Sept. 11, 2019 – Amnesty International’s Secretary General, Kumi Naidoo, has written a personal plea to more than 30,000 schools around the world today urging them to allow children to take part in the unprecedented wave of global climate strikes planned for 20 and 27 September. In a letter sent to school-heads and school-boards by […]
Amnesty International
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Deal or No Deal, Brexit Poses “Serious Human Rights Concerns”
Sept. 9, 2019 – The on-going uncertainty around Brexit poses serious human rights issues, Amnesty International said today. While Amnesty does not take a position on the Referendum result or whether the UK leaves the EU with or without a deal, the human rights organization has pinpointed serious human rights issues. These include a potential […]
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Bolivian Government Must Suspend Presidential Decree and Investigate Causes of Forest Fires
September 9, 2019 – In an open letter published today, Amnesty International called on the government of President Evo Morales to suspend the July decree that authorized “controlled burns” to extend the agricultural frontier, until it is certain that the decree has not contributed to the forest fires that are causing an environmental and human […]
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Discriminatory Measures Undermine Palestinian Representation in Knesset
August 3, 2019 – Palestinians elected to Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, are being targeted by discriminatory regulations and legislation that undermine their ability to represent and defend the rights of the Palestinian minority population in Israel, Amnesty International said in a new briefing published today, ahead of upcoming Israeli elections on September 17. Elected but […]
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Brazilian Government’s Failures are Fueling Wildfires Across the Amazon
Aug. 22, 2019 – Responding to the news of the wildfires that have been raging in the Amazon rainforest for several weeks, Kumi Naidoo, Secretary General of Amnesty International said: “The responsibility to stop the wildfires that have been raging in the Amazon rainforest for several weeks now lies squarely with President Bolsonaro and his […]
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New Flores Regulations Brazenly Attack Children’s Rights, Says Amnesty
August 21, 2019 – According to reports, the Trump administration is issuing a final rule that will effectively terminate the 1997 Flores Settlement Agreement, which mandates that children cannot be held in immigration detention for more than 20 days. Denise Bell, researcher for refugee and migrant rights issued this statement: “These new regulations are extraordinarily […]
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There is no evidence of a link between mental health and gun violence, says Amnesty
Aug. 5, 2019 – Responding to President Donald Trump’s speech following a spate of mass shootings over the weekend, Ernest Coverson, Amnesty International USA’s End Gun Violence campaign manager said: “Gun violence reform cannot come at the expense of the human rights of any community. When President Trump links background checks for guns with immigration […]
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Amnesty Intl. Response to US Government Decision to Resume Federal Executions
WASHINGTON, DC , July 25, 2019 – The US government has announced it plans to resume federal executions for the first time since 2003. Five people have been identified as the first to be subject to this new lethal injection protocol. In response, Amnesty International USA executive director Margaret Huang issued this statement: “The Trump […]
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New Asylum Rule Could Leave Families and Individuals Vulnerable to Grave Harm
WASHINGTON, DC, July 15, 2019 – The US government published a new interim rule that would prevent anyone at the US southern border who has traveled through another country on the way to the United States from seeking asylum here. This new rule would prevent anyone other than people from Mexico or Canada from seeking asylum […]
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Egypt: Series of draconian laws ‘legalizes’ unprecedented repression six years since fall of Morsi
July 2, 2019 – The Egyptian authorities are attempting to normalize human rights violations by passing a series of laws to “legalize” their escalating crackdown on freedom of expression, association and assembly, said Amnesty International, six years since recently deceased former President Mohamed Morsi was ousted from power on 3 July 2013. The organization has […]
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Families Still Left in Limbo After Trump’s Muslim Ban Face Impossible Circumstances
June 17, 2019 – When President Trump signed what has become known as the Muslim ban during his first week in office, he set into motion a series of events that continue to leave families in uncertainty and danger to this day, according to a new report by Amnesty International USA. In some cases, these […]
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Trump Administration May Block Asylum to Central Americans
May 30, 2019 – The Trump administration is reportedly considering barring anyone who transits through a third country from seeking asylum at the US southern border. Such a policy would effectively block anyone other than Mexicans and Canadians from seeking asylum in the United States. In response, Charanya Krishnaswami, Advocacy Director for the Americas at […]
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Authorities must stop criminalizing humanitarian aid, says Amnesty
May 21, 2019 – The U.S. Department of Justice should immediately drop all criminal charges against humanitarian volunteer Scott Warren and stop criminalizing humanitarian aid, Amnesty International said today. “The U.S. government is legally required to prevent the arbitrary deaths of migrants and asylum seekers in border areas. Yet instead, authorities have willfully destroyed humanitarian […]
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Israel’s refusal to grant Palestinian refugees right to return has fueled seven decades of suffering
May 16, 2019 – Israel’s failure to respect the right to return for Palestinians who were forced to flee their homes in 1948 is a flagrant violation of international law that has fueled decades of suffering on a mass scale for Palestinian refugees across the region, said Amnesty International, marking 71 years since the Nakba […]
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Investigation reveals US-led Coalition killed more than 1,600 civilians in Raqqa ‘death trap’
April 25, 2019 – The US-led military Coalition must end almost two years of denial about the massive civilian death toll and destruction it unleashed in the Syrian city of Raqqa, Amnesty International and Airwars said today as they launched a new data project on the offensive to oust the armed group calling itself “Islamic […]
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Saudi Arabia: Six months after brutal killing of Jamal Khashoggi, ‘no real signs of justice’
April 2, 2019 – Marking six months since the shocking murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Samah Hadid, Amnesty International’s Middle East Director of Campaigns, said: “Six months after the extrajudicial execution of Jamal Khashoggi, there are still no real signs of justice or international accountability. It has become clear that the issue is being […]
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Trump Administration Reckless in Recognizing Israel Sovereignty Over Golan Heights, Says Amnesty
March 25, 2019 – Condemning today’s announcement that the U.S. is recognizing Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights, Philippe Nassif, Middle East advocacy director at Amnesty International USA, made the following statement: “The decision to recognize the Syrian Golan Heights as Israeli territory is irresponsible, reckless and yet another example of the Trump Administration violating […]
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The Hidden U.S. War in Somalia
March 25, 2019- The US government must carry out impartial, thorough investigations into credible evidence its rapidly escalating air strikes in Somalia have killed numerous civilians, Amnesty International said in a new report last week. The Hidden US War in Somalia details how 14 civilians were killed and eight more injured in just five of […]
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Bosnia-Herzegovina: Karadžić life sentence sends powerful message to the world
March 20, 2019 – Responding to the decision by the Appeals Chamber of the International Residual Mechanisms for Criminal Tribunals to increase Radovan Karadžić’s sentence to life imprisonment for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, Amnesty International’s Europe Deputy Director, Massimo Moratti, said: “Today’s decision, upholding Radovan Karadžić’s conviction on genocide, crimes against humanity […]
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Ashley Houghton: Call for Congress to exercise oversight of administration’s attempts to crack down on advocates and journalists at US-Mexico border
WASHINGTON, DC, March 7, 2019 – According to reports, the United States government is tracking and investigating journalists and immigration advocates believed to have supported or documented the situations of asylum-seekers and migrants at the US-Mexico border. Leaked documents reveal a list including US citizens, organizers mostly based in the US and Latin America, and journalists who […]