Below you’ll find breaking news as well as reports, updates on our campaigns, and victories.
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Press Release
Syrian refugee women in Lebanon face heightened risk of exploitation and sexual harassment
Shortfalls in international assistance and discriminatory policies imposed by the Lebanese authorities are creating conditions that facilitate the exploitation and abuse of women refugees in Lebanon, said Amnesty International in a new report published ahead of the Syria Donors Conference in London on February 4.
February 1, 2016
Press Release
Dutch plan for EU refugee swap with Turkey is morally bankrupt
A new plan to tackle unprecedented refugee flows to Europe, mooted by the Dutch Presidency of the European Union today, is fundamentally flawed since it would hinge on illegally returning asylum seekers and refugees from Greece to Turkey.
January 28, 2016
Press Release
Danish Parliament should reject cruel and regressive changes to refugee law
Proposed changes to Denmark’s refugee law would have a devastating impact on vulnerable people who, in addition to having assets seized, would be forced to wait years for the chance to reunite with their family members trapped in warzones and refugee camps, said Amnesty International today.
January 19, 2016
Press Release
Female refugees face physical assault, exploitation and sexual harassment on their journey through Europe
Governments and aid agencies are failing to provide even basic protections to women refugees traveling from Syria and Iraq. New research conducted by Amnesty International shows that women and girl refugees face violence, assault, exploitation and sexual harassment at every stage of their journey, including on European soil.
January 15, 2016
Press Release
Forcible return of more than 100 refugees to Syria from Lebanon a shocking setback
More than 100 Syrian refugees have been forcibly returned to Syria by the Lebanese authorities today, Amnesty International has learned. Around 150 others are still stranded at Beirut’s Rafic Hariri International Airport and are at risk of imminent deportation in the coming hours. The authorities are reportedly planning to force them to leave on the next flight at 9:30 pm local time.
January 8, 2016
Press Release
First of 17 Detainees Transferred from Guantánamo
Last month, U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter approved the transfer of 17 detainees from the Guantánamo detention site. Today, Khalid al Dhuby and Mahmoud Omar Bin Atef became the first to be transferred. In response, Naureen Shah, director of Amnesty International's Security and Human Rights program, issued the following statement.
January 6, 2016
Press Release
International Migrants Day: Governments Must Address Crisis
Governments must act to protect migrants fleeing through the same routes and exposed to the same abuses as refugees, said Amnesty International on International Migrants Day.
December 18, 2015
Press Release
Jordan: Imminent deportation of Darfuris to Sudan is an ‘absolute disgrace’
Jordan must not deport the approximately 800 Sudanese asylum-seekers currently being held near Queen Ali International Airport in Amman, Amnesty International said today. The asylum-seekers were taken from outside UNHCR’s office in the capital Amman in the early hours of Wednesday morning and transferred to an industrial area by the airport.
December 18, 2015
Press Release
Turkey: EU risks complicity in violations as refugees and asylum-seekers locked up and deported
The European Union (EU) is in danger of being complicit in serious human rights violations against refugees and asylum-seekers, said Amnesty International today, as it published damning evidence that the Turkish authorities have been unlawfully apprehending, detaining and pressuring refugees and asylum-seekers to return to warzones.
December 16, 2015
Press Release
Commission Action against Hungary Step Towards Restoring Rights of Refugees
The opening of the infringement procedure by the European Commission against Hungary in relation to its asylum law that entered into force in August and September this year is an important step towards ensuring Hungary’s compliance with European Union (EU) law, and restoring the rights of asylum seekers to fair and effective asylum determination proceedings.
December 10, 2015
Press Release
Risk of humanitarian disaster in Jordan as 12,000 refugees from Syria stranded in ‘no man’s land’
Jordan must take immediate action to assist up to 12,000 refugees who have been denied entry to the country and are struggling to survive in desperate, freezing conditions in “no man’s land” on the Jordanian side of the border with Syria, said Amnesty International. Those stranded include pregnant women, young children, elderly people and people suffering from serious medical conditions.
December 9, 2015
Press Release
U.S. Immigration Authorities Must Abide by International Obligations on Detention of Immigrants and Asylum Seekers
Over the past two months, detainees in 10 immigration detention facilities across Texas, Alabama, Louisiana, Florida and California have staged hunger strikes to protest their prolonged and indefinite detention and conditions of confinement. Many of the detainees are from South Asian, African and Central American countries and are seeking asylum in the United States. Despite passing credible fear interviews, they have been held in detention for prolonged periods of time, one as long as two years, as they seek protection, according to advocacy and immigrant rights organizations such as D.R.U.M., #Not1more and Grassroots Leadership.
December 9, 2015