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Press Release
President Biden Fails to Give Reassurance to Afghans At Risk
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
Amnesty International USA and nine other organizations press President Biden to speed evacuations
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 Call on President Biden to Evacuate at Risk Afghans
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
Press Release
Taliban responsible for brutal massacre of Hazara men – new investigation
Taliban fighters massacred nine ethnic Hazara men after taking control of Afghanistan’s Ghazni province last month, Amnesty International said today. On-the-ground researchers spoke to eyewitnesses who gave harrowing accounts of the killings, which took place between July 4-6 in the village of Mundarakht, Malistan district. Six of the men were shot and three were tortured to death, including one man who was strangled with his own scarf and had his arm muscles sliced off. The brutal killings likely represent a tiny fraction of the total death toll inflicted by the Taliban to date, as the group have cut mobile phone…
August 19, 2021
Press Release
Amnesty International USA Condemns Any Resurgence of the Remain in Mexico Policy
On Friday, a federal judge in Texas issued a preliminary injunction ordering the Department of Homeland Security to “enforce and implement MPP in good faith." Under the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) or the Remain in Mexico program, the U.S. government forcibly returned people to Mexico while they ask for asylum in the U.S.
August 19, 2021
Update
Vice President Harris: Center Human Rights in Vietnam
In recent years, human rights abuses have increased significantly in Vietnam. The United States can play a powerful role in pushing Vietnamese authorities to address violations and end further abuses. We call on Vice President Harris to focus on human rights violations during her upcoming visit to the country. Read the full letter here: AIUSA Letter on Upcoming Vietnam Trip. August 16, 2021 Vice President Kamala Harris White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington DC 20500 Re: Amnesty International USA urges Vice President Harris to raise human rights concerns on upcoming trip to Vietnam Dear Vice President Harris: On behalf…
August 16, 2021
Press Release
Every Moment the Biden Administration Does Not Course Correct in Afghanistan Could Have Horrific Consequences
Responding to the Taliban’s push into Kabul over the weekend, Amnesty International joined Freedom House in calling on President Biden to ensure the safe evacuation of human rights defenders, women’s rights activists, media workers, and individuals who have provided assistance to foreign governments and for the White House to provide a lifeline to millions of internally displaced Afghans and Afghan refugees. The human rights organizations called on the Biden Administration to work with the United Nations to develop a functioning humanitarian infrastructure to assist the people of Afghanistan and to provide justice for victims of human rights abuses. Paul O’Brien,…
August 16, 2021
Press Release
International community must act decisively in Afghanistan to avert further tragedy
Responding to the collapse of the Afghan government following the seizure of power by the Taliban and the chaotic scenes at Kabul airport as thousands of people attempt to leave the country, Agnes Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General, said: “What we are witnessing in Afghanistan is a tragedy that should have been foreseen and averted. It will only be compounded further without swift and decisive action from the international community. Thousands of Afghans at serious risk of Taliban reprisals - from academics and journalists to civil society activists and women human rights defenders - are in danger of being abandoned…
August 16, 2021
Update
As the Taliban completes its takeover of Afghanistan, Amnesty International and Freedom House call on the Biden administration to do more to protect human rights
On August 15, 2021, Amnesty International joined Freedom House to send a letter to President Biden callingon the White House to protect human rights in Afghanistan during the Taliban's final push into Kabul. Our organizations are deeply alarmed to see vulnerable Afghans including human rights defenders, women's rights activists, media workers, and individuals who have provided assistance to foreign powers find themselves trapped in the country, at risk of reprisal attacks, and with few avenues for escape. The Biden Administration's efforts to date to provide them with a viable pathway out of the country have been inadequete. The White House…
August 15, 2021
Press Release
President Biden Has the Political Support to Close the Guantanamo Detention Center
In response to the news that a Congressional letter was sent to President Biden by 75 Representatives urging him to close the military prison at Guantanamo Bay ‘once and for all,’ Daphne Eviatar, Director, Security with Human Rights at Amnesty International USA said:
August 4, 2021
Update
Amnesty International USA and 84 Civil Society Organizations call on Biden Administration to Designate New 18-month TPS For Ethiopia
Amnesty International USA joined over 80 organizations calling on Secretary of Homeland Security Mayorkas and Secretary of State Blinken to designate a new 18 month TPS for Ethiopia. - A woman carrying crops walks next to an abandoned tank belonging to Tigrayan forces south of the town of Mehoni, Ethiopia, on December 11, 2020. The town of Mehoni, located in Southern Tigray, experienced shelling resulting in civilian deaths and injured people. (Photo by EDUARDO SOTERAS / AFP) (Photo by EDUARDO SOTERAS/AFP via Getty Images) August 4, 2021 The Honorable Alejandro Mayorkas Secretary U.S. Department of Homeland Security Nebraska…
August 4, 2021
Press Release
Extending Title 42 Will Endanger Refugees, Not Stop COVID-19
Today, the #WelcomeWithDignity campaign responded with deep disappointment to the extension of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) order blocking the entry of people seeking asylum at our borders. Public health experts and asylum advocates from the campaign have made the case that the United States can safely welcome people seeking asylum.
August 3, 2021