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  • News
  • Afghanistan
  • Armed Conflict

Afghanistan: Human rights must be at the heart of the peace process

As the United States of America and the Afghan Taliban are poised to sign a peace agreement in Doha today, Amnesty International’s South Asia Researcher, Zaman Sultani, said: “No one desires peace more than the people of Afghanistan, who have suffered so much over the past four decades of conflict. Any peace process involving the parties to the conflict in Afghanistan must not ignore the voice of victims.

Date:
29 February 2020
  • News
  • Europe and Central Asia
  • Refugees

Turkey/EU: Refugees must not pay the price in political game

Following reports that Turkey is allowing asylum-seekers to depart its territory and attempt to enter the European Union particularly Greece and Bulgaria, Amnesty International’s Deputy Research Director, Massimo Moratti, said:  “What we are seeing now at Turkey’s land and sea borders with the EU is that people seeking asylum are once again being used as bargaining chips in a deadly political game, a predictable consequence of the EU-Turkey deal.

Date:
28 February 2020
  • News
  • Hong Kong

Hong Kong: Arrest of pro-democracy activists is fresh attempt to crush dissent

In response to today’s arrest of media tycoon Jimmy Lai and two other pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong on charges of “unlawful assembly” for their participation in largely peaceful mass protests on 31 August 2019, Director of Amnesty International Hong Kong Man-Kei Tam said: “These unjustifiable arrests are a shameless attempt to harass and silence those in Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement. It continues the pattern of the authorities using politically motivated charges to suppress opposition voices.

Date:
28 February 2020
  • News
  • Americas
  • Detention

UK: Amnesty International urges the UK to guarantee a fair extradition process to Julian Assange

Having been in court to observe Julian Assange’s extradition hearing, Amnesty International's expert on human rights in Europe Julia Hall said: "This week has underscored the threat to the right to freedom of expression and access to information worldwide should Julian Assange be sent to the USA to be prosecuted under espionage charges. “The potential chilling effect on journalists and others who seek to reveal information in the public interest from their sources is self-evident.

Date:
27 February 2020
  • News
  • Tunisia

Tunisia: New government an opportunity to break with impunity of the past

The new Tunisian government must take the opportunity to break the pattern of impunity for security forces accused of human rights violations, Amnesty International has said in an open letter to the new prime minister. As Prime Minister Elyes Fakhfakh is sworn in today, Amnesty is calling for his government to publicly commit to a zero-tolerance approach to human rights violations, and that accountability for past crimes - as well as those committed by security forces since 2011 - will be prioritized.

Date:
27 February 2020
  • News
  • Burundi
  • Discrimination

Burundi: Drop demand on international NGOs to disclose ethnic identity of employees

The Burundi government must scrap a dangerous requirement for international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) to declare the ethnicities of their Burundian employees, Amnesty International said today. In a letter dated 13 February, the Minister of Patriotic Training and Home Affairs Pascal Barandagiye directed INGOs to submit detailed and sensitive personal data on all employees by 28 February. In the case of Burundian nationals, this would include providing the ethnicity of each employee, listed by name.

Date:
27 February 2020
  • News
  • Azerbaijan
  • Censorship and Freedom of Expression

European Court rules Azerbaijan imprisoned Khadija Ismayilova to silence and punish her

Reacting to today’s European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) judgment in Ismayilova v. Azerbaijan, in favour of journalist Khadia Ismayilova, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Denis Krivosheev, said: “The case of Khadija Ismayilova – a prominent journalist who served a prison sentence under false charges – has epitomized the persecution of critical voices in Azerbaijan.

Date:
27 February 2020
  • News
  • Afghanistan
  • Human Rights Defenders and Activists

Defending Afghanistan's defenders: from commitments to action

Wherever there is injustice in Afghanistan, you will find some of the bravest people fighting against it. They are lawyers and activists supporting women who have suffered violence and discrimination. They are teachers who are supporting the right to education of girls and boys. They are journalists who advance the right to freedom of expression. They are whistleblowers who expose allegations of corruption and other abuses of government and its officials.

Date:
27 February 2020
  • News
  • Americas
  • Demonstrations

Factsheet: Major human rights events in the Americas 2019

Amnesty International has documented grave violations of human rights in 2019 in 24 countries across the Americas. Examples of the major human rights events analyzed include:   BOLIVIA After Evo Morales’ resignation amidst a social-political crisis in November, interim president Jeanine Áñez issued a decree granting impunity to Armed Forces, under which security forces repressed protests, causing deaths, dozens of injuries and allegations of excessive use of force.

Date:
27 February 2020
  • News
  • Sri Lanka
  • Justice Systems

Sri Lanka: Withdrawal from UN commitments requires robust response by Human Rights Council

Following Sri Lanka’s decision to withdraw from its commitments to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva this week, Amnesty International calls on the Council to establish an international accountability mechanism to ensure the victims of decades-long conflict get the justice that is owed to them. The call comes as the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights’ latest report on Sri Lanka raises concerns about human rights commitments being rolled back.

Date:
27 February 2020
  • News
  • Americas
  • Climate Change

Facts & Figures: Human Rights in the Americas in 2019

At least 210 people died violently in the context of protests across the Americas: 83 in Haiti, 47 in Venezuela, 35 in Bolivia, 31 in Chile, 8 in Ecuador and 6 in Honduras. (Amnesty International) With 208 killings, Latin America and the Caribbean was the world’s deadliest region for human rights defenders and accounted for 68% of the global total of 304 killings. Colombia was the world’s most lethal country for human rights defenders, with 106 killings.

Date:
27 February 2020
  • News
  • Americas
  • Refugees

Americas: States cracked down on asylum and the right to protest in 2019

As millions took to the streets to protest rampant violence, inequality, corruption and impunity, or were forced to flee their countries in search of safety, states across the Americas clamped down on the rights to protest and seek asylum last year with flagrant disregard for their obligations under domestic and international law, Amnesty International said today upon launching its annual report for the region.

Date:
27 February 2020
  • News
  • Americas
  • Migrants

Trump's efforts to end asylum are an all-out assault on human rights

2019 was a deeply troubling year for human rights in the Americas, as Amnesty International demonstrates today in its regional annual report. Protesters in Venezuela, Honduras, Haiti and Chile suffered brutal state repression, while Latin America was once again the world’s most lethal region for human rights defenders. Gender-based violence remained widespread and environmental degradation continued to rise, with the White House formally seeking to withdraw from the Paris climate pact and Brazilian government failures exacerbating the destruction of the Amazon.

Date:
27 February 2020
  • News
  • Americas
  • Refugees

The invisible walls of the Americas

“You leave your country to move forward. To stay is to lie down and die,” Khristopher told an Amnesty International delegation in Bogotá when we interviewed him to find out about his experience as a Venezuelan living in Colombia. Khristopher is only one of the 4. 8 million people that have been forced to flee a country facing a humanitarian emergency so serious that the departure of its citizens now constitutes the second largest refugee crisis in the world after Syria.

Date:
27 February 2020
  • News
  • Saudi Arabia
  • Women and Girls

Saudi Arabia: Launch of women’s football league should not distract from abysmal human rights situation

Responding to reports that Saudi Arabia is to launch a Women’s Football League, Lynn Maalouf, Amnesty International’s Middle East Research Director, said: “The launch of a women’s football league in Saudi Arabia is no doubt a step that will be welcomed by Saudi citizens - but as with other reforms relating to women in the Kingdom, it is also a painful reminder of the abysmal situation for the very women and men who have fought for such change.

Date:
26 February 2020
  • News
  • Malaysia

Malaysia: Changes in government must not derail human rights reforms

Responding to news that Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has resigned but will stay on for an interim period to oversee the formation of a new government at the request of the King, Amnesty International’s Regional Director Nicholas Bequelin said: “Changes in government in Malaysia must not stall vital human rights reforms. Up to now, the government’s commitment to human rights change has been slower than desired, but nonetheless commendable as first steps.

Date:
25 February 2020