Below you’ll find breaking news as well as reports, updates on our campaigns, and victories.
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Update
Letter to Acting Secretary of Defense Miller
The Honorable Christopher Miller Acting Secretary Department of Defense 1000 Defense Pentagon Washington, DC 20301-1000 RE:Amnesty International USA calls for halt to domestic deployments of military forces in response to election-related protests Dear Acting Secretary Miller: On behalf of Amnesty International USA and our members and supporters, we write urging you to refrain from deploying military forces or personnel in response to any protests related to the recent U.S.presidential election that may occur in Washington, D.C. and other cities over the coming weeks. Following the death of George Floyd in May and the protests that ensued in…
November 17, 2020
Press Release
Mass execution of 21 individuals in Iraq is an outrage
Responding to the execution on Monday of 21 individuals in Iraq, including individuals allegedly affiliated to the Islamic State (IS) and convicted of terror-related charges, Lynn Maalouf, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, said: “It is high time the Iraqi authorities put an end to executing people. Retaliatory executions not only fail to deliver justice to the victims and to their families, they serve to reinforce perceptions of partial justice, at a time when the authorities are quiet in regards to other serious violations such as torture and enforced disappearances that are still taking place…
November 17, 2020
Press Release
Moderna must share technology to ensure vaccine breakthrough is not limited to rich countries
Responding to the announcement that US biotech company Moderna says its new vaccine is 94.5 percent effective against COVID-19, Stephen Cockburn, Amnesty International’s Head of Economic and Social Justice Program, said: “Having already sold most of its potential 2021 vaccine supply to rich countries, Moderna must follow through on its promise to allow others to make the vaccine, and provide the knowledge and technology to do so, once the vaccine has proven to be safe and effective. “Companies like Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech have a responsibility to respect human rights, and they should play a leading role towards a global solution…
November 16, 2020
Press Release
“Don’t Forget These Children”: Families Belong Together Reminds Lawmakers Children Still Separated
On Monday, November 16, 2020, Families Belong Together — a national coalition fighting to permanently end family separation and incarceration under the U.S. immigration system — will hold an action on Capitol Hill to remind lawmakers of the hundreds of children still separated as a result of the Trump Administration’s inhumane family separation policy. According to a recent report, about one third of these 666 children were under five-years-old when they were separated years ago. See action details below: WHO: Families Belong Together WHAT: An installation of 600+ teddy bears in and around a cage placed near Capitol Hill to…
November 13, 2020
Update
Amnesty International Calls on DHS Not to Deploy Agents to Possible Election-Related Protests
Today, Amnesty International USA preemptively called on DHS not to deploy its agents to possible election-related protests. Our letter is below and available in PDF form here. November 13, 2020 The Honorable Chad F. Wolf Acting Secretary Department of Homeland Security 2801 Nebraska Avenue NW Washington, D.C. 20528 RE: Amnesty International USA calls for halt to deployments of DHS agents in response to election-related protests  Dear Acting Secretary Wolf: On behalf of Amnesty International USA and our members and supporters, we write urging you to refrain from deploying US Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”)…
November 13, 2020
Press Release
Violence and Incitement Trends Are Particularly Worrying Following the US Election
In the wake of the US election, social media platforms such as Facebook are seeing a dramatic increase in violent content, including posts that seek to incite others to commit violence, Amnesty International USA said today.
November 10, 2020
Update
Human Rights on Capitol Hill – October 2020 Newsletter
https://www.amnestyusa.org/newsletter-october-2020/
November 10, 2020
Press Release
Separated Families Must Be Reunited As Quickly as Possible
Responding to reports that the Trump Administration is unable to reunite hundreds more families than previously reported, Denise Bell, the researcher for refugee and migrant rights at Amnesty International USA said: "As the numbers of children that continue to be apart from their families continues to grow, accountability for the people that separated them becomes all the more pressing. These families must be reunited as quickly as possible, and deported parents who were separated from their children must be paroled into the United States.  “A criminal investigation is a critical and necessary step to ensure that such wrongs are never…
November 9, 2020
Press Release
Passage of California’s Prop 22 is a devastating blow to the rights of app-based workers
The passage of Proposition 22 in California is a blow to the rights of gig workers, effectively stripping them of the state’s minimum wage guarantee, paid sick leave, and other protections, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said in a joint statement today. Prop 22, a ballot initiative that was approved by a majority of voters in California in the US general election on November 3, 2020, permits companies to continue treating “app-based ride-share and delivery drivers” as independent contractors rather than employees, who are entitled to critical wage and labor protections under state law. Five large gig companies spent over…
November 9, 2020
Press Release
More than 1,000 people arrested in Belarus in a single day of peaceful protests
Responding to the arrest of more than 1,000 people in a single day of peaceful protest in Minsk and other Belarusian cities, Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, said: “Over the weekend, the security forces under the command of President Alyaksandr Lukashenka escalated reprisals against peaceful dissent and took the human rights crisis in Belarus to a new level, with gruesome footage of riot police beating unarmed demonstrators and officers shoving elderly people into police vans. “These acts add weight to the already heavy dossier of government violations of human rights, including unlawful use of…
November 9, 2020
Update
AIUSA Letter to SFRC on 2021 International Human Rights Priorities
On November 9, 2020, Amnesty International USA addressed a letter to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee outlining the organization's international human rights priorities for 2021. Click here to read the letter November 9, 2020 Sen. James Risch Chair Senate Committee on Foreign Relations 423 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington, D.C. 20510 Sen. Robert Menendez Ranking Member Senate Committee on Foreign Relations 423 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington, D.C. 20510 Re: International Human Rights Priorities for 2021 Â Dear Chairman Risch, Ranking Member Menendez, and Members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee: On behalf of Amnesty International…
November 9, 2020
Press Release
Arms Sales to the UAE could make U.S. responsible for more deaths of civilians in Yemen and Libya
Ahead of plans by the United States to sell 18 armed aerial drones worth approximately $2.9 billion to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Philippe Nassif, the advocacy director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International USA said: “The startling fact that the United States government continues its unflinching support of providing weapons that risk adding to the devastating toll of Yemeni civilians unlawfully killed and injured by US-made weapons should shake to the core every person living in this country. The United States must resolutely refrain from supplying weapons that could be used in the conflict and…
November 9, 2020