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Press Release
Congress Must Halt Administration’s Plan to Suspend Critical Funding to WHO
Responding to U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement that the U.S. will halt funding to the World Health Organization (WHO) pending the administration’s review of the organization’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International said: “In trying to distract from criticisms of his own administration's response, President Trump is undermining global efforts to protect people from one of the worst health crises in over a century. “This crisis can only be solved through collective effort. COVID-19 does not respect borders, and Trump’s withdrawal will harm the U.S. as well as other countries fighting the virus. While…
April 15, 2020
Press Release
Migrant domestic workers in Lebanon must be protected during COVID-19 pandemic
The Lebanese government must announce a set of immediate measures to protect migrant domestic workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, Amnesty International said today. The authorities must ensure that migrant domestic workers are protected from exploitative working conditions during lockdown, and that all domestic workers - including the undocumented - have access to healthcare during the pandemic. An estimated 250,000 migrant domestic workers remain trapped under the country’s kafala system, putting their rights and lives at risk during the outbreak. “The kafala system has always been a form of imprisonment in the home for migrant domestic workers. While staying at home will help prevent…
April 14, 2020
Report
Release Jailed Human Rights Defenders and Activists in Myanmar
Aung San Suu Kyi and her government have overseen the continuing harassment, intimidation, arrest, prosecution and imprisonment of human rights defenders and activists since coming to power in Myanmar four years ago, Amnesty International said in a new briefing published today.
April 13, 2020
Press Release
Duterte Advisor’s Threat of “Body Bags” Shows Philippines Authorities’ Dangerous COVID-19 Response
Responding to Philippine Senator Bong Go’s statement about having body bags available for “drug addicts or peddlers of fake news,” Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for Campaigns Ming Yu Hah said:
April 13, 2020
Press Release
Prisoners killed in Iran by Security Forces During COVID-19 Pandemic Protests
Around 36 prisoners in Iran are feared to have been killed by security forces after the use of lethal force to control protests over COVID-19 safety fears, Amnesty International has learned.
April 9, 2020
Press Release
Mask ban in Hong Kong for unauthorized protests is absurd and dangerous
Responding to a Hong Kong appeal court ruling that partially reinstates the government’s mask ban, Director of Amnesty International Hong Kong Man-Kei Tam said: “Today’s ruling means Hong Kong’s repressive mask ban is only partially revoked. Authorities will be able to target people for wearing masks in any protest that is not ‘authorized’. In the past few months, we have seen police imposing excessive restrictions on freedom of assembly, cracking down on entirely peaceful protests and declaring them unlawful. “At a time when the vast majority of Hong Kongers wear masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the idea of…
April 9, 2020
Press Release
Failures to guarantee safe access to abortion in Europe endangers health of women, girls amid COVID-19
European governments should urgently guarantee safe and timely access to abortion care for women and girls in the region during the COVID-19 pandemic, 100 nongovernmental organizations said today. Many women and girls in Europe are struggling to safely access abortion care during the pandemic as barriers caused by highly restrictive abortion laws and onerous administrative requirements to access abortion services make safe access to this essential health care extremely difficult. The call comes as Poland’s parliament prepares to debate a draconian new law that would make one of the region’s most highly restrictive abortion laws significantly more stringent. “European governments must act urgently to guarantee safe and timely…
April 8, 2020
Press Release
Armed conflicts and state repression in Africa fuel cocktail of human rights violations
HUMAN RIGHTS IN AFRICA: Protesters across sub-Saharan Africa have braved bullets and beatings to defend their rights in the face of continuing conflict and state repression, Amnesty International said today as it published its annual review of human rights in the region. The organization highlighted the bravery and defiance of people who took to the streets to demand change, but warned that they are being let down by governments who continue to perpetrate human rights violations across the region. The report analyzes major developments from the past year including the deposition of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, the Zimbabwean government’s response…
April 7, 2020
Report
Amid COVID-19 pandemic, authorities must release immigration detainees
The Trump administration is failing to protect people in immigration detention during the COVID-19 public health emergency, Amnesty International said today in a new report, ‘We are adrift, about to sink’: The looming COVID-19 disaster in US immigration detention facilities. The United States has the largest immigration detention system in the world, with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) holding nearly 40,000 people in over 200 centers across the country. Detainees at several ICE detention facilities have launched hunger strikes to demand their freedom and protest against dangerous and inadequate hygiene and sanitation conditions. “Today, the health and safety of every…
April 7, 2020
Press Release
Government in India Must Act As Lives At Risk In Overcrowded Detention Centers In Assam
While steps taken by the Assam Government to release over 700 prisoners to contain the novel coronavirus (COVID19) outbreak are welcome, the Chief Minister of Assam, Sarbananda Sonowal must ensure that those declared foreigners and detained across the six detention centres of Assam are also released immediately, said Amnesty International India today.
April 7, 2020
Press Release
Workshop for media featuring Nazanin Boniadi and the Middle East Institute will examine COVID-19 impact on the Middle East and North Africa
As part of a series of workshops exploring human rights concerns related to the COVID-19 response, Amnesty International USA will be holding a workshop titled “The impact of COVID-19 on the Middle East and North Africa”. The workshop will cover how COVID-19 has disrupted the lives of millions of people living throughout the Middle East and North Africa and discuss ways the impact can be mitigated, ways that the public is coming together during the pandemic, as well as recommendations of how governments can respond. These are extraordinary times, but it’s critical to stress that respect for human rights is…
April 7, 2020
Press Release
Over 20,000 Migrant Workers in Quarantine in Singapore Must be Protected from Mass Infection
Responding to reports that two dormitories for migrant workers in Singapore have been designated as “isolation areas” and that over 20,000 of them have been put under quarantine there, Rachel Chhoa-Howard, Amnesty International’s Singapore Researcher said:
April 7, 2020