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Press Release

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

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

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

Press Release

Girls in Afghanistan must be allowed to return to secondary school and continue their education, Amnesty International said today as it published new testimonies from pupils and teachers documenting Taliban threats and violence.

October 14, 2021

Report

The Curaçaoan and Dutch authorities have violated the rights of Venezuelans seeking international protection in Curaçao, Amnesty International said today in the new report, Still no Safety: Venezuelans denied protection in Curaçao. The organization documented 22 cases of Venezuelans, including children, who have been subjected to human rights violations such as automatic detention under inhumane conditions, ill-treatment, family separations and the denial of their right to seek asylum.

October 11, 2021

Update

Just weeks after a devastating earthquake in August that killed, injured, and displaced hundreds of thousands in Haiti, the Biden administration callously began mass deporting Haitian asylum-seekers, including toddlers, under the misuse of its Title 42 public health authority.

October 7, 2021

Press Release

Last month, Amnesty International USA announced that Alexandra Durbak has been elected Chair of its Board of Directors, effective September 19, 2021. Durbak is a long-time member of Amnesty International, having first gotten involved with AIUSA in high school, and has demonstrated her commitment to advancing and defending human rights – including freedom of expression and women’s rights – throughout her professional and personal endeavors. Currently serving as Director of Ecosystem Strategy at Eisai and a previous Global Leadership Fellow at the World Economic Forum, Durbak has held global roles in international business, innovation, financial services, development, and partnerships for…

October 7, 2021

Press Release

Taliban forces unlawfully killed 13 ethnic Hazaras, including a 17-year-old girl, in Afghanistan’s Daykundi province after members of the security forces of the former government surrendered, a new investigation by Amnesty International has revealed.

October 4, 2021

Press Release

Yesterday the D.C. Circuit Court granted the government’s request for stay in Huisha-Huisha v. Mayorkas, allowing the Biden administration to continue expelling families and children to danger under its inhumane Title 42 policy. Two weeks ago a federal judge ruled Title 42 illegal, issuing an injunction that would have taken effect today. The Biden administration’s decision to continue defending the policy in court has put that injunction on pause. The consequences for families and children seeking safety will be deadly.

October 1, 2021

Press Release

Today, Congress passed a continuing resolution that includes funding to support Afghans arriving to the United States and ensures that Afghans arriving on humanitarian parole have access to refugee resettlement benefits.

September 30, 2021

Press Release

The past few months have underscored that American’s rights to abortion remain under attack. Earlier this month, S.B. 8 went into effect in Texas, effectively banning abortions as early as six weeks – before many people even know they are pregnant – and privatizing enforcement against abortion providers. Later this year, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in response to a Mississippi legal case that threatens to overturn decades-old abortion protections established under Roe v. Wade.

September 28, 2021

Update

Classified as a non-self-governing territory by the United Nations, Western Sahara has been under de-facto annexation by Morocco since the late 1970s. Morocco controls three-fourths of Western Sahara via unilateral annexation, with the  Polisario Front, the Sahrawi liberation movement party which fought a war against Morocco for an independent state, controlling the remaining portion. In 1979, the UN via Resolution 34/37 called on Morocco to end its occupation and recognized “the inalienable right of the people of Western Sahara to self-determination and independence,” as it has done several times since including in 1990 and even just last year. In 1991,…

September 27, 2021