Below you’ll find breaking news as well as reports, updates on our campaigns, and victories.
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Press Release
President Trump Incites Violence
In his speech, subsequent audio recording and tweets, President Trump continued to incite his supporters —leading to thousands storming and breaching the U.S. Capitol. In response, Amnesty International USA Interim Executive Director Bob Goodfellow issued the below statement: “The President’s embrace of white supremacist and violent groups has further fanned the flames of the chaos and violence we witnessed today, putting human rights and the rule of law at grave risk in the United States. All U.S. officials must respect, protect, and fulfill human rights, including to be free from violence, intimidation and racism. “Amnesty International works for a world where…
January 6, 2021
Press Release
Federal Executions in the United States Buckle Global Progress on Abolition
Ahead of the first of three federal executions scheduled to take place in 2021, with Lisa Montgomery facing execution on January 12, 2020, which would make her the first woman to be executed by the federal government in 67 years, Amnesty International’s Interim Executive Director, Bob Goodfellow said: “President Donald Trump must grant clemency to those facing execution during the last days of his administration and President-Elect Joe Biden should end the use of the federal death penalty immediately upon taking office. “After a seventeen-year hiatus in federal executions, the Trump administration resumed federal executions this last year and has…
January 6, 2021
Press Release
#StandWithOhio Coalition Calls on Gov. DeWine to Veto “Stand Your Ground” Legislation
A coalition of Ohio-based and national advocacy organizations calls on Ohio Governor Mike DeWine to veto any dangerous ‘Stand Your Ground’ legislation that is sent to his desk. Rather than prioritizing Covid-19 relief for families even as an outbreak surged through the statehouse, Republican state legislators have used the lame duck session to push through legislation that would eliminate the “duty to retreat” before shooting in self-defense, making Ohio communities less safe.
December 21, 2020
Update
Amnesty International USA Board urges USG leadership on Tigray Crisis in Ethiopia
The Board of Amnesty International USA has written to the Trump administration and to the incoming Biden administration to urge the United States to prioritize political and diplomatic efforts to address the human rights and humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia following the conflict in the country's Tigray region. December 9, 2020 The Honorable Michael Pompeo Secretary of State U.S. State Department 2201 C Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20230 Dear Secretary of State Pompeo, On behalf of the 10 million members, supporters and activists of Amnesty International around the world, we write to you to urge you to prioritize addressing the…
December 18, 2020
Update
Amnesty International USA Comments on “Collection of Biometric Data From Aliens Upon Entry to and Departure From the United States”
For PDF version, click here. Michael Hardin, Director Entry/Exit Policy and Planning Office of Field Operations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Department of Homeland Security 20 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20529–2240 (202) 325-1053 [email protected] CBP Docket No. USCBP–2020–0062 December 18, 2020 Via electronic submission to eRulemaking Portal RE: Amnesty International USA Comments on “Collection of Biometric Data From Aliens Upon Entry to and Departure From the United States” Amnesty International USA submits the following comment in response to the November 19 notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) which would drastically expand facial recognition technology use…
December 18, 2020
Update
Amnesty International USA Statement for the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission Hearing Conflict and Killings in Nigeria’s Middle Belt December 17, 2020
Amnesty International has documented an alarming escalation in attacks and abductions in several states in north west and north central Nigeria since January 2020. The causes behind the violence in Nigeria's Middle Belt are numerous and complicated, however addressing the lack of good governance and a security force that continues to enjoy total impunity, even after decades of documented human rights abuses, must be priorities for Nigeria and the global community. Women and children at a camp for internally displaced persons in Borno State North East Nigeria, May 2018 Statement from Amnesty International USA for Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission…
December 18, 2020
Press Release
ICE To Start Deporting Children Today
ICE plans to begin deporting 26 Black and Brown families with young children who are incarcerated by ICE at the Berks and Dilley family detention centers today, December 18. Earlier this week, a federal court in Washington D.C. lifted the stay of removal that had been protecting these families from being deported. National advocacy groups and members of Congress are calling on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to review the families’ asylum claims, which were wrongly denied under Trump administration policies which have since been overturned by federal courts. They are also calling on the Department of Homeland…
December 18, 2020
Press Release
Governments and Police Must Stop Using COVID-19 Pandemic as Pretext for Abuse
Abusive policing and excessive reliance on law enforcement to implement COVID-19 response measures have violated human rights and in some instances made the health crisis worse, Amnesty International said today.
December 16, 2020
Update
Statement for Record For Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on Hong Kong & U.S. Refugee Policy (12.15.2020)
On December 15, 2020, Amnesty International USA submitted this statement to Chairman Cornyn, Ranking Member Durbin, and Members of the Subcommittee on Border Security and Immigration in advance of the December 16, 2020 hearing on “Supporting Hong Kong’s Pro-Democracy Movement Through U.S. Refugee Policy”. The statement concludes with the following recommendations for U.S. officials and Congress: Support the human rights of the people of Hong Kong by calling on the Chinese government and Hong Kong authorities to repeal or amend the National Security Law on the basis that it is incompatible with international human rights obligations and stop using the…
December 15, 2020
Update
AIUSA Letter to HFAC on 2021 International Human Rights Priorities
On December 10, 2020, Amnesty International USA addressed a letter to the House Foreign Affairs Committee outlining the organization’s international human rights priorities for 2021. Click here to read the letter December 10, 2020 Rep. Eliot Engel Chair House Committee on Foreign Affairs 2170 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515 Rep. Michael McCaul Ranking Member House Committee on Foreign Affairs 2170 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515 Re: International Human Rights Priorities for 2021 Dear Chair Engel, Ranking Member McCaul, and Members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee: On behalf of Amnesty International and…
December 10, 2020
Press Release
Abuse of Protesters and Prisoners Highlights Urgent Need to Regulate Torture Tools
The world must act urgently to prohibit the global trade in equipment designed to inflict excruciating pain and injury, Amnesty International and the Omega Research Foundation said today, ahead of a high-level UN meeting on the ‘torture trade’. In a new report, Ending the Torture Trade: The Path to Global Controls on the ‘Tools of Torture’, the organizations also called for controls on standard policing equipment to ensure it does not end up in the hands of abusers.
December 10, 2020