Below you’ll find breaking news as well as reports, updates on our campaigns, and victories.
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Press Release
U.S. Military Denies Misconduct Involved in Kabul Drone Strike That Killed 10 Civilians
Yesterday, senior defense officials concluded there was no misconduct among U.S. military personnel who conducted a drone strike on August 29 in Kabul that killed 10 civilians.
November 4, 2021
Press Release
US Blacklisting of NSO Group Recognizes Spyware Abuses
In response to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s decision to place cyber surveillance company NSO Group on its “entity list” for malicious cyber activity, Danna Ingleton, Deputy Director of Amnesty Tech, said: “With this move, the US government has acknowledged what Amnesty and other activists have been saying for years: NSO Group’s spyware is a tool of repression, which has been used around the world to violate human rights. This decision sends a strong message to NSO Group that it can no longer profit from human rights abuses without repercussions.
November 3, 2021
Press Release
Pfizer Reports Massive Revenues While Hurting the Chances of Millions to Get Vaccinated Against COVID-19
Responding to news that Pfizer reported $14 billion in third-quarter revenue for vaccines and is set to earn $36 billion from vaccine sales by the end of the year on the back of the Covid-19 vaccine roll-out, Patrick Wilcken, Amnesty International’s Head of Business and Human Rights, said: “That Pfizer has been able to earn billions of dollars in revenue in the last three months alone, while failing to provide vaccines to billions of people, is a failure of catastrophic proportions. Not only has the vast majority of its vaccines gone to high and upper-middle-income countries but Pfizer has also…
November 2, 2021
Press Release
A Critical Opportunity to Ban Killer Robots – While We Still Can
Amnesty International and the Stop Killer Robots campaign today unveiled a social media filter which provides a terrifying glimpse of the future of war, policing and border control. Escape the Scan, a filter for Instagram and Facebook, is part of a major campaign calling for a new international law to ban autonomous weapons systems. It uses augmented reality (AR) technology to depict aspects of weapons systems that are already in development, such as facial recognition, movement sensors, and the ability to launch attacks on ‘targets’ without meaningful human control.
November 1, 2021
Report
Over 100 Organizations Sign Letter to National Security Council Calling for More Support for Afghans at Risk
We, the undersigned leaders of 103 non-governmental organizations in the international development, humanitarian, peacebuilding, refugee, immigration and resettlement, and veterans affairs sectors, write to express our alarm at the estimated tens of thousands of at-risk Afghans who were left behind after the August 31 U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan. These individuals played key roles in efforts to strengthen Afghanistan’s government, judiciary, civil society, and media and to protect human rights. For their work, many now face the threat of violent retaliation at the hands of de-facto authorities. Given the urgency of this matter, our community respectfully requests a CEO or…
November 1, 2021
Update
Amnesty USA joins over 100 NGOs to call for the Biden Administration expedite Afghan evacuations
On October 28, 2021, Amnesty International USA's Executive Director Paul O'Brien joined with senior executives from over 100 other civil society organizations across the country to call on National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan to do more to move the most at-risk Afghans left in Afghanistan to safety. In a joint letter to the National Security Advisor, the 103 organizations expressed alarm at the slow pace of evacuations following the completion of the U.S.'s operations in Afghanistan on August 31st, 2021. The organizations also provided concrete recommendations for how the Biden Administration can move swiftly to evacuate more of Afghanistan's most…
November 1, 2021
Report
Countries across the Americas are failing to provide protection for Haitians on the move
States across the Americas are failing to provide international protection and safety for Haitians on the move, exposing them to a range of human rights violations, including detentions and illegal pushbacks by authorities; extortion; anti-Black racial discrimination; abuses by armed groups, including gender-based violence; and lack of access to adequate housing, healthcare, and employment, said Amnesty International and Haitian Bridge Alliance in a new briefing published today.
October 28, 2021
Update
Joint Statement: Biden Administration, UN Security Council Must Ensure Inclusion of Critical Human Rights Monitoring in MINURSO
In a joint statement released today, Amnesty International USA and Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights called on the Biden Administration - as the mandate's penholder - and the UN Security Council to ensure the critical inclusion of a long-overdue human rights monitoring mechanism in the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), which is expected to go to a vote on October 27th. Amnesty has thoroughly documented flagrant, unaccountable human rights abuses and crackdowns by Moroccan authorities in Western Sahara – detailed in a September white paper and an on-the-ground reports by Amnesty’s Morocco researchers in July. The administration’s penholder status…
October 25, 2021
Press Release
Oklahoma Seeks to Revive Machinery of Death Despite Unanswered Legal Questions
Today, an Oklahoma District Court held a hearing on the preliminary injunction to halt upcoming executions scheduled from October 2021-February 2022 for four people on the state’s death row.
October 25, 2021
Press Release
Amnesty International to Close its Hong Kong Offices
Amnesty International will close its two offices in Hong Kong by the end of the year, the organization announced today. The local ‘section’ office will cease operations on October 31 while the regional office – which is part of Amnesty’s global International Secretariat – is due to close by the end of 2021. Regional operations will be moved to the organization’s other offices in the Asia-Pacific.
October 25, 2021
Report
Few Routes to Safety for Afghans at Risk of Taliban Reprisals
Nearly two months since airlift operations in Afghanistan ended, those left behind face formidable obstacles to seeking safety outside the country, Amnesty International said today. In an advocacy briefing, the organization highlights how neighboring countries have closed their borders to Afghans without travel documents, leaving many with no choice but to make irregular crossings. Instead of granting protection to people who arrive on their territory in this way - as required by international law - countries across Europe and Central Asia have subjected Afghans to illegal pushbacks, detention and deportation.
October 20, 2021
Update
Amnesty International Calls on Biden Administration to Push For Western Sahara Human Rights Monitoring in UN Resolution
Today, Amnesty International USA wrote to the Biden administration regarding the upcoming United Nations Security Council debate on renewal of the mandate of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), which is expected to go to a vote on October 27th. Amnesty International strongly urges the Biden administration, representing the U.S. as the mandate’s penholder and permanent Security Council member, to ensure the critical inclusion of a human rights monitoring mechanism as it drafts and proposes the resolution for MINURSO’s renewal. Amnesty has thoroughly documented flagrant, unaccountable human rights abuses and crackdowns by Moroccan authorities in Western…
October 19, 2021