Below you’ll find breaking news as well as reports, updates on our campaigns, and victories.
If you are a member of the press, please reach out to [email protected]
Update
Amnesty International Statement for Lantos Commission Hearing on Enforced Disappearances
On September 30, Amnesty International submitted its statement for a Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission hearing titled "Enforced Disappearance in Latin America: Taking Stock" on October 1, 2020. Click here to read the statement September 30, 2020 Rep. James McGovern Co-Chair Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission 5100 O'Neill House Office Building 200 C Street SW Washington, D.C. 20515 Rep. Christopher Smith Co-Chair Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission 5100 O'Neill House Office Building 200 C Street SW Washington, D.C. 20515 Re: October 1 hearing on “Enforced Disappearance in Latin America: Taking Stock” Dear Chairman McGovern, Chairman Smith, and Members of the Commission:…
September 30, 2020
Press Release
Azerbaijan and Armenia must protect civilians along the Nagorno-Karabakh frontline
Amnesty International calls on all sides to the conflict in Azerbaijan’s breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh to fully respect international humanitarian law and protect civilians from the effects of hostilities. On September 27, heavy fighting erupted between Azerbaijan, on the one hand, and, Armenia and Armenian-supported Nagorno-Karabakh forces, on the other, over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. Azerbaijan announced a "counteroffensive” military operation along the entire frontline in Nagorno-Karabakh which it claimed was in response to shelling by Armenian forces, while Armenia and de facto authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh declared martial law and military mobilization. Dozens of persons are reported dead on both sides…
September 29, 2020
Press Release
Amnesty International USA Statement on the Passing of Human Rights Activist Yuri Orlov
Amnesty International USA released the following statement from Board Chair Dr. Reza Fakhari following the death of human rights trailblazer and icon Yuri Orlov.
September 29, 2020
Press Release
Palantir Technologies Contracts Raise Human Rights Concerns before NYSE Direct Listing
In advance of the direct listing of Palantir Technologies, Inc. on the New York Stock Exchange on September 29, Amnesty International released today a new briefing, Failing to Do Right: The Urgent Need for Palantir to Respect Human Rights, where the organization concludes that Palantir is failing to conduct human rights due diligence around its contracts with ICE, and that there is a high risk that Palantir is contributing to human rights violations of asylum-seekers and migrants through the ways the company's technology facilitates ICE operations. Michael Kleinman, the Director of Amnesty International’s Silicon Valley Initiative said: “Palantir touts its ethical commitments,…
September 28, 2020
Report
New evidence shows refugees and migrants in Libya trapped in horrific cycle of abuses
Tens of thousands of refugees and migrants in Libya are trapped in a vicious cycle of cruelty with little to no hope of finding safe and legal pathways out, Amnesty International said in a new report published today. After enduring unconscionable suffering in Libya, refugees and migrants risk their lives at sea seeking safety in Europe, only to be intercepted, transferred back to Libya and delivered to the same abuses they sought to escape. This comes a day after the European Commission announced its new ‘Migration Pact’, a major pillar of which is even stronger cooperation with countries outside the EU to control migration flows. …
September 24, 2020
Press Release
Amnesty International USA Board Elects Reza Fakhari for Chair, Fills Other Leadership Posts
Amnesty International USA announced today that Reza Fakhari been elected Chair of its Board of Directors. Fakhari has demonstrated a passionate commitment to promoting and defending human rights, stemming from his experience as a dissident in Iran where he was arrested by the Iranian authorities under the former Shah for possessing testimonies of prisoners of conscience and banned books. Currently serving as Vice President for Internationalization and Strategic Initiatives and as a Professor at St. Francis College in Brooklyn Heights, New York, Fakhari was previously elected to the Amnesty International USA Board in 2014 and served for three years as…
September 24, 2020
Press Release
Breonna Taylor Case Underscores Need for Real Police Reform
Responding to the decision in the Breonna Taylor case today, Kristina Roth, the Senior Program Officer for Criminal Justice Programs at Amnesty International USA, said:
September 23, 2020
Press Release
Amnesty International USA Issues Rare Call for a Halt on Chad Wolf Nomination
Chad Wolf has participated in, and in many cases presided over, DHS’s perpetration of serious human rights violations. From proposing the separation of families to recklessly detaining tens of thousands of people during a global pandemic to deploying DHS forces to “dominate” civil rights protesters, Wolf has an abysmal record on human rights. Until that record is fully and thoroughly investigated, Wolf’s nomination should not proceed.
September 23, 2020
Press Release
Threats to Pull Federal Resources from Cities Because of Black Lives Matter Protests are Damaging
Responding to reports that the Trump administration is threatening to pull federal resources from New York City, Portland and Seattle due to sustained protests for police reform, Justin Mazzola, Researcher at Amnesty International USA, said...
September 21, 2020
Press Release
Twitter still failing women over online violence and abuse
Twitter is still not doing enough to protect women from online violence and abuse, despite repeated promises to do so, new analysis by Amnesty International reveals. The Twitter Scorecard grades the social media company’s record on implementing a series of recommendations to tackle abuse against women on the platform, since Amnesty first highlighted the scale of the problem in its 2018 Toxic Twitter report. Despite some welcome progress, Twitter needs to do much more to address the problem. The company has fully implemented just one of ten concrete recommendations, with limited progress in increasing transparency on how it handles reports…
September 21, 2020
Update
A statement from organizations working on the protection of civilians in conflict calling on the United States to immediately end sanctions against senior personnel at the International Criminal Court
We the undersigned, representing human rights and humanitarian non-governmental organizations working on the protection of civilians in conflict, write in opposition to United States sanctions against named senior personnel within the International Criminal Court (ICC). We call on President Trump to revoke these harmful sanctions immediately and to rescind Executive Order 13928 on “Blocking Property of Certain Persons Associated with the International Criminal Court.” We also call on the Presidential campaigns of both major parties to publicly commit to reversing this harmful Executive Order. The United States should support the rule of law rather than punish those seeking to provide…
September 21, 2020
Update
Amnesty International Statement for House Foreign Affairs Committee Hearing on Human Rights in Asia
On September 21, Amnesty International USA submitted its statement for the record ahead of a House Foreign Affairs Committee Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, and Nonproliferation hearing titled "Stemming a Receding Tide: Human Rights and Democratic Values in Asia" on September 22, 2020. Click here to read the statement September 21, 2020 Rep. Ami Bera Chairman Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, and Nonproliferation House Committee on Foreign Affairs Rep. Ted Yoho Ranking Member Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, and Nonproliferation House Committee on Foreign Affairs Re: September 22 hearing on “Stemming a Receding Tide: Human Rights…
September 21, 2020