Below you’ll find breaking news as well as reports, updates on our campaigns, and victories.
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Update
Statement from Amnesty International USA For the House Africa Subcommittee Hearing Update on COVID-19 in Africa
Statement from Amnesty International USA highlights multiple crises being exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic in Africa and why addressing all of them: the economic, political and social human rights and immediate health crisis will be essential to defeating the crisis. Statement from Amnesty International USA on the COVID-19 Crisis in Africa For the House Africa Subcommittee March 17, 2021 Prepared by Adotei Akwei, Dep. Director Advocacy and Government Relations, AIUSA Chairwoman Bass, Ranking Member Smith and member of the subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, and Global Human Rights, on behalf of the 10 million members, supporters and activists…
March 18, 2021
Update
Amnesty International USA statement for Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on Gun Violence
On March 18, 2021, Amnesty International USA submitted a statement for the record ahead of a Senate Committee on the Judiciary hearing on Constitutional and Common Sense Steps to Reduce Gun Violence on March 23, 2021. Click here to read the statement Dear Chairman Durbin, Ranking Member Grassley, and Members of the Committee: On behalf of Amnesty International USA (“AIUSA”), we commend the Committee on the Judiciary for holding this hearing on Constitutional and Common Sense Steps to Reduce Gun Violence. We request that the following statement be submitted for the hearing record. In 2019 nearly 40,000 people died by…
March 18, 2021
Press Release
Georgia Shooting Yet Another Cry for U.S. Government Action to End Gun Violence, Confront Misogyny, and Denounce Anti-AAPI Hate
“This morning, an entire community and nation are waking up traumatized because of yet another hate-fueled mass shooting. We are witnessing the results of what happens when racist and misogynistic ideologies collide in a society where there is also easy access to guns. This isn’t just trauma — it stands as a blatant assault of the human rights of women, of Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI), and their allies.
March 17, 2021
Update
Amnesty International Letter to Secretary Kerry on Human Rights Priorities for Addressing the Global Climate Crisis
On March 17, 2021, Amnesty International USA sent a letter to Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry outlining human rights priorities for addressing the global climate crisis. Click here to read the letter Dear Secretary Kerry: Amnesty International welcomes President Biden’s decision to recommit the U.S. to the Paris Agreement, and his efforts to host a Leaders’ Climate Summit, convene a Major Economies Forum, and that wielding U.S. influence to enhance global climate ambition is an official priority of his administration, including at the G7 Leaders’ Summit on June 11-13, at the G20 Leaders’ Summit on October 30-31, and…
March 17, 2021
Update
Joint Letter on FY 2022 Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Bill
On March 15, 2021, Amnesty International USA joined 244 organizations in a letter to Congressional leaders to call for transformative change to bring justice and humanity to the U.S. immigration system. The letter urged lawmakers to cut funding for ICE and CBP's overall budgets by at least 50%, reduce the ICE Custody Operations account by at least 75%, refuse to provide funding for border wall/barrier construction, and restrict DHS authority to transfer and reprogram funding to ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations account. Click here to read the letter
March 16, 2021
Update
Amnesty International Letter to Attorney General Garland Calling for an Investigation into Capitol Insurrection
On March 11, 2021, Amnesty International USA sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland urging him to conduct a prompt, thorough and impartial investigation into the storming of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, including, but not limited to examining the role of former President Trump, former White House staff, Members of Congress, and white supremacist and other hate groups and militias in inciting, planning, and executing coordinated actions that resulted in the death of seven people. Click here to read the letter Dear General Garland: Amnesty International USA urges you to conduct a prompt, thorough and impartial investigation…
March 12, 2021
Update
Joint Letter in Support of an Immediate Vote on the NO BAN Act
On March 11, 2021, Amnesty International and 138 organizations wrote to House Democratic Leadership to urge them to bring the NO BAN Act to the floor for a vote immediately. The NO BAN Act would check any President’s ability to discriminate on the basis of religion, rescind initiatives to unlawfully limit the right to seek asylum at the U.S. border, and remove impediments placed on refugees who are already subject to more vetting than any other group entering the U.S. Click here to read the letter Dear Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Hoyer: As civil rights and liberties organizations, immigration…
March 12, 2021
Update
Amnesty International USA joins NGO coalition call for Biden Administration to incorporate college- and university-based sponsorship initiatives as a critical component of expanding opportunities for U.S. institutions to sponsor refugees formally
Amnesty International and NGO coalition call for Biden Administration to incorporate college- and university-based sponsorship initiatives as a critical component of expanding opportunities for U.S. institutions to sponsor refugees formally. March 9, 2021 The Honorable Antony Blinken The Honorable Norris Cochran U.S. Department of State …
March 11, 2021
Update
Amnesty International USA Board of Directors letter to Secretary Mayorkas
On March 11, 2021, Amnesty International USA's Board of Directors wrote to Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas to urge him to act on the promise of President Biden’s immigration agenda by building an immigration enforcement system based on humanity, compassion, fairness, and respect. As initial steps, Amnesty International USA calls on the Department of Homeland Security to release people in immigration detention through an affirmative file review process with a presumption of liberty, end family detention, and end the use of facilities run by private prison companies and county jails for immigration detention. Click here to read the letter…
March 11, 2021
Update
Amnesty International launches A Fair Shot: Universal Access to COVID-19 Vaccines campaign
Amnesty International has launched a new global campaign calling for universal access to vaccines and calling for pharmaceutical companies to share their knowledge and technology to maximize the number of doses of vaccines available around the globe. It also calls on states to stop engaging in ‘vaccine nationalism’ and work together to ensure that those most at-risk of COVID-19 in all countries can access life-saving COVID-19 vaccines immediately. COVID-19: PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES AND RICH STATES PUT LIVES AT RISK AS VACCINE INEQUALITY SOARS 11 March 2021, 00:01 UTC Amnesty launches global campaign calling for universal access to COVID-19 vaccines Rich countries…
March 11, 2021
Press Release
Amnesty International USA Responds to Andrea Sahouri Being Found Not Guilty
Today, a jury in Polk City Iowa found Des Moines Register journalist Andrea Sahouri, who was arrested at a Black Lives Matter protest in 2020 simply for doing her job as a reporter, not guilty on charges of “failure to disperse” and “interference with official acts.” The prosecutor insisted on moving ahead with a trial for two simple misdemeanors, which carried the potential to result in a fine, a 30-day jail sentence, or both.
March 10, 2021