Newsroom

Update

Perhaps the most oppressed people in history, Roma - commonly referred to as Gypsies - have been persecuted since they arrived in Europe in 1300 C.E. The New York Times reports that institutionalized and societal prejudice against Roma is enflaming violence in Europe: [...] Prejudice against Roma — widely known as Gypsies and long among Europe’s most oppressed minority groups — has swelled into a wave of violence. Over the past year, at least seven Roma have been killed in Hungary, and Roma leaders have counted some 30 Molotov cocktail attacks against Roma homes, often accompanied by sprays of gunfire.…

May 2, 2009

Update

Yesterday, the U.N. Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes told a press conference in New York, following his two-day visit to Sri Lanka, that "both sides are pursuing their military logics, if I can put it that way."  He was referring to the Sri Lankan government's refusal to agree to a humanitarian pause in hostilities and the refusal by the opposition Tamil Tigers to let the civilians trapped in the war zone in northeastern Sri Lanka leave the area.  Will continued fighting in a shrinking war zone, combined with tens of thousands of civilians being held captive by the Tigers, inevitably mean…

May 1, 2009

Update

Amnesty International learned today about the tragic and very unexpected execution of Delara Darabi this morning in Iran. Delara had been given a two month stay of execution by Ayatollah Shahroudi, the head of the Iranian Judiciary, just two weeks ago.  Her lawyer and her family had not been informed of the execution, despite the law requiring that. Any execution is unacceptable, but Delara Darabi was convicted of a crime she allegedly committed when she was a juvenile.  Iran is the only country in the world that still executes juvenile offenders.  Delara Darabi had been arrested in 2003 and charged…

May 1, 2009

Update

This Sunday, May 3rd, is World Press Freedom Day and you can help push back against governments worldwide who violate fundamental rights to free speech and expression.  Some of the journalists currently languishing in detention include: Iranian-American journalist, Roxana Saberi, who was sentenced last week to eight years in prison on charges of espionage after a flawed trial. Gambian journalist Ebrima Manneh who continues to be detained despite a court's ruling in June 2008 that his rights had been violated by the Gambian government and should be released. Sri Lankan writer J.S. Tissainayagam who was imprisoned in 2008 for writing…

May 1, 2009

Update

The President on counterterrorism policy, after 100 days in office: No more torture, or loopholes galore? Important symbolic steps, or stalling tactics? Heading in the right direction, or Barack "Dubya" Obama? Pundits are coming at President Obama from all sides, but after 100 days in office, what's really going on? Well, one important way to judge is on the basis of international human rights law--including the U.N. Convention Against Torture--and on that standard it's clear: President Obama has a lot more to do. Scratch that. President Obama has a lot more he is legally obligated to do. Read all about it in Amnesty International's new report, "Mixed Messages: Counter Terror…

April 30, 2009

Update

The U.N. said today (April 29) that two aerial bombardments were reported in the conflict zone in northeastern Sri Lanka on April 28.  This follows the Sri Lankan government's statement last Monday that the security forces had been instructed to end the use of combat aircraft and aerial weapons, in their ongoing offensive against the opposition Tamil Tigers.  Is the Sri Lankan government keeping to its promise?  The Tigers are now confined to a small strip of coastal land, about 5 square miles, in northeastern Sri Lanka.  With the Tigers are an estimated 50,000 civilians, who've been prevented by the Tigers from leaving the area.…

April 30, 2009

Update

At last night's press conference marking 100 days in office, President Obama said that over time a "short-cut" like torture "corrodes the character of a country." And he has gotten a start on rebuilding U.S. character with his executive orders.  But another important step still has not been taken to ensure these abusive policies end permanently.  If the Obama administration does not uphold the law by investigating and if necessary, prosecuting torture, it will be taking its own damaging "short-cut" and undermining U.S. laws. Amnesty International activists dressed in Guantanamo-like jumpsuits marched from the U.S. Capitol to the White House…

April 30, 2009

Update

A top U.N. official visiting Sri Lanka warned today that Sri Lanka is facing "what amounts to two quite distinct crises."  The first is the one I've been writing about on this blog:  the tens of thousands of civilians trapped in the small area of northeastern Sri Lanka still controlled by the opposition Tamil Tigers.  With fighting continuing between the Sri Lankan government and the Tigers, those civilians are in grave danger of death or injury.  My concern for their safety only increased after a Sri Lankan army commander told reporters today, "Now, the tigers are fighting out of uniforms, and it's…

April 29, 2009

Update

While an estimated 50,000 civilians are still trapped in Sri Lanka's shrinking war zone, a diplomatic push for a humanitarian ceasefire by the British and French foreign ministers did not yield any success yet. For anyone who is interested in how Sri Lanka ended up at this point, IRIN today published a very detailed and useful chronology of the conflict: 1972: Velupillai Prabhakaran forms a militant group called the Tamil New Tigers (TNT). 1976: TNT changes its name to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). 1983, 23 July: LTTE attacks an army patrol in Jaffna, killing 13 soldiers and sparking anti-Tamil…

April 29, 2009

Update

A few months ago I saw "Hunger," a disturbing movie about the hunger strike of IRA member Bobbie Sands in Maze Prison in Northern Ireland -- a hunger strike that ended in his death.  When hunger strikes started being used as a means of protest or to call attention to a cause -- I believe it was in the 1970s -- they were considered quite extraordinary and powerful. Now after so many hunger strikes by so many different people who have sought to draw attention to causes both weighty and trivial, many of us barely notice when someone goes on…

April 29, 2009

Update

Following disputed elections in Moldova, human rights defenders find themselves increasingly under threat. In addition to organizers of peaceful protests, several civil society organizations, including Amnesty International, are now being targeted in an intimidation campaign from the government. These organizations have received letters from the Ministry of Justice, dated April 16, asking each to explain its position on the riots and any measures taken by them to prevent and stop the violence. Some of the organizations are claiming that this is a "call to statements of loyalty". The majority of these organizations have also received subpoenas from their local tax…

April 29, 2009

Update

When I first heard this morning that the Sri Lankan government had announced that "combat operations have reached their conclusion" in the government's offensive against the opposition Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in northeastern Sri Lanka, I felt a surge of hope.  Maybe the thousands of civilians trapped in the 5 square-mile area still held by the Tigers would be safe?  Maybe the government will reciprocate the unilateral ceasefire declared by the Tigers yesterday, so all the civilians could leave the war zone safely? Alas, the hope didn't last long.  The government said shortly thereafter that the earlier announcement wasn't intended as…

April 28, 2009