Below you’ll find breaking news as well as reports, updates on our campaigns, and victories.
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Update
Letter to the Acting Attorney General regarding the investigation into the events at the Capitol Building on January 6, 2021
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February 2, 2021
Press Release
Department of Homeland Security Must Stop the Deportations and Free the Families
Over one hundred leading immigration, civil rights, and human rights organizations called on the Department of Homeland Security, currently under the guidance of Acting Secretary Pekoske, to immediately halt the deportations of asylum-seeking parents and their children from the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas in a new letter today. The parents and their children, some as young as three-years-old, could be sent back to the countries from which they are seeking safety after the prior administration subjected them to unlawful and inhumane policies, such as the Third Country Asylum Transit Ban, during which these families were detained…
February 2, 2021
Press Release
UN Security Council Must Act Urgently, Hold Military Accountable in Myanmar
Ahead of the UN Security Council’s emergency closed meeting on Myanmar today, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director of Advocacy Sherine Tadros said:
February 2, 2021
Update
More than 100 organizations urge Biden to Close Guantanamo and End Indefinite Detention
February 2, 2021 President Joseph Biden The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500 Dear President Biden: We are a diverse group of non-governmental organizations working at both the local and national levels, and on issues including immigrants’ rights, racial justice, and combatting anti-Muslim discrimination. We write to urge you to close the prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and to end indefinite military detention. Among a broad range of human rights violations perpetrated against predominantly Muslim communities, Guantánamo–designed specifically to evade legal constraints, and where Bush administration officials incubated torture –is the iconic example of the post-9/11 abandonment…
February 2, 2021
Press Release
Fresh Evidence of Police Misuse of Tear Gas Leading to Protesters’ Deaths and Injuries – Updated Investigative Website
Amnesty International today published new evidence of the misuse of tear gas by security forces in several countries in the second half of 2020, including during protests around the election in Uganda, the Black Lives Matter movement in the USA, and in the repression of protesters in Lebanon.
February 1, 2021
Update
Domestic Human Rights Legislation to Advance in Congress in Early 2021
On January 27, 2021, Amnesty International USA wrote to Members of Congress outlining the organization's recommendations for domestic legislation the Judiciary Committee should advance in early 2021. Click here to read the letter January 27, 2021 Re: Domestic Human Rights Legislation to Advance in Congress in Early 2021 Dear Member of Congress: On behalf of Amnesty International and our ten million members, activists, and supporters worldwide, I am writing to share our recommendations for domestic legislation the Judiciary Committee should advance in early 2021; we ask for your support in prioritizing and supporting these issues. The list of…
February 1, 2021
Press Release
Aung San Suu Kyi, others arrested in Myanmar as military coup underway
Responding to the arrest of State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and others amid reports that a military coup is underway in Myanmar, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for Campaigns, Ming Yu Hah, said: “The arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi, senior officials and other political figures is extremely alarming. Unless those detained can be charged with a recognizable criminal offense under international law, they must be immediately released. “The Myanmar military must clarify on what legal basis they have been detained. They must also guarantee that the rights of those arrested are fully respected, including against ill-treatment, and that…
February 1, 2021
Press Release
Biden temporary freeze of arms sales to Saudi Arabia and UAE is welcome
Responding to President Joe Biden’s decision to temporarily suspend arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Philippe Nassif, advocacy director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International USA, said: “President Biden’s decision to freeze arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the UAE represents a welcome relief in an otherwise shameful chapter of history. Almost six years of conflict in Yemen, fueled by irresponsible arms transfers, have left 14 million Yemenis in dire need of humanitarian assistance. “The suspension of arms sales by the United States is a step in the right direction and…
January 28, 2021
Press Release
Restraining Order Halting the Deportations Moratorium Politicizes Safety
Responding to today’s court decision issuing a temporary restraining order halting the deportations moratorium by the Biden administration, Denise Bell, researcher for refugee and migrant rights at Amnesty International USA, said: “This pause on deportations is a necessary and critical step as the new administration seeks to undo the devastating legacy of xenophobic, racist and anti-immigrant policies instated by the previous administration, and takes steps to grapple with a deadly pandemic whose impact has been exacerbated by deportations. The safety and lives of people are being politicized at a time when the country should be coming together to improve our…
January 26, 2021
Press Release
Civil Rights Groups, Lawmakers Call On NYC And NY State To ‘Ban The Scan’, Outlaw Facial Recognition
On Tuesday, Amnesty International, the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.), New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, New York State Senator Brad Hoylman, Legal Aid Society, National Action Network, Warriors In The Garden, Immigrant Defense Project, New York Civil Liberties Union, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and other advocates held an online press conference calling on New York City and New York State to “Ban The Scan” and outlaw government use of facial recognition. Advocates say that facial recognition is an immediate threat to New Yorkers’ safety and civil rights, particularly BIPOC communities. New York would join a growing number of…
January 26, 2021
Press Release
Biden Rescinding the Global Gag Rule Welcome First Step, Congress Must Now Repeal It
Ahead of executive actions rescinding the Global Gag Rule by United States President Joe Biden, Tarah Demant, Director of the Gender, Sexuality, and Identity Program said: “The rescinding of the Global Gag Rule is a victory for human rights and for the health and lives of every woman, girl, or person who can become pregnant. “This disastrous policy undermines the human rights to health, equality, information, privacy, and expression. It’s ineffective and it is deadly: the Global Gag Rule decreases the availability of contraceptives, increases the rates of maternal death, increases the rate of closed health clinics and places poor…
January 26, 2021