Below you’ll find breaking news as well as reports, updates on our campaigns, and victories.
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Update
Amnesty International USA urges a vote “YES” on H.R. 8, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2021, and H.R. 1446, the Enhanced Background Checks Act of 2021
Amnesty International USA vote recommendations on House gun safety bills Dear Representative: On behalf of Amnesty International USA (“AIUSA”), we urge you to vote YES on the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2021 (H.R. 8) and the Enhanced Background Checks Act of 2021 (H.R. 1446). If passed, these bills would require a background check prior to the purchase of any firearm in the U.S., with limited exceptions, and strengthen background check procedures to be followed before a federal firearms licensee may transfer firearms to a private individual. Universal and enhanced background checks would close deadly loopholes, preventing threats to…
March 10, 2021
Press Release
Majority of U.S. Adults Support Government Action to Require COVID-19 Vaccine Manufacturers Share Formulas, Forego Patents to Hasten Deployment of Vaccines Globally
Almost seven in ten U.S. adults (69%) think governments should ensure vaccine science and know-how is shared with qualified manufacturers, alongside adequately compensating the vaccine developers, rather than remaining the exclusive property of a handful of pharmaceutical giants.
March 9, 2021
Update
Amnesty Statement for House Foreign Affairs Committee Hearing on the Biden Administration’s Priorities for U.S. Foreign Policy
On March 9, 2021, Amnesty International USA submitted a statement for the record ahead of a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing titled "The Biden Administration’s Priorities for U.S. Foreign Policy" on March 10. Click here to read the statement Dear Chair Meeks, Ranking Member McCaul, and Members of the Committee: On behalf of Amnesty International and our 10 million members, activists, and supporters worldwide, we urge the Biden administration to implement the following human rights policy recommendations. Our recommendations focus on five global themes[1]: (1) internet shutdowns and restrictions; (2) Big Tech complicity in censorship; (3) government attacks on civil…
March 9, 2021
Update
Amnesty Statement for House Foreign Affairs Committee Hearing on COVID-19 and International Development
On March 9, 2021, Amnesty International USA submitted its statement for the record ahead of a House Foreign Affairs Committee Subcommittee on International Development, International Organizations and Global Corporate Social Impact hearing titled “A Year into the Pandemic: The State of International Development” on March 10. Click here to read the statement March 9, 2021 Subcommittee on International Development COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES WASHINGTON,…
March 9, 2021
Press Release
Iowa Prosecutors Must Drop Criminal Charges Against Journalist Andrea Sahouri
The Polk County attorney in Iowa, USA, should immediately drop the spurious criminal charges against 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, Amnesty International said today.
March 4, 2021
Update
Amnesty International’s Top Human Rights Priorities for the National Security Council
On March 4, 2021, Amnesty International USA wrote to Shanthi Kalathil, Coordinator for Democracy and Human Rights at the National Security Council, to share the organization's top human rights priorities for the Biden administration. Click here to read the letter March 4, 2021 Ms. Shanthi Kalathil Coordinator for Democracy and Human Rights National Security Council White House Re: Amnesty International USA -- Top Human Rights Priorities Dear Ms. Kalathil: On behalf of Amnesty International and our 10 million members, activists, and supporters worldwide, we urge the Biden administration to implement the following human rights policy recommendations. Our recommendations…
March 4, 2021
Press Release
Amnesty International USA Responds to House Passage of the Justice in Policing Act
This evening, the House of Representatives passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act (HR 1280), moving the bill, identical to the one in the 116th Congress, immediately to the floor for a vote out of regular order. In response to the vote, Kristina Roth, Senior Advocate for Criminal Justice Programs at Amnesty International USA, released the following statement:
March 3, 2021
Press Release
Celebrating Paul O’Brien’s Appointment As New Executive Director and a New Chapter for the Human Rights Organization in the United States
Today, Amnesty International USA (AIUSA) announced the appointment of Paul O’Brien as its new Executive Director, following an extensive global search that led the Board of Directors to unanimously pick O’Brien to assume the leadership of AIUSA. O’Brien, who officially joins AIUSA on April 15, brings a wealth of experience in international leadership, coming to the organization after 14 years at Oxfam America where he oversaw campaigning, policy, and advocacy.
March 3, 2021
Press Release
Rainbow Halo Women’s Acquittal Shows Tactics of Intimidation Against Activists in Poland
Responding to the acquittal of three women human rights activists in Poland on charges of ‘offending religious beliefs’ for distributing posters of the Virgin Mary with a halo in the rainbow colors of the LGBTI pride flag, Catrinel Motoc, Senior Campaigner in Amnesty International’s Europe Regional Office said:
March 2, 2021
Press Release
Amid Surging Death Toll in Myanmar, End Use of Lethal Force Immediately
Responding to the reports that 18 people were killed and many more wounded as police and military forces confronted peaceful protesters across Myanmar, Emerlynne Gil, Deputy Regional Director for Research of Amnesty International said: “It is shocking and deeply alarming that the police and military responded with lethal force against entirely peaceful protesters, leading to a surge in fatalities yesterday. These protesters must be allowed to exercise the right to gather peacefully to express their opinion about the country’s current situation.
March 1, 2021
Update
Amnesty International USA and Hundreds of US Civil Society Organizations Urge Pres. Biden to Support COVID-19 WTO Waiver to Boost Vaccines, Treatments Worldwide
Amnesty International joined 400 civil society groups to urge the White House support an emergency COVID-19 waiver of World Trade Organization (WTO) intellectual property rules, so that greater supplies of vaccines, treatments, and diagnostic tests can be produced in as many places as possible as quickly as possible. The pandemic cannot be stopped anywhere unless vaccines, tests, and treatments are available everywhere, so variants that evade current vaccines do not develop. The Honorable Joe Biden President of the United States The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20500 February 26, 2021 To Help End the Pandemic as…
February 26, 2021
Report
Eritrean Troops’ Massacre of Hundreds of Axum Civilians May Amount to Crime Against Humanity
Eritrean troops fighting in Ethiopia’s Tigray state systematically killed hundreds of unarmed civilians in the northern city of Axum on November 28-29, 2020, opening fire in the streets and conducting house-to-house raids in a massacre that may amount to a crime against humanity, Amnesty International said today in a new report.
February 25, 2021