Below you’ll find breaking news as well as reports, updates on our campaigns, and victories.
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Press Release
Judge to government: promptly and safely release kids from detention centers
Responding to a decision by Judge Dolly M. Gee of the United States District Court directing the government to make every effort to promptly and safely release children currently being held in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) custody, including children subjected to the so-called “Remain in Mexico” program, or the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), Denise Bell, researcher for refugee and migrant rights at Amnesty International USA said: “It is well past time that children were released. No child should ever be detained because of their immigration status and the continued detention of children as…
April 24, 2020
Press Release
Failures to guarantee safe access to abortion in Europe endangers health of women, girls amid COVID-19
European governments should urgently guarantee safe and timely access to abortion care for women and girls in the region during the COVID-19 pandemic, 100 nongovernmental organizations said today. Many women and girls in Europe are struggling to safely access abortion care during the pandemic as barriers caused by highly restrictive abortion laws and onerous administrative requirements to access abortion services make safe access to this essential health care extremely difficult. The call comes as Poland’s parliament prepares to debate a draconian new law that would make one of the region’s most highly restrictive abortion laws significantly more stringent. “European governments must act urgently to guarantee safe and timely…
April 8, 2020
Press Release
U.S. Border Closure is Cruel, Short-sighted, and Opportunistic
Responding to the United States announcement that the country will imminently close its border with Mexico and Canada, Charanya Krishnaswami, the Advocacy Director for the Americas at Amnesty International USA, said: "It's hard to imagine travel more essential than the journey an asylum-seeker makes to flee persecution. Yet today's restrictions, which empower the US to push back people who lack proper documentation, may inexcusably prevent asylum-seekers and unaccompanied children - two of the populations at greatest risk of danger - from accessing safety. "This is cruel, short-sighted, and opportunistic. Every person has the right to seek safety. Full stop." To schedule…
March 20, 2020
Press Release
State Department’s Human Rights Report Highlights Trump Administration’s Anti-Human Rights Policies
In response to the U.S. State Department releasing its third human rights report compiled under the Trump administration, Joanne Lin, national director of advocacy and governmental relations at Amnesty International USA, said:
March 11, 2020
Report
Countries cracked down on asylum and the right to protest in the Americas in 2019
As millions took to the streets to protest rampant violence, inequality, corruption and impunity, or were forced to flee their countries in search of safety, states across the Americas clamped down on the rights to protest and seek asylum last year with flagrant disregard for their obligations under domestic and international law, Amnesty International said today upon launching its annual report for the region. “2019 brought a renewed assault on human rights across much of the Americas, with intolerant and increasingly authoritarian leaders turning to ever-more violent tactics to stop people from protesting or seeking safety in another country. But…
February 27, 2020
Press Release
New Study Shows Shocking Scale of Abuse on Twitter Against Women Politicians in India
Women politicians in India face a shocking scale of abuse on Twitter, reveals data from a new study titled “Troll Patrol India: Exposing Online Abuse Faced by Women Politicians in India." The study was conducted using crowdsourcing, machine learning and data science. It reviewed hundreds of thousands of tweets sent to 95 women politicians — an analysis on an unprecedented scale in India, said Amnesty International India today.
January 23, 2020
Press Release
Why Amnesty Will Not Attend Sham C20 Meetings in Saudi Arabia
The global C20 civil society forum hosted this year by Saudi Arabia is a farcical attempt by the new G20 hosts to whitewash their dire human rights record, Amnesty International said.
January 13, 2020
Press Release
Final 2020 Congressional Funding Bills Fall Far Short of Making Human Rights a Priority
Responding to the final funding bills for Fiscal Year 2020, Amnesty International USA urges that the U.S. government must step up its contribution to global efforts to protect human rights. Earlier this week, Amnesty International USA welcomed efforts to secure $25,000,000 to aid in research around gun violence after recommendations from 160 medical, public health, and research organizations. Although Amnesty International USA acknowledges that these funds are a long overdue step in the right direction, the overall 2020 spending bill does little to restrict the human rights abuses to which the administration has subjected asylum seekers. “We are deeply…
December 19, 2019
Update
Statement on the Impact of US Counter terrorism Efforts in Africa on Human Rights before House Oversight and Reform National Security Subcommittee Dec. 17 2019
The Impact of US Counter terrorism Efforts in Africa on Human Rights Statement from Adotei Akwei Amnesty International USA for the National Security Subcommittee of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform December 17, 2019 Chairman Lynch, Ranking Member Hice and members of the House Subcommittee on National Security, on behalf of the members and supporters of Amnesty International USA, I would like to thank you for this opportunity to present our concerns and recommendations regarding US Counter terrorism (CT) efforts in Africa and their impact on human rights there. Amnesty International is a global human rights organization, launched in…
December 17, 2019
Press Release
Thousands in Iran arbitrarily detained and at risk of torture in chilling post-protest crackdown
Iran’s authorities are carrying out a vicious crackdown following the outbreak of nationwide protests on November 15, arresting thousands of protesters as well as journalists, human rights defenders and students to stop them from speaking out about Iran’s ruthless repression, said Amnesty International today. The organization has carried out interviews with dozens of people inside Iran who described how, in the days and weeks during and following the protests, the Iranian authorities have held detainees incommunicado and subjected them to enforced disappearance, torture and other ill-treatment. At least 304 people were killed and thousands were injured between November 15 and 18 as authorities crushed…
December 15, 2019
Press Release
The Only Person Making Decisions About Pregnancy Should be the Pregnant Person
Amnesty international USA's director of the Gender, Sexuality and Identity Program, Tarah Demant, said the following in regards to regulations on requirements for ultrasounds for people seeking abortions in Kentucky: "The only person who should be making decisions about a pregnancy is the person who is pregnant. The regulation in Kentucky is meant to slowly chip away at people's rights to their own bodily autonomy with medically unnecessary interventions. "What is at stake with this law and those like it is the right of people to control their own bodies." More information about Amnesty International USA's work on abortion is available here. Media contact:…
December 9, 2019
Press Release
Categorizing Feminism, Atheism, Homosexuality as Crimes Exposes Saudi Arabia’s Dangerous Intolerance
Responding to an official announcement and a promotional video published by Saudi Arabia’s state security agency which categorizes feminism, homosexuality and atheism as ‘extremist ideas,’ Heba Morayef, Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Director, said:
November 12, 2019