Press releases
Paraguayan Congress leaves 90 indigenous families homeless - 16 October 2009
Amnesty International today criticised the Paraguayan Congress for rejecting a draft bill that would have returned ancestral land to the Yakye Axa indigenous community, leaving at least 90 families homeless.Uganda: ‘Anti-Homosexuality’ Bill Threatens Liberties and Human Rights Defenders - 15 October 2009
(Kampala, October 15, 2009) – The draft “Anti-Homosexuality Bill” introduced on October 14, 2009 in Uganda’s parliament would violate human rights and should be withdrawn immediately, a group of 17 local and international human rights organizations said today.Ban Ki Moon congratulates Amnesty on new poverty campaign - 15 October 2009
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon congratulated Amnesty International on the launch of its Demand Dignity campaign to end the human rights violations that drive and deepen poverty.The Unheard Truth: World leaders must change debate on poverty and human rights - 15 October 2009
(New York) In the run up to the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty on 17 October, Amnesty International called on world leaders and policy makers to change the debate on poverty from economics to addressing the human rights problems that impoverish and keep people poor.US joins Arms Trade Treaty talks, but at high price - 14 October 2009
Today's announcement by the US government at the United Nations of its support for beginning negotiations on the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) was welcomed by Oxfam International and Amnesty International. But the two international organisations also warned that Washington’s support comes at a very high price.Cuba: Blogger denied freedom to travel outside Cuba - 13 October 2009
Amnesty International calls on the government of Cuba to lift the travel on Cuban blogger Yoani Sánchez, preventing her from travelling to New York to receive an international journalism award.
Iran: Protester death sentence must be reviewed - 9 October 2009
Amnesty International is urging the Iranian authorities to rescind the death sentence imposed on Mohammad-Reza Ali-Zamani, the first person to be sentenced to death in connection with protests following disputed presidential elections.Guinea: Call for suspension of military and police weapons transfers - 8 October 2009
Amnesty International calls on all states to suspend international supplies of military and police weaponry, munitions and other equipment that could be used to commit human rights violations by Guinean security forcesSri Lanka: Displaced now trapped between the military and the impending monsoon - 8 October 2009
A quarter of a million Sri Lankans now being held in de facto detention camps are facing a humanitarian disaster as monsoon rains threaten to flood camps, said Amnesty International today.
Months after the government of Sri Lanka set up camps in Vavuniya District in the north-east of the country following the end of the conflict there, the authorities are still failing to deliver basic services.
Camps remain overcrowded and lack basic sanitation facilities and heavy rains in September saw rivers of water cascading through tents with camp residents wading through overflowing sewage.
“People living in these camps are desperate to leave. The government must ensure that the displaced are treated with dignity. They have a right to protection and must be consulted on whether they wish to return to their homes or resettle," said Yolanda Foster, Amnesty International’s Sri Lanka expert, who is in contact with relatives of people inside the camp.
