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Update
Amnesty International Calls on Congress to Investigate Trump’s Abuses of Authority at Protests
This week, Amnesty International USA called on Senate committees to urgently investigate the lawless and abusive crackdown on Black Lives Matter protesters this week in Washington, D.C. We are horrified that the orders to unjustifiably deploy tear gas and rubber bullets against peaceful protesters reportedly came directly from Attorney General William Barr, ostensibly at the behest of President Trump. If left unchecked, this abuse of power at the very highest levels of the U.S. government will send a chilling signal to authorities across the nation that they can continue to unleash brutal, unwarranted force against protesters. Read our letters to…
June 4, 2020
Update
Human Rights on Capitol Hill Newsletter June Edition (6-3-2020)
To view PDF version click here: Human Rights on Capitol Hill June 2020 Human Rights on Capitol Hill published by Amnesty International USA June 3, 2020 In this edition of Human Rights on Capitol Hill: 1) This Month’s Feature Amnesty International USA Condemns Police Killings of African-Americans and Calls on Law Enforcement Nationwide to Stop Using Excessive Force 2) Major Human Rights News a) COVID-19 and Human Rights World Health Organization - Amnesty International Condemns President Trump’s Decision to Terminate Relationship with World Health Organization (“WHO”) Congress Must Provide Oversight on Palantir Tech Firm’s Role in Collecting Health Data for U.S.…
June 3, 2020
Press Release
President Trump tramples right to protest
Responding to remarks by President Donald Trump today in the Rose Garden, Ernest Coverson, the End Gun Violence campaign manager at Amnesty International USA said: “The violence that can no longer be ignored is the violence committed against Black lives by the police. The real disgrace is the anti-Black racism of the Trump administration. The President swore an oath to the nation to protect all of its people - not just those he deems worthy. “The time for justice has passed for George Floyd, his children, and his loved ones. The possibility for justice was taken away the day that…
June 1, 2020
Update
Amnesty International Statement for Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on Detention and Incarceration During COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic presents a human rights crisis in detention facilities in the United States, which has one of the largest numbers of detained and incarcerated people in the world and currently leads in COVID-19 case globally. The over-representation of Black and brown people in detention centers, jails, and prisons across country bespeaks a legacy of racial discrimination at the heart of the protests that unleashed across the country this week. Today, Amnesty International USA submitted a statement to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on "Examining Best Practices for Incarceration and Detention During COVID-19." In the statement, Amnesty urges the…
June 1, 2020
Press Release
Police Failing to Ensure Right to Protest, Endangering Lives
"U.S. police across the country are failing their obligations under international law to respect and facilitate the right to peaceful protest, exacerbating a tense situation and endangering lives of protesters. In city after city, we are witnessing actions that could be considered unnecessary or excessive force. We call for an immediate end to any such use of force and for law enforcement to ensure and protect the legal right to protest."
May 30, 2020
Press Release
Trump’s Decision To Withdraw Critical Funding from WHO Could Cost Lives
Following President Trump’s announcement this afternoon that the United States is ending its relationship with the World Health Organization, Joanne Lin, the national director for Advocacy and Government Affairs at Amnesty International USA, said: “President Trump’s decision to cut ties with the World Health Organization is a callous act that will undercut the global effort to eradicate COVID-19. A once-in-a-century pandemic is not the time to play politics. As the world bands together to fight this pandemic, some countries have increased their financial contributions to the WHO. The U.S. stands alone in severing ties with the WHO. This is both…
May 29, 2020
Press Release
New Executive Order targeting social platforms is dangerous and irresponsible
Responding to an executive order by United States President Donald J. Trump designating that social media companies are shielded from liability for user-generated content, Michael Kleinman, the director of the Silicon Valley Initiative at Amnesty International USA said: “Everyone should have access to information, especially during a pandemic, where correct information can mean the difference between life and death for so many. Over 100,000 people in this country have already died as this administration continues to mishandle the crisis. Not one more person should die because they aren’t receiving the correct information in the midst of a global emergency. “Threats and…
May 28, 2020
Press Release
Israel Must Lift Punitive Travel Ban on Amnesty Campaigner
The Israeli authorities must immediately lift the apparently punitive travel ban imposed on Laith Abu Zeyad, Amnesty International’s Campaigner on Israel and Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT), Amnesty International said today ahead of a court hearing this Sunday in a Jerusalem District Court.
May 28, 2020
Report
‘We dried our tears’: Addressing the toll on children of Northeast Nigeria’s conflict
Boko Haram has repeatedly attacked schools and abducted large numbers of children as soldiers or ‘wives,’ among other atrocities. The Nigerian military’s treatment of those who escape such brutality has also been appalling. From mass, unlawful detention in inhumane conditions, to meting out beatings and torture and allowing sexual abuse by adult inmates – it defies belief that children anywhere would be so grievously harmed by the very authorities charged with their protection.
May 27, 2020
Press Release
Contact tracing app security flaw exposed sensitive personal details of more than one million
Serious security vulnerabilities in Qatar’s mandatory contact tracing app, uncovered by Amnesty International, must act as a wake-up call for governments rolling-out COVID-19 apps to ensure privacy safeguards are central to the technology. An investigation by Amnesty’s Security Lab discovered the critical weakness in the configuration of Qatar’s EHTERAZ contact tracing app. Now fixed, the vulnerability would have allowed cyber attackers to access highly sensitive personal information, including the name, national ID, health status and location data of more than one million users. Amnesty alerted the Qatari authorities to the vulnerability shortly after making the discovery on Thursday, May 21.…
May 26, 2020
Press Release
Minneapolis police officer must be held accountable for use of deadly force
No person should ever wake up wondering if that day will be the day that a police officer ends their life, yet people of color, particularly black people, across the country live with that painful and traumatic reality.
May 26, 2020
Press Release
New hearing confirms ICE chooses family separation over family unity
In the midst of a global pandemic, ICE has a choice to either let families stay together and free or to keep them shut in despite dangerous and life-threatening conditions. ICE has chosen again and again to make an unconscionable choice.
May 22, 2020