Below you’ll find breaking news as well as reports, updates on our campaigns, and victories.
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Update
Amnesty International USA Calls on Congress to Prioritize Human Rights in National Defense Authorization Act Legislation
On September 22nd, 2021, Amnesty International USA wrote to the U.S. House of Representatives in response to continuing advancement and votes on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2022 to call on the House - and later the Senate - to prioritize human rights by passing the following amendments and ensuring inclusion in the final legislation of measures addressing critical issues. From suspending the arming of flagrant human rights violators to reducing dangerous militarization of law enforcement in the Untied States, it is essential that Congress take meaningful action for accountability and safety of at-risk communities. A…
September 23, 2021
Press Release
States Must Take Immediate Action and Deliver Surplus COVID-19 Vaccines Now, Not Next Year
In response to today’s Global Covid-19 Summit: Ending the Pandemic and Building Back Better, where US President Biden and EU President Von der Leyen announced new commitments to donate an additional 900 million to low and lower-middle income countries by September 2022, Amnesty International’s Secretary General Agnès Callamard, said: “Fair access to Covid-19 vaccines across the world is our only pathway out of this crisis so we welcome the news that the USA and the EU have committed to new targets in the fight against this pandemic.
September 22, 2021
Report
New report shows leading Covid-19 vaccine pharma companies fueling unprecedented human rights crisis
Six companies at the helm of the Covid-19 vaccine roll-out are fuelling an unprecedented human rights crisis through their refusal to waive intellectual property rights and share vaccine technology, with most failing to prioritize vaccine deliveries to poorer countries, Amnesty International said today. In a new report, A Double Dose of Inequality: Pharma companies and the Covid-19 vaccines crisis, the organization assessed six of the companies that hold the fate of billions of people in their hands: AstraZeneca plc, BioNTech SE, Johnson & Johnson, Moderna, Inc., Novavax, Inc. and Pfizer, Inc. It paints a dismal picture of an industry that…
September 21, 2021
Press Release
#WelcomeWithDignity Expresses Steadfast Solidarity with Haitians
Today, the #WelcomeWithDignity campaign expressed its disgust with Customs and Border Protection’s treatment of Haitian people seeking asylum at Del Rio, Texas. The campaign joined dozens of other national organizations and expressed steadfast solidarity with Haitian communities and Haitian-led organizations including #WelcomeWithDignity partner Haitian Bridge Alliance. The campaign called on the United States to immediately halt expulsions to Haiti, end the misuse of Title 42, and examine the pattern of unconscionable abuse of Black asylum seekers by CBP. Human Rights First and the Haitian Bridge Alliance released a fact sheet today on the Biden administration’s dangerous Haitian expulsion strategy and the U.S. history of illegal and discriminatory mistreatment…
September 21, 2021
Press Release
Taliban Wasting No Time in Stamping Out Human Rights in Afghanistan Says New Briefing
The Taliban are steadily dismantling the human rights gains of the last twenty years, said Amnesty International, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) in a new briefing published today, which documents the group’s wide-ranging crackdown since their seizure of Kabul little more than five weeks ago.
September 20, 2021
Press Release
The White House Can and Should Do More to Welcome Refugees
Responding to President Biden’s reported proposed presidential determination to admit up to 125,000 refugees this fiscal year amid the horrific treatment of Haitian asylum-seekers at the border, Paul O’Brien, the executive director of Amnesty International USA said: “Communities across the United States are ready to welcome their new neighbors, yet the White House continues to lag behind those eager to make this country their new home. At a time when thousands of Afghans have been forced to flee their home to find safety, and Haitians are seeking safety on the southern border, the very least the United States can do…
September 20, 2021
Press Release
Fair Trial Violations in Rusesabagina Trial Verdict Must Be Effectively Remedied in Rwanda
Commenting after Paul Rusesabagina, a Rwandan opposition leader, was found guilty of terrorism and sentenced to 25 years in jail in the Rwandan capital Kigali today, Amnesty International cited numerous violations in the pre-trial period which impacted the fairness of the trial.
September 20, 2021
Press Release
Failings in Investigations of Feminicides in the State of Mexico Violate Women’s Rights to Life, Physical Safety and Access to Justice
Investigations by the State of Mexico Attorney General’s Office into feminicides preceded by disappearances are seriously flawed due to the inaction and negligence of the authorities leading to evidence being lost, all lines of inquiry not being investigated, and a gender perspective not being applied correctly. These shortcomings hamper the judicial process and increase the likelihood that cases will remain unpunished, said Amnesty International in a new report released today.
September 20, 2021
Update
UK: President Biden must raise concerns with Prime Minister Johnson regarding Northern Ireland legacy proposal
On September 17, 2021, Amnesty International USA wrote to the Biden administration to draw attention to the plans announced by the UK government on July 14, 2021 to introduce a statute of limitations and remove all legal remedies relating to human rights abuses that occurred during the Northern Ireland “Troubles,” and to urge President Biden to express concern during his upcoming meeting with Prime Minister Johnson. The UK government’s proposals for dealing with the legacy of the conflict in Northern Ireland amount to a de facto amnesty for security forces of the United Kingdom and other perpetrators of human rights…
September 20, 2021
Press Release
To Protect Human Rights in Russia, Newly Elected MPs Must Repeal Repressive Laws
Newly elected members of Russia’s State Duma, or lower house of parliament, must not shirk their duty to urgently address the country’s increasingly dismal human rights record by amending repressive legislation and resuming parliamentary scrutiny of the executive, Amnesty International said today.
September 19, 2021
Press Release
US drone strike in Afghanistan admission a positive first step, but full investigation and accountability now needed
The US must now commit to a full, transparent, and impartial investigation into this incident. Anyone suspected of criminal responsibility should be prosecuted in a fair trial. Survivors and families of the victims should be kept informed of the progress of the investigation and be given full reparation.
September 17, 2021
Press Release
Tiananmen Vigil Convictions Highlight Accelerating Collapse of Freedoms in Hong Kong
Responding to the jailing after convictions for “unauthorized assembly” of 12 people who took part in a peaceful vigil to mark the Tiananmen crackdown on June 4 last year, Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific Director Yamini Mishra said: “The jailing of 12 Hongkongers who took part in an entirely peaceful, but ‘unauthorized’, vigil to commemorate the victims of China’s violent Tiananmen crackdown is another outrageous attack on the rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly.
September 15, 2021