Newsroom

Press Release

Yesterday the D.C. Circuit Court granted the government’s request for stay in Huisha-Huisha v. Mayorkas, allowing the Biden administration to continue expelling families and children to danger under its inhumane Title 42 policy. Two weeks ago a federal judge ruled Title 42 illegal, issuing an injunction that would have taken effect today. The Biden administration’s decision to continue defending the policy in court has put that injunction on pause. The consequences for families and children seeking safety will be deadly.

October 1, 2021

Press Release

Today, Congress passed a continuing resolution that includes funding to support Afghans arriving to the United States and ensures that Afghans arriving on humanitarian parole have access to refugee resettlement benefits.

September 30, 2021

Update

Classified as a non-self-governing territory by the United Nations, Western Sahara has been under de-facto annexation by Morocco since the late 1970s. Morocco controls three-fourths of Western Sahara via unilateral annexation, with the  Polisario Front, the Sahrawi liberation movement party which fought a war against Morocco for an independent state, controlling the remaining portion. In 1979, the UN via Resolution 34/37 called on Morocco to end its occupation and recognized “the inalienable right of the people of Western Sahara to self-determination and independence,” as it has done several times since including in 1990 and even just last year. In 1991,…

September 27, 2021

Press Release

In response to the mass deportation of Haitian migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border and horrific reports of Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) inhumane treatment against Black asylum-seekers, Paul O’Brien, Executive Director at Amnesty International USA said: “The horrific conduct by CBP in Del Rio, Texas, including officers charging into crowds of Haitian asylum-seekers on horseback, violently dispersing them, taunting them, and forcing them away from safety, is reprehensible and underscores a deeper problem of systemic and racist treatment against Haitian and other Black migrants in the U.S. and at the southern border.

September 24, 2021

Press Release

Today, the #WelcomeWithDignity campaign expressed its disgust with Customs and Border Protection’s treatment of Haitian people seeking asylum at Del Rio, Texas. The campaign joined dozens of other national organizations and expressed steadfast solidarity with Haitian communities and Haitian-led organizations including #WelcomeWithDignity partner Haitian Bridge Alliance. The campaign called on the United States to immediately halt expulsions to Haiti, end the misuse of Title 42, and examine the pattern of unconscionable abuse of Black asylum seekers by CBP. Human Rights First and the Haitian Bridge Alliance released a fact sheet today on the Biden administration’s dangerous Haitian expulsion strategy and the U.S. history of illegal and discriminatory mistreatment…

September 21, 2021

Press Release

Commenting after Paul Rusesabagina, a Rwandan opposition leader, was found guilty of terrorism and sentenced to 25 years in jail in the Rwandan capital Kigali today, Amnesty International cited numerous violations in the pre-trial period which impacted the fairness of the trial.

September 20, 2021

Press Release

Responding to reports that Sri Lanka’s State Minister for Prison Management and Prisoners Rehabilitation, Lohan Ratwatte, forcibly entered a state prison in Anuradhapura on 12 September and held Tamil prison inmates incarcerated under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) at gunpoint and threatened to kill them, Yamini Mishra, Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific Director said:  “These dumbfounding reports go to show that our ongoing concerns regarding Sri Lanka’s treatment of prisoners, especially the authorities’ torture and other inhumane and degrading treatment of PTA detainees are all too valid. They also demonstrate the level of impunity for criminal behavior that is indulged at…

September 15, 2021

Press Release

Iranian authorities have failed to provide accountability for at least 72 deaths in custody since January 2010, despite credible reports that they resulted from torture or other ill-treatment or the lethal use of firearms and tear gas by officials, said Amnesty International following yesterday’s reports of yet another suspicious death in custody.  

September 15, 2021

Press Release

Following the ongoing humanitarian situation in Afghanistan, Amnesty International USA is joining Welcome.US – a newly launched national initiative built across sectors, political parties, and all walks of life – to empower Americans to welcome and support our new Afghan neighbors.

September 14, 2021

Report

Syrian security forces have subjected Syrians who returned home after seeking refuge abroad to detention, disappearance and torture, including sexual violence, Amnesty International said today. In a new report, “You’re going to your death,” the organization documented a catalog of horrific violations committed by Syrian intelligence officers against 66 returnees, including 13 children. Among these violations, Amnesty International documented five cases whereby detainees had died in custody after returning to Syria, while the fate of 17 forcibly disappeared people remains unknown. With a number of states - including Denmark, Sweden and Turkey - restricting protection and putting pressure on refugees from Syria to go home, the…

September 7, 2021

Update

On August 24th, the Coalition to End Violence Against Women and Girls Globally - co-chaired by Amnesty International USA, Futures Without Violence, Promundo-US, and the Women’s Refugee Commission - wrote to President Biden with deep concern about the growing threat to the rights and safety of women and girls in Afghanistan, and call on the Biden administration to urgently increase efforts to support Afghan women and girls. This includes by prioritizing the urgent evacuation of women’s rights defenders, particularly those already being targeted for harassment, abuse, and violence by the Taliban. The Coalition consists of more than 180 organizations dedicated…

August 27, 2021

Update

On August 25, 2021, Amnesty International USA executive director Paul O'Brien and and Amnesty International Israel executive director Molly Malekar wrote a joint letter to President Joe Biden urging him to raise and demand an end to the Israeli government's systemic human rights abuses in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories against Palestinian civilians including protestors, children, and human rights defenders in his White House meeting tomorrow with Israel Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. These flagrant violations include the illegal blockade of Gaza, violent repression and crackdowns on Palestinian demonstrators and civil society, and sweeping campaigns of unlawful forced evictions and…

August 25, 2021