity. They should be commended for their commitment, not subjected to a punitive campaign of intimidation. Grotesquely, the White House’s actions may dissuade survivors of human rights abuses…

September 2, 2020