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Press Release

Responding to reports that the United States was responsible for the deaths of nine civilians, including children as young as two, in a residential neighborhood in Kabul, Paul O’Brien, the executive director of Amnesty International USA said: “Survivors awake today in Afghanistan with the unimaginable pain of having lost their loved ones with no accountability for those who have committed the airstrikes. The United States has been killing civilians in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, and Somalia for years, under the guise of the so-called “war on terror,” with impunity. The United States has a responsibility to the families of those killed…

August 30, 2021

Press Release

The past 20 years have seen a fundamental shift in how information about human rights abuses come to light – in Afghanistan and other places. The increasing availability of mobile phones and internet access – especially in urban centers – has provided a critical conduit for activists, human rights defenders, civil society and journalists to monitor events, document human rights abuses and war crimes as they occur, and mobilize for justice and accountability.

August 30, 2021

Update

On August 24th, the Coalition to End Violence Against Women and Girls Globally - co-chaired by Amnesty International USA, Futures Without Violence, Promundo-US, and the Women’s Refugee Commission - wrote to President Biden with deep concern about the growing threat to the rights and safety of women and girls in Afghanistan, and call on the Biden administration to urgently increase efforts to support Afghan women and girls. This includes by prioritizing the urgent evacuation of women’s rights defenders, particularly those already being targeted for harassment, abuse, and violence by the Taliban. The Coalition consists of more than 180 organizations dedicated…

August 27, 2021

Press Release

The Taliban and the international community must urgently reach an agreement to extend the August 31 deadline for completing evacuations out of Afghanistan, Amnesty International said today, to help protect thousands of Afghans who are increasingly at risk of violent reprisal attacks. President Joe Biden has said the U.S. is on track to pull its troops out of Afghanistan in five days, despite calls to delay the withdrawal following reports of escalating Taliban threats to human rights defenders, women and girls, ethnic and religious minorities, lawmakers and journalists. In a recent on-the-ground investigation, Amnesty International researchers revealed that nine Hazara men…

August 26, 2021

Update

On July 21st, the White House announced that U.S. President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will meet in Washington on August 30th. As the two leaders sit down to discuss a host of issues including energy security, Russia's intervention in Ukraine, and governance reform, Amnesty International urges President Biden to press his Ukrainian counterpart on Kyiv's human rights record. Specifically, Amnesty International calls on President Biden to push President Zelensky to end impunity for Ukrainian security service personnel accused of abuses, protect the LGBTI community for violent attacks by extremists, and protect survivors of gender-based violence during the…

August 25, 2021

Update

On August 25, 2021, Amnesty International USA executive director Paul O'Brien and and Amnesty International Israel executive director Molly Malekar wrote a joint letter to President Joe Biden urging him to raise and demand an end to the Israeli government's systemic human rights abuses in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories against Palestinian civilians including protestors, children, and human rights defenders in his White House meeting tomorrow with Israel Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. These flagrant violations include the illegal blockade of Gaza, violent repression and crackdowns on Palestinian demonstrators and civil society, and sweeping campaigns of unlawful forced evictions and…

August 25, 2021

Press Release

Responding to President Biden's remarks today, the executive director of Amnesty International USA, Paul O'Brien, released the following statement: "In his speech, President Biden had a lot to say about the state of Afghanistan and U.S. government efforts. But by reiterating that he will end U.S. evacuation operations by the August 31st deadline, he communicated one message to those most at risk in Afghanistan: “This White House’s preferred policy option is to abandon you to your fates.” "At this very moment, the Taliban is tracking and targeting people because of their beliefs, associations, or their identity, gender, religious affiliation, ethnic…

August 24, 2021

Press Release

The UN Human Rights Council today failed the people of Afghanistan after neglecting to establish an independent mechanism to monitor ongoing crimes under international law and human rights violations and abuses, Amnesty International said today. At the opening of today’s UNHRC special session, the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the UN Special Procedures and a host of other civil society speakers - including Amnesty International - unequivocally called for the creation of a robust investigative mechanism. Such a mechanism would allow for monitoring and reporting on human rights violations and abuses, including grave crimes under international…

August 24, 2021

Press Release

Responding to reported deliberations by the Biden administration on invoking a national security waiver to release $300 million of restricted military assistance to Egypt, Philippe Nassif, the advocacy director for the Middle East and North Africa said: “Waiving the Congressionally-imposed restriction would provide a green light for President al-Sisi's increasing crackdowns on Egyptians and further implicates the U.S. in abhorrent human rights abuses. Unconditionally backing Egypt’s security forces contradicts President Biden and Secretary of State Blinken’s stated commitments to center human rights.” Amnesty International USA calls on the Biden administration to forgo the waiver, and further halt arms sales due…

August 23, 2021

Press Release

Following President Biden's speech on the situation in Afghanistan, Paul O'Brien, Executive Director of Amnesty International USA (AIUSA), issued the following statement:

August 20, 2021

Update

On August 20, 2021, Amnesty International USA joined nine other organizations to press President Biden to speed evacuations of Afghanistan's most vulnerable people. Civil society workers, journalists, academics, women’s rights and other activists, former exchange students, and Afghans who worked with U.S., ISAF, and NATO military forces remain at grave risk of retaliatory violence at the hands of the Taliban. The United States has been party to the conflict in Afghanistan for nearly 20 years. U.S. officials have a fundamental responsibility to evacuate these people to safety. Yet even if the Biden administration meets its stated goal of evacuating up…

August 20, 2021

Press Release

Leading human rights organizations called today on President Biden to urgently do more to evacuate Afghans from harm’s way, raising concerns that the ongoing approach of the Biden administration risks jeopardizing the lives of thousands and advocating for US forces to remain on the ground until the most at-risk Afghans are safely out of the country, including past August 31. The signatories to a letter sent to President Biden include Human Rights First, Human Rights Watch, HIAS, Freedom House,  Scholars at Risk and several other organizations and express serious concerns of the credible threat of retaliation thousands of Afghans would…

August 20, 2021