Below you’ll find breaking news as well as reports, updates on our campaigns, and victories.
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Press Release
Soaring Concern for Human Rights and Human Lives as Russia Invades Ukraine
Amnesty International calls for unerring respect for international human rights and humanitarian law, following Russia’s multi-pronged attack on Ukraine this morning.
February 24, 2022
Press Release
Human Rights Must Be Protected in Ukraine as Risk of Further Conflict with Russia Escalates
Responding to news that President Vladimir Putin has ordered “peacekeeping operations” to the so called “Donetsk People’s Republic” and “Luhansk People’s Republic” in eastern Ukraine, Daniel Balson, Europe and Central Asia Advocacy Director at Amnesty International USA said: “It is abundantly clear the human costs of a full-blown conflict will be devastating to the people of Ukraine. U.S. officials have already recognized this, and Amnesty International has repeatedly stressed the real and immediate threat that an escalation of violence entails for civilians in Ukraine.
February 23, 2022
Update
Amnesty International USA Written Testimony on Human Rights in Turkey for Feb. 16 Helsinki Commission Briefing
On February 16, 2022, Amnesty International USA's Turkey Advocacy Specialist Deniz Yuksel addressed members of the U.S. Helsinki Commission during a briefing on "Conflict of Interest? Foreign Policy and Human Rights in Turkey." Her testimony detailed Turkey's worsening human rights crisis, including the government's weaponization of the judicial system, its crackdown on dissenting voices, and efforts to criminalize human rights defenders. Amnesty calls on the U.S. government to adopt a consistent, comprehensive, and whole-of-government approach to Turkey which centers human rights. Click here to read the statement Turkish anti-riot police officers try to disperse a rally marking the International Women's…
February 17, 2022
Update
Amnesty International USA urges the State Department to protect human rights in Ukraine as the risk of further conflict with Russia grows
On February 16, 2022, Amnesty International USA sent a letter to Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman urging the U.S. Department of State to take action in defense of human rights in Ukraine. As Russian troops mount on Ukraine's borders, Amnesty International has warned that a further escalation of violence risks severe consequences for human rights in Ukraine and across the broader region. Previous Russian military interventions, including in Georgia, Syria, and Crimea, have often resulted in severe violations of international humanitarian law, including war crimes. Given the risk to human rights posed by another escalation of violence, Amnesty's letter…
February 16, 2022
Update
As millions in Afghanistan suffer from hunger, exposure, and a collapsing economy, the Biden Administration must act immediately to save lives. Here’s how.
Afghanistan’s economy is collapsing. Behind the statistics carefully tracking the rising price of food, the falling value of the currency, and the dwindling foreign aid lies a humanitarian and an economic catastrophe of enormous proportions. Afghans are going hungry and are dying for entirely preventable reasons. The UN has warned that poverty will be a universal condition in a matter of months, with 97% of the country living on less than $1.90 per day. One out of two children under five may be acutely malnourished before the end of the year. Eight out of ten Afghans drink contaminated water. Like…
February 16, 2022
Press Release
Amnesty Committed to Continuing its Work in Thailand Despite Calls for Expulsion
Amnesty International has had a longstanding presence in Thailand and is committed to continuing to promote and protect human rights for people in the country despite calls for it to be expelled, the organization said today.
February 16, 2022
Report
Tigrayan Forces Murder, Rape and Pillage in Attacks on Civilians in Amhara Towns in Ethiopia
Fighters affiliated with the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) deliberately killed dozens of people, gang-raped dozens of women and girls – some as young as 14 – and looted private and public property in two areas of northern Ethiopia’s Amhara region, Amnesty International said in a new report released today.
February 15, 2022
Press Release
Aleksei Navalny facing up to 15 years behind bars in new ‘sham’ prison trial
Responding to the news that jailed political opposition leader Aleksei Navalny will face a new criminal trial in prison on February 15 for alleged embezzlement and contempt of court, Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, said: “Evidently unsatisfied with the prison sentences already handed down to Aleksei Navalny, the Russian authorities are trying him again behind the barbed wire walls of a prison in what they have cynically described as an ‘open court hearing’. This sham trial, attended by prison guards rather than the media, breaks international human rights law and clearly deprives Navalny of…
February 15, 2022
Press Release
New Research Finds Facial Recognition Technology Is Reinforcing Racist Stop-and-Frisk Policing in New York
New Yorkers living in areas at greater risk of stop-and-frisk by police are also more exposed to invasive facial recognition technology (FRT), new research by Amnesty International and partners has revealed.
February 14, 2022
Update
Amnesty International Statement for the Record for Feb. 15 Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission Hearing on Northern Ireland
On February 14, 2022, Amnesty International USA and UK submitted a statement for the record ahead of a February 15 Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission hearing on "Northern Ireland: Accountability at Risk." The statement expresses concern regarding the UK government's plans to deal with the legacy of the Northern Ireland conflict. The proposals amount to a de facto amnesty for security forces of the United Kingdom and other perpetrators of human rights violations and will close all paths to justice for victims. These plans have been unequivocally rejected by the Irish government, Northern Ireland political parties, human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, victims’ groups, and…
February 14, 2022
Report
Pharmaceutical companies’ failure on equal COVID-19 vaccine access contributed human rights catastrophe in 2021
Despite urgent calls to ensure the equal distribution of Covid-19 vaccines in 2021, pharmaceutical companies tragically failed to rise to the challenge of a once-in-a-century global health and human rights crisis. Instead, they monopolized technology, blocked and lobbied against the sharing of intellectual property, charged high prices for vaccines and prioritized supplies to wealthy countries, said Amnesty International today in a new assessment of the leading Covid-19 vaccine developers.
February 14, 2022
Press Release
Statement on “Freedom Convoy” Blockade
Amnesty International has been following with great concern the developments relating to the “Freedom Convoy” blockade in Ottawa.
February 11, 2022