Newsroom

Update

On April 14th, 2010, over 60 hill staff and concerned activists came out for a congressional health briefing titled “Does the New Health Care Reform Law Address Barriers Women Face When Seeking Maternal Health Care?" hosted by Congressman John Conyers (D-MI), chairman of the House Committee on Judiciary. At the request of Chairman Conyers, the briefing featured our very own Nan Strauss, Amnesty International USA's lead researcher on our most recent report Deadly Delivery: The Maternal Health Crisis, as well as two Congressional Research Service (CRS) specialists on Medicaid. Nan’s compelling presentation on the maternal health care crisis highlighted that while…

April 23, 2010

Update

Last week, the U.S. Senate was unanimous as it passed a resolution calling on members of the Ugandan Parliament to reject the proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill and to repeal similar laws aimed at discriminating against individuals based on their sexual orientation. Co-sponsors of the Senate resolution stressed the "universality of human rights," while sending a message to Secretary of State Clinton to more closely monitor human rights abuses that are motivated by sexual orientation. We have been a part of the fight against the Anti-Homosexuality Bill and have expressed serious concerns over the bill, joining other human rights groups in calling…

April 23, 2010

Update

We issued a report a few weeks back as part of Amnesty International's Demand Dignity campaign which highlighted the human rights violations taking place in the Dongria Kondh region of the Indian state of Orissa.  Since today is Earth Day, I thought it would be an especially good day to re-visit this since Vedanta Resources is helping to destroy the environment in the area.  If you have not taken action, please do so at the link below. To take action, click HERE. We are having an impact on the Government of India and the Orissa state government, so PLEASE keep sending those…

April 22, 2010

Update

Since 1971, Sri Lanka has been operating almost continuously under a State of Emergency. These emergency laws have granted state authorities sweeping powers of detention and have permitted the use of secret prisons, a practice that encourages human rights abuses like enforced disappearances, torture and death in custody, which could constitute crimes under international law. In the last thirty years, thousands of Sri Lankans have spent years in detention without trial. The war is over. Perpetuation of the emergency is now just being used as a weapon against political opposition, and as a quick fix for poor law enforcement practices…

April 22, 2010

Update

By Cynthia Walsh, Field Organizer for Amnesty International USA Pregnant with my first child! Excitedly, I began immediately searching for a nurse midwife who would guide me and serve as my health advocate throughout my pregnancy. Living in  West Africa as a Peace Corps Volunteer for a time, I had several wonderful encounters with Traditional Birth Attendants or TBA's.  The TBA's that I worked with were a small group of dedicated women ranging in age from early 30's to mid 60's who assumed the role of everything from family counselor, marriage intermediary, women's advocate, family planner, nutrition counselor, pre-natal care provider to…

April 22, 2010

Update

Resonating with societal distrust toward law enforcement in this former Soviet republic, an Armenian family’s claim that police tortured their son until he died is quite gruesome. "They made crosses on his chest with a knife and stabbed him in the abdomen twice. How could my boy make such crosses on himself?" asks the mother of 24-year Vahan Khalafian disputing the police explanation that the young man committed suicide while in detention on suspicion of theft. While Khalafian’s death is under Prosecutor General’s investigation, an earlier inquiry into a similar injustice had no success.

April 21, 2010

Update

Last week the BBC reported that it had interviewed nine Afghan detainees who claimed to have been held in a secret detention facility on Bagram Air Base where they suffered abuse at the hands of US personnel. The detainees were held in a hitherto unidentified detention facility called “The Black Hole” by their American guards. Most of the detainees said they had been beaten at the time of their arrest – one was missing a row of teeth. In the prison lights were kept on in the cells 24 hours a day and the constant hum machinery seemed designed to…

April 21, 2010

Update

Lately, when we think about Uganda, we usually think about two things: the Lord’s Resistance Army and the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. But let’s not forget about another important issue: the Ugandan government’s failure to fully address the issue of violence against women in Uganda. Our new report, "I Can’t Afford Justice: Violence against Women in Uganda Continues Unchecked and Unpunished," paints a stark picture of the violence and lack of justice women in Uganda are faced with on a daily basis. Violence against women and girls in Uganda is widespread and is exacerbated by discrimination based on ethnicity, sexual orientation, class…

April 21, 2010

Update

As if one major video nod wasn't enough, now we've got a second video nomination to brag about! Our video "Words", produced by Curious Pictures, has now been selected as a final nominee for the 14th Annual Webby Awards. This is a huge deal and we’re truly honored to be nominated.  (Yeah, we know everyone says that!) But we’re also really serious about coming on top in this fantastic group of competitors! But to win a Webby, we’ve got to rally support like never before!  Register on the Webby website to cast your votes before April 29th. Then, we hope…

April 20, 2010

Update

In the context of the Troy Davis case, I’ve written quite a bit about how the US Supreme Court, so far, as avoided taking a definitive position on whether it’s constitutional to execute someone who can establish his innocence.  Yesterday, the Supreme Court declined an opportunity to decide whether a sexual affair between a judge and prosecutor resulted in an unfair trial for the defendant.  Both of these questions ought to be no-brainers.  No, you should never execute people who have established their innocence; and yes, a judge-prosecutor romance should lead to a new trial for the defendant.  But for…

April 20, 2010

Update

We're relieved to hear that the final four members of Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) have finally been released. Jenni Williams and Magodonga Mahlangu have collectively been arrested more than 50 times for their peaceful protests, demonstrations and other activities designed to call attention to the grave injustices taking place in Zimbabwe. But this most recent stint in jail ranks as the most hellish prison conditions that these two veteran activists have seen yet!  Here's what WOZA is saying about the prison conditions in Zimbabwe.

April 20, 2010

Update

You see these peaks of opposition activity that get crushed, and then it flares up and gets crushed again, but the flares get a little higher each time and Mubarak gets a little older and more ill, and in my worst fears Egypt will be like that volcano in Iceland.

April 19, 2010