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Women activists around the world have been at the forefront of the battle for human rights in 2018, Amnesty International said today as it launched its review on the state of human rights over the past year. The human rights group also warns that the actions of “tough guy” world leaders pushing misogynistic, xenophobic and homophobic policies has placed freedoms and rights that were won long ago in fresh jeopardy. “In 2018, we witnessed many of these self-proclaimed ‘tough guy’ leaders trying to undermine the very principle of equality – the bedrock of human rights law. They think their policies…

December 9, 2018

Press Release

Libyan, European and Panamanian authorities must ensure that at least 79 refugees and migrants who are on board a merchant vessel at the port of Misratah are not forced to disembark to be taken to a Libyan detention centre where they could face torture and other abuse, said Amnesty International today. The refugees and migrants, including a number of children, were found as they attempted to reach Europe by boat across the Mediterranean. Amnesty International understands that Italian and Maltese maritime authorities were involved in the operation, carried out by the merchant ship Nivin. Flying a Panamanian flag, the Nivin…

November 16, 2018

Press Release

A year after shocking images purporting to show human beings being bought and sold in Libya caused a global outcry, the situation for migrants and refugees in the country remains bleak and in some respects has worsened, said Amnesty International. Findings published by the organization today highlight how EU member states’ policies to curb migration, as well as their failure to provide sufficient resettlement places for refugees, continue to fuel a cycle of abuse by trapping thousands of migrants and refugees in appalling conditions in Libyan detention centres. “One year after video footage showing human beings being bought and sold like merchandise shocked the world,…

November 12, 2018

Press Release

Responding to news that the Senate voted to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the United States Supreme Court, Daphne Eviatar, Amnesty International USA's Director of Security with Human Rights said:   “Kavanaugh’s confirmation is devastating as unresolved questions remain about his human rights record, including in relation to the U.S. government’s use of torture and other forms of ill-treatment, such as during the CIA detention program, and as a truly thorough, impartial and transparent investigation of sexual assault allegations has not occurred."   “The vote should have never gone forward in the first place. The fact that the FBI did not even speak to those who…

October 6, 2018

Press Release

Responding to the horrific news that 24-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman Zeinab Sekaanvand was executed early this morning in Urumieh central prison, West Azerbaijan province, Philip Luther, Amnesty International’s Research and Advocacy Director for the Middle East and North Africa, said: “The execution of Zeinab Sekaanvand is a sickening demonstration of the Iranian authorities’ disregard for the principles of juvenile justice and international human rights law. Zeinab was just 17 years old at the time of her arrest. Her execution is profoundly unjust and shows the Iranian authorities’ contempt for the right of children to life. The fact that her death…

October 2, 2018

Press Release

Amnesty International USA today called on a halt to a vote on President Trump’s nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court of the United States unless and until any information relevant to Kavanaugh’s possible involvement in human rights violations—including in relation to the U.S. government’s use of torture and other forms of ill-treatment, such as during the CIA detention program—is declassified and made public.   Margaret Huang, Executive Director of Amnesty International USA said:   "Amnesty International takes no position on the appointment of particular individuals to government positions, unless they are reasonably suspected of crimes under international law and could use their appointment…

September 24, 2018

Press Release

Guatemala’s Congress must reject proposed law 5272, also known as the “Law for the Protection of Life and Family,” because it would violate the rights of thousands of women, girls and LGBTI, Amnesty International said today. “This bill actually threatens what it claims to protect: life and families,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Amnesty International Director for the Americas. “We demand that the Guatemalan Congress reject this absurd bill that puts at risk the lives and the rights of women, girls and LGBTI people, and that it dedicate its resources to protecting them through laws and policies that guarantee real equality.” Among other…

September 5, 2018

Press Release

The decision of the Argentine Senate to reject the draft bill to legalize voluntary termination of pregnancy during the first 14 weeks represents the loss of an historic opportunity for the human rights of women, girls and others who can become pregnant, Amnesty International said today. “The Argentine lawmakers chose today to turn their backs on hundreds of thousands of women and girls who have been fighting for their sexual and reproductive rights. The senators who voted against this or abstained have therefore decided to agree on a system which forces women, girls and others who can become pregnant to…

August 9, 2018

Report

A host of austerity measures implemented by the Chadian authorities is pushing people into deeper poverty, undermining access to necessary health care and putting education beyond the reach of many, Amnesty International said in a new report published today. ‘Strangled budgets, silenced dissent: The human cost of austerity measures in Chad’ documents the impact of drastic spending cuts on the rights to health and education. It also charts the government’s crackdown on protesters and activists opposed to the austerity measures implemented in response to an on-going economic crisis. “We spoke to pregnant women who were forced to delay important ante-natal…

July 15, 2018

Press Release

The Kyrgyzstani authorities must ramp up their efforts to put an immediate end to the appalling practice of “bride kidnapping”, Amnesty International said today as details emerged that an 18-year-old woman has been abducted and raped in an effort to force her to marry her attacker. The latest incident, which occurred on June 10 according to a local human rights organization, follows the kidnapping and murder of 20-year-old medical student Burulay Turdaliyeva in late May which triggered a public outrage. “These two horrific crimes have taken place within just 14 days of each other, suggesting that though laws exist to…

June 15, 2018

Press Release

Reacting to news of the victory for the “Yes” campaign in Ireland’s referendum on abortion, Colm O Gorman, Executive Director of Amnesty International Ireland said the following.

May 26, 2018

Press Release

Women and girls in Ireland finally have a once in a generation opportunity to have their right to decide what happens to their bodies recognized, said Amnesty International ahead of Friday’s referendum on abortion. The long fought-for referendum will give Irish people a chance to vote on removing a constitutional provision which bans abortion in all circumstances other than where there is a risk to the life of the pregnant woman. The provision, known as the Eighth Amendment, has meant that Ireland’s abortion law is amongst the most restrictive in the world. “On Friday, we have a historic opportunity to…

May 22, 2018