Below you’ll find breaking news as well as reports, updates on our campaigns, and victories.
If you are a member of the press, please reach out to [email protected]
Update
Human Rights on Capitol Hill – February 2022 Newsletter
Amnesty International released a Feb. 1 report documenting the Israeli government’s ongoing human rights abuses against Palestinians. The core finding of this years-long research is that the Israeli authorities are committing the crime against humanity of apartheid, both in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (“OPT”) and in Israel, and against Palestinian refugees in other countries.
February 3, 2022
Press Release
Congress Must Use Power to Advance Human Rights for All in Israel and in the Occupied Palestinian Territories
In response to the members of Congress who expressed concern with our recent report on Israeli authorities’ ongoing human rights abuses against Palestinians, including the finding that the Israeli government is committing apartheid, Amnesty International USA said: Amnesty International is committed to researching and documenting human rights abuses wherever they occur. We have issued reports on crimes against humanity committed by authorities in countries around the world, from China to Sudan to Saudi Arabia. In 2017, Amnesty International released conclusive evidence that authorities in Myanmar are committing apartheid against the Rohingya. Our sole mandate is to document and expose human…
February 2, 2022
Press Release
Biden Administration Must Uphold Human Rights for Palestinians in Israel and in the OPT
In response to yesterday and today’s comments from U.S. State Department officials on U.S. relations with Israeli and Palestinian authorities, Paul O’Brien, Executive Director at Amnesty International USA said: “Amnesty International USA appreciates the State Department’s attention to our report in yesterday’s press briefing, as well as continued committments from Secretary Blinken towards improving ‘quality of life for the Palestinian people in tangible ways’ and reiterating that ‘Israelis and Palestinians alike deserve equal measures of security, freedom, opportunity and dignity’ as Israelis. We agree. We hope the Biden administration shares our desire to have meaningful conversations about our research and,…
February 1, 2022
Report
New Report Finds Israeli Authorities Are Committing Crime Against Humanity of Apartheid Against Palestinians in Israel and in the Occupied Palestinian Territories
The Israeli government is committing the crime against humanity of apartheid against Palestinians and must be held accountable, Amnesty International said today in a new report. The research details how the Israeli government enforces a system of oppression and domination against the Palestinian people wherever it has control over their rights. Crucially, this report finds that an apartheid system extends not only to Palestinians living in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT), but also throughout Israel and to displaced refugees in other countries.
February 1, 2022
Update
Amnesty International USA statement for the record for Feb. 1 Senate Committee on Foreign Relations hearing on ‘Sudan’s Imperiled Transition’
On January 24th, 2022, Amnesty International USA's National Director for Advocacy and Government Relations Joanne Lin and Almami Cyllah Fellow Makeda Fikremariam submitted the following statement for the record to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on 'Sudan's Imperiled Transition'.In this statement, Amnesty International USA (AIUSA) details our research on human rights concerns relating to Sudan, especially following the October 25, 2021 coup, the use of lethal force by security forces and unlawful detentions. AIUSA calls on the Biden Administration and Congress to take urgent action and to call on the Sudanese government to end the continued use of lethal…
January 31, 2022
Update
Amnesty International Statement for the Record on Sudan following October 25 Coup and Need for U.S Action – Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission Hearing
On January 24th, 2022, Amnesty International USA's National Director for Advocacy and Government Relations Joanne Lin and Almami Cyllah Fellow Makeda Fikremariam submitted the following statement for the record to the House Tom Lantos Rights Commission hearing on "The Military Coup in Sudan: Implications for Human Rights". In this statement, Amnesty International USA (AIUSA) details our research on human rights concerns relating to Sudan, especially following the October 25, 2021 coup, the use of lethal force by security forces and unlawful detentions. AIUSA calls on the Biden Administration and Congress to take urgent action and to call on the Sudanese…
January 31, 2022
Press Release
Further Armed Conflict in Ukraine Would Have Devastating Consequences for the Human Rights of Millions
With the threat of Russia using military force looming, Amnesty International warns that another escalation of the armed conflict in Ukraine will have devastating consequences for human rights in the region; threatening civilian lives, livelihoods and infrastructure; driving acute food shortages; and potentially causing mass displacement.
January 27, 2022
Update
Yemen: US-made weapon used in air strike that killed scores in escalation of Saudi-led coalition attacks
The Saudi-led coalition used a precision-guided munition made in the United States in last week’s air strike on a detention center in Sa’adah, north-western Yemen, which, according to Doctors without Borders, killed at least 80 people and injured over 200, Amnesty International said today. The laser-guided bomb used in the attack, manufactured by U.S. defense company Raytheon, is the latest piece in a wider web of evidence of the use of U.S.-manufactured weapons in incidents that could amount to war crimes. Over the past week, the Saudi-led coalition (SLC) has relentlessly pounded northern Yemen with air strikes — including the…
January 26, 2022
Press Release
One year after jailing, Aleksei Navalny and his associates in a “living hell”
Over the course of the last 12 months, the Russian authorities have unleashed an unprecedented campaign of repression and reprisals against wrongfully imprisoned opposition leader Aleksei Navalny and his supporters, destroying all remnants of the rights to freedom of expression and association, Amnesty International said today on the first anniversary of the politician's arrest.
January 16, 2022
Update
Human Rights on Capitol Hill – January 2022 Newsletter
On Dec. 15 Amnesty International released No Escape: War Crimes and Civilian Harm During the Fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban. The report draws from Amnesty International’s on-the-ground research in Afghanistan and is supplemented by virtual interviews with survivors and victims’ families.
January 14, 2022
Press Release
Amnesty International verifies use of Pegasus spyware for surveillance of journalists in El Salvador
A joint investigation by Access Now and the Citizen Lab has identified the use of NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware against journalists and members of civil society organizations in El Salvador on a massive scale. Technical experts from the Amnesty International Security Lab have peer-reviewed the report and independently verified forensic evidence showing that Pegasus has been misused in the country.
January 13, 2022
Press Release
Conviction of Syrian official for crimes against humanity a historic win for justice
Responding to a decision of the Higher Regional Court in Koblenz, Germany, which has convicted former Syrian intelligence officer Anwar Raslan to life in prison for crimes against humanity, including torture, murder and rape of detainees in Branch 251, an infamous military intelligence facility in Damascus city, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa, Lynn Maalouf, said: “Today’s verdict is a historic victory that amplifies the voices of tens of thousands of survivors of unlawful detention, torture and sexual violence, as well as the voices of the families of victims who died in Syria’s prisons and…
January 13, 2022