Newsroom

Update

The 9/11 Heath & Compensation Act would ensure medical treatment and compensation for 9/11 responders and other survivors.

September 21, 2010

Update

The Iraqi Government responds to Amnesty International report on 30,000 imprisoned Iraqis on Aljazeera's Inside Iraq.

September 21, 2010

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Activists and medical workers in Sierra Leone and Burkina Faso tell Amnesty International that world leaders need to put human rights at the heart of efforts to combat maternal mortality in Africa.

September 20, 2010

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Yesterday, members of Congress and human rights advocates, including Amnesty’s celebrity spokesperson Samantha Mathis, made the case for passing the International Violence Against Women Act (IVAWA) on Capitol Hill.  At the breakfast briefing in the Rayburn House Office Building, the audience listened to a distinguished panel present compelling accounts of the heroism and bravery of women and girls globally. The briefing, titled “Stories of Courage and Success: Surviving and Ending Violence Against Women and Girls Internationally,” was infused with the possibility of overcoming gender based violence around the world. The panel was joined by members of Congress who are IVAWA champions…

September 18, 2010

Update

In October of 2009, the indigenous community Guarani Kaiowá Y’poí was violently evicted from its ancestral land near Paranhos, in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil.  During the assault, gunmen hired by local farmers abducted tribe members Genivaldo Vera and his cousin Rolindo Vera. Genivaldo’s body was found a few days later in a nearby river. His head had been shaved and his body had extensive bruising. Rolindo’s whereabouts remains unknown. After almost a year, Rolindo’s family continues to wait for the Federal Police to tell them what happened to him or to bring them Rolindo’s body back.…

September 17, 2010

Update

For more than 10 years, victims of former Chadian president Hissène Habré have been waiting for justice. Since he was chased from power in 1990, Habré has been living in Senegal, where, despite being charged by the Dakar regional court in 2000 for crimes against humanity, acts of torture and acts of barbarism, he continues to enjoy impunity for his crimes. Habré’s role in the violation of human rights in Chad has been well documented. In 1992, a Truth Commission Report concluded that 40,000 political murders and 200,000 cases of torture occurred in Chad while Habré was president. And in 2005, Habré…

September 17, 2010

Update

I didn’t expect to feel joy in the middle of an area that’s been divided by struggle for decades. But there they were – a group of girls, like rays of light, bringing the history of human rights to life through art and storytelling. It was December 10th – Human Rights Day – and a girls' school located in Deir El-Balah, a refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, was hosting a play and an art show. I was in Gaza on assignment for the United Nations and was honored to be invited to speak. In Gaza – as well as hundreds of other…

September 17, 2010

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The Millennium Development Goals are failing the world's poorest people because governments are ignoring and abusing human rights.

September 16, 2010

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Mass killings of migrants. Covering up human rights violations by tampering with evidence. The increase in the number of complaints of human rights violations committed by the Mexican military. Does this sound like Mexico is meeting its human rights performance obligations to receive human rights conditioned funding from the US State Department?

September 16, 2010

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Salil Shetty speaks from experience when he says that ordinary people can make a real difference when they organize and raise their voices.

September 15, 2010

Update

This Tuesday Senator Majority Leader Harry Reid announced that he would include the DREAM Act in a defense authorization bill.  The DREAM Act will help thousands of committed students and military officers to legalize their status in the United States.  Currently, they face unique barriers to higher education, are unable to work legally in the U.S., and often live in constant fear of exposure to immigration authorities. The DREAM Act would provide certain conditional legal status, if students attend college or join the military. It would also allow immigrant students access to higher education by returning to states the authority…

September 15, 2010

Update

Amnesty International and other organizations have harshly—and rightly—criticized Iran’s egregious human rights violations. However it is truly a cause for celebration when the Iranian authorities decide to take the high road on human rights, and these actions must be recognized and welcomed.

September 15, 2010