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Press Release

In response to the mass deportation of Haitian migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border and horrific reports of Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) inhumane treatment against Black asylum-seekers, Paul O’Brien, Executive Director at Amnesty International USA said: “The horrific conduct by CBP in Del Rio, Texas, including officers charging into crowds of Haitian asylum-seekers on horseback, violently dispersing them, taunting them, and forcing them away from safety, is reprehensible and underscores a deeper problem of systemic and racist treatment against Haitian and other Black migrants in the U.S. and at the southern border.

September 24, 2021

Update

Amnesty International urges President Biden to raise critical human rights issues in his upcoming meeting with Indian Prime Minister Modi. India has seen an erosion of human rights in recent years. Freedom of expression is under threat and dissent is repressed through unlawful restrictions on peaceful protests and by silencing critics. Human rights defenders, including students, academics, journalists and artists, have been arbitrarily arrested, often without charge or trial. Amnesty International is deeply concerned about ongoing human rights abuses in the country and presses the Biden administration to address these concerns in outreach to India. The full letter is available…

September 23, 2021

Press Release

Angelina Jolie and Amnesty International have joined forces to create a resource for children and young people to learn about their rights, with the publication of a new book which empowers teenagers to speak out against injustice. Know Your Rights and Claim Them explains what child rights are, equips young people with the knowledge they need to protect themselves and others, and shows how governments are failing to uphold their commitment to child rights. It was written in collaboration with Professor Geraldine Van Bueren QC, one of the original drafters of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Angelina…

September 23, 2021

Update

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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