Below you’ll find breaking news as well as reports, updates on our campaigns, and victories.
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Press Release
“Positive” Vote by Maryland Senate to Abolish the Death Penalty
Amnesty International said today the 27-20 vote to repeal the death penalty by the Maryland Senate is “a positive development for human rights,” but asserted the bill will be “incomplete” until funds for victims’ families are restored.
March 6, 2013
Press Release
Drone Transparency Not Enough; Obama Must Follow the Law
Zeke Johnson, director of Amnesty International USA’s Security with Human Rights campaign, issued the following in response to Attorney General Eric Holder’s appearance today in front of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee.
March 6, 2013
Update
Maryland Senate Endorses Death Penalty Abolition
Maryland's Senate passes the death penalty repeal bill. The stage now moves to the House, where the fight continues to fund victims' families as a priority.
March 6, 2013
Update
Is North Korea Turning Into One Big Prison?
Amnesty International is releasing new satellite images today that raise fears that the North Korean government is starting to blur the line between the country’s horrendous political prison camps and regular villages.
March 6, 2013
Update
Drones, Filibusters, Kill Lists and More
The Obama administration claims its use of drones to kill is "legal", "ethical", and "wise". But we’re not buying it.
March 6, 2013
Press Release
Mexico Still Waiting for Real Advances on Human Rights After Peña Nieto’s First 100 Days
As President Enrique Peña Nieto completes his first 100 days in office, the few human rights measures his government has taken on simply do not match the gravity of Mexico’s challenges.
March 5, 2013
Press Release
Brennan Vote Underscores Need to Release Drone Memos and Torture Report
Zeke Johnson, director of Amnesty International USA’s Security with Human Rights Campaign, issued the following statement in advance of the U.S. Senate Select Intelligence Committee’s vote on John Brennan for Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director.
March 5, 2013
Press Release
Holder Must Answer Tough Questions on Drones and Guantanamo
Zeke Johnson, director of Amnesty International USA’s Security with Human Rights campaign, issued the following statement in advance of U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder’s appearance in front of the U.S. Senate Judiciary committee.
March 4, 2013
Press Release
National Rifle Association Slammed for Deceptions in Opposing International Arms Trade Treaty
Weeks before crucial talks begin at the United Nations to finalize a global Arms Trade Treaty, Amnesty International will host an open media breakfast with hip hop artist and humanitarian Emmanuel Jal and Virginia Tech shooting survivor Colin Goddard.
March 4, 2013
Press Release
Russian Embassy Rejects Amnesty International’s Global Solidarity Map on First Anniversary of Pussy Riot’s Arrest
Amnesty International attempted to deliver the Free Pussy Riot World Map to the Russian Embassy in Washington, D.C. today. Russian officials refused to accept it.
March 4, 2013
Update
‘Why is the World Doing Nothing?’ – Cluster Bomb Attack by the Syrian Army in Aleppo
Whoever orders these relentless indiscriminate attacks – including with internationally banned cluster bombs – and the pilots who drop these bombs do so knowing that they will kill and maim children and other civilians who have nothing to do with the conflict.
March 4, 2013
Update
North Korea: Stories From The Forgotten Prisons
This is the first of several postings of the North Korea Revealed blogging series, published in the context of efforts to establish a Commission of Inquiry at the current session of the UN Human Rights Council (February 25 – March 22). Join the conversation through #NKRevealed. I was born in North Korea in 1982. I was born in a political prison camp (…) and lived there until I escaped in 2005 (…) I was born to an imprisoned mother and father. —Shin Dong-hyuk, the only known North Korean born in a political prison camp to have escaped. Shin’s shocking story…
March 4, 2013