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Press Release

New IRAP Report Recommends Actions to Tackle Climate Displacement

Today, the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) released a new report, “Opportunities to Address Climate Displacement in the U.S.,” which outlines the legal protection gaps that prevent people displaced by climate change from finding safety and what the United States can do to address them. The report’s publication coincides with the report prepared by the President’s National Security Advisor on the impact of climate change on migration, which the White House is expected to receive by August 4.

August 2, 2021

Update

Amnesty International’s Statement for the Record on Cuba’s Crackdown on Freedom of Expression – House Western Hemisphere Subcommittee Hearing

On July 20, 2021 Amnesty International USA's Americas Advocacy Director, Amy Fischer, submitted the following statement for the record to the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Western Hemisphere, Civilian Security, Migration and International Economic Policy Subcommittee hearing on "Historic Protests in Cuba and the Crackdown on Free Expression." In the statement, Amnesty International USA (AIUSA) details reports of detentions of peaceful protestors, surveillance of journalists and protestors, disruptions of communication mediums, and limiting family members ability to communicate with their detained relatives. AIUSA calls upon the the U.S. Government to urge Cuban authorities to stop repressing peaceful demonstrators and guartuntee the…

July 30, 2021

Guns sold in a Walmart in Louisiana. Photographs taken during research missions to Louisiana in 2018 and 2019. Amnesty has been conducting research on gun-related domestic violence and its impact on women, and in particular women with intersectional identities. The research examines the laws on gun ownership in situations of domestic violence and the gaps in the legal framework, but it focuses on implementation and its discriminatory impact. The main focus of this work is on how inadequacies in the criminal justice system, including policing and prosecution, fail to ensure protection of survivors of violence as well as, in some cases, actively harming them. In particular, the research focuses on negative impacts on survivors with intersectional aspects of their identity such as Black women, undocumented women, Indigenous women, women living in poverty, LBTI women, etc. The research also seeks to examine how gender stereotypes and patriarchal attitudes shape agencies’ response to domestic violence.

Update

Coalition Letter Urges Support for the Break the Cycle of Violence Act (S. 2275, H.R. 4118)

On June 30, Amnesty International USA and 100 human rights, civil rights, racial justice, religiously affiliated, and gun safety organizations wrote to members of Congress in support of the Break the Cycle of Violence Act (S. 2275, H.R. 4118). The letter urged Congress to act urgently to pass the bill to ensure at least $5 billion in federal funding over eight years for community gun violence prevention programs that save lives.

July 30, 2021

Photo by Epics/Getty Images

Sheet of paper Report

Risky Business: Top 10 Leading Venture Capital Firms Failing in their Responsibility to Respect Human Rights

Almost none of the world’s largest venture capitalist (VC) firms have adequate human rights due diligence policies in place, Amnesty International reveals today in a landmark report.

July 30, 2021

Press Release

Abbott’s Executive Order GA-37 is an Unconstitutional Attack on Humanitarian Organizations

The #WelcomeWithDignity campaign condemned Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s executive order GA-37 directing Department of Public Safety officials to stop any vehicle suspected of transporting migrants and return it to a port of entry. Governor Abbott’s executive order is based on shoddy science and racism. Leading public health officials have said time and time again that the United States can welcome people seeking asylum with science-based measures that will mitigate the risk of Covid-19 transmission. 

July 29, 2021

Lebanese anti-government protester waves a national flag during clashes with security forces in front of the Serail (headquarters of the Governorate), in the northern port city of Tripoli, following a demonstration to protest against the economic situation, on January 28, 2021. - Tripoli was already one of Lebanon's poorest areas before the coronavirus pandemic piled new misery onto a chronic economic crisis. Many of its residents have been left without an income since Lebanon imposed a full lockdown earlier this month in a bid to stem a surge in Covid-19 cases and prevent its hospitals from being overwhelmed.

Update

Amnesty International Statement for the Record on Lebanon’s Humanitarian Crisis and Need for U.S. Action – House Middle East and North Africa Subcommittee Hearing

On July 28, 2021, Amnesty International USA’s Middle East and North Africa advocacy director Philippe Nassif and Mustafa Kassem Fellow Amit Dadon submitted the following statement for the record to the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Middle East and North Africa Subcommittee July 29th hearing on “Lebanon: Assessing Political Paralysis, Economic Crisis and Challenges for U.S. Policy”. In the statement, Amnesty International USA (AIUSA) details our research on and human rights concerns relating to the dire humanitarian crisis in Lebanon, especially as pertaining to the compounding effects of COVID-19, the lack of accountability surrounding the Beirut blast, the collapse of infrastructure,…

July 28, 2021

Press Release

#WelcomeWithDignity: Expedited Removal is a Fast Track to Danger

Last evening, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced it would begin using a process of rapid deportations known as “expedited removal” for certain families arriving at the border. Today, the #WelcomeWithDignity campaign responded with deep concern about the administration’s decision to embrace a deterrence-based policy that frequently leads to the unlawful deportation of people seeking asylum, who are often denied the chance to request protection by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers.

July 28, 2021

Light over the parliament building as people stand outside
Photo by Nacer Talel/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Press Release

Human rights in Tunisia must be upheld following suspension of parliament

Tunisian President Kais Saied should publicly commit to respecting and protecting human rights, including the rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly, after he suspended parliament and assumed some judicial powers, said Amnesty International. Concerns that human rights are at risk have heightened following an alarming raid by security forces on Al Jazeera’s office in Tunis today and the president’s threats during his speech of resorting to heavy-handed force against “those threatening state security”. “The hard-won freedoms and human rights gains of Tunisia’s 2011 uprising are at risk, particularly in the absence of a Constitutional Court to protect the…

July 26, 2021

TOPSHOT - Iraqi protesters clash with security forces on the Sinak bridge during a demonstration in the capital Baghdad on October 25, 2020, marking the first anniversary of a mass anti-government movement. - Iraqi security forces and protesters clashed in Baghdad during demonstrations to mark the first anniversary of mass anti-government protests demanding the ouster of the ruling class. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP) (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images)

Update

Amnesty International Calls on President Biden to Address Repression, Human Rights Abuses in Iraq in Meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Al-Kadhimi

On July 23, 2021, Amnesty International USA wrote to President Joe Biden urging him to raise unlawful repression and worrying human rights abuses in Iraq towards peaceful protesters, press, religious minorities, and internally displaced persons on Monday, July 26th's during Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi's scheduled White House visit. Click here to download a copy of the letter, or read below. July 23, 2021 President Joseph R. Biden 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20500 RE: Amnesty International urges President Biden to raise rights abuses against press, protesters, religious minorities, internally displaced persons (IDPs) in visit by Iraqi Prime Minister…

July 23, 2021

Press Release

Telling People Seeking Asylum ‘Do Not Come’ is Heartless and it Doesn’t Work

Yesterday, in a CNN town hall President Biden was asked about his administration’s immigration policy with regards to refugees and people seeking asylum and said: “they should not come.”  The President of the United States knows seeking asylum is a legal right under U.S. law, and a fundamental human right enshrined in international treaties and conventions--telling people seeking protection otherwise is inexcusable. Members of the #WelcomeWithDignity campaign responded: “I was in Nogales, Sonora yesterday and met a 24-year-old single mother with her two young children,” shared Laurie Benson, Founder of Madres e Hijos. “This mother fled Guerrero when her brother was…

July 22, 2021

DAYTON, OHIO, UNITED STATES - 2019/08/21: Women hold placards during a gun reform rally that was held in Dayton, Ohio in the wake of a mass shooting at the area earlier this month that left 9 dead and 27 wounded. (Photo by Megan Jelinger/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Update

Amnesty International USA Board of Directors urges Congress to pass Break the Cycle of Violence Act (S.2275, H.R.4118)

On July 20, 2021, the Board of Directors of Amnesty International USA wrote to congressional leaders to urge them to swiftly pass the Break the Cycle of Violence Act (S. 2275/H.R. 4118) to provide at least $5 billion in federal funding over eight years for community gun violence prevention programs. With sustained investment into gun violence prevention programs and a national comprehensive strategy aimed at reducing gun violence, particularly in Black and Brown communities, the U.S. can make inroads to reducing gun violence in all communities and ensure the right of everyone to live free from the threat of gun…

July 20, 2021

Update

Amnesty International Urges President Biden to Raise Human Rights Concerns in Jordan in Meeting with King Abdullah II

On July 19, 2021, Amnesty International USA wrote to President Joe Biden urging him to raise key human rights concerns in Jordan regarding refugee rights and discrimination, along with violations against freedom of speech and the press, during today's scheduled White House visit by Jordanian King Abdullah II - who will also be meeting with Secretary of State Antony Blinken on July 20. Click here to download a copy of the letter, or read below. July 19, 2021 President Joseph R. Biden The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20500 RE: Human Rights Concerns to Raise During Jordanian…

July 19, 2021