Human rights defenders lacked appropriate protection mechanisms to safeguard their lives and physical safety. The authorities failed to ensure effective investigations into threats and attacks against human rights defenders, particularly those working to defend Indigenous Peoples’ rights, their...

Countries that are dependent on oil extraction must immediately put an end to harmful activities such as routine flaring and prioritize the urgent phase-out of fossil fuels to ensure a rapid and just energy transition. According to a new report released today by Amnesty International, eliminating...

Environmental defenders are at the forefront of the struggle for climate justice in the Americas, but – due in part to the region’s colonial history, racism and inherent inequality – they are not sufficiently recognized or meaningfully included in decisions on environmental and climate issues,...

In its new report published today, Regularize and Protect: International obligations for the protection of Venezuelan nationals, Amnesty International reveals that Colombia, Peru, Ecuador and Chile are failing to comply with their obligations under international law to protect those fleeing...

Venezuelan migration: International protection and refugee status: Principle of non-refoulement Temporary protection or stay arrangements

In response to the killing yesterday of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International, said:  “Amnesty International is extremely concerned at the current state of violence in Ecuador, which is facing a sharp increase in its homicide...

States in the Americas must address the closure of civic space in the region, end repressive policies and respond to the social demands of the population of the region, said Amnesty International today in an open letter to heads of state attending the 53rd General Assembly of the Organization of...

Reacting to the signing of a communiqué by more than 30 countries in Costa Rica today calling for international law including prohibitions and regulations in relation to the development and use of autonomous weapons systems, Amnesty International’s Secretary General Agnès Callamard said: “The...

Features of Venezuelan human mobility: As of September 2022, approximately 7.1 million Venezuelans have left their country. Ecuador is the receiving country with the third highest number of Venezuelans in the world, after Colombia and Peru, with 502,214 Venezuelan refugees in the country. By the...

Ecuador joins countries such as Colombia and Peru in failing on two levels to protect Venezuelan refugees who survive gender-based violence, indicating an alarming regional trend that must be urgently reversed, Amnesty International said today upon publishing a new report. Unprotected in Ecuador:...

On 12 September this year, President Guillermo Lasso presented Ecuadorian citizens with a series of eight questions on public security, strengthening democracy and the environment in order to promote a citizens’ consultation in 2023 that could lead to constitutional reforms. This week, Ecuador’s...

President Lasso must address the structural causes of the demonstrations The repression by President Guillermo Lasso’s government of demonstrations called by Indigenous, trade union and social organisations as part of a national strike since 13 June 2022 is causing a human rights crisis with many...