One year on since Ireland’s vote to end its abortion ban, Amnesty International is paying tribute to the brave campaigners who spoke out for reproductive rights and sending messages of hope to people in Northern Ireland who are still subject to one of the strictest abortion bans in the world. Today...

On 30 March more than a thousand South Korean women braved freezing conditions in Seoul to call for abortion to be decriminalized, ahead of a key Constitutional Court ruling expected on 11 April. Abortion is banned in South Korea except in limited circumstances, such as rape, incest or where a...

To mark International Women’s Day 2019, we spoke to six women human rights defenders, each from a different country in South Asia. We asked them about their struggles, where they derive their strength from, and what challenges they face. AFGHANISTAN: Laila Haidari Laila Haidari is a rights...

Historic day for women as Ireland ratifies Istanbul Convention Spokespeople available In an important step forward in the fight against gender-based violence against women, the Irish government has ratified the Istanbul convention today, to ensure better protection and support for victims of such...

It’s awards season in Hollywood, and a year since a #MeToo-dominated Oscars ceremony made sexual harassment a global talking point. Critics will be watching to see what, if anything, has changed in the film industry since the Harvey Weinstein scandal broke. But the #MeToo movement has made ripples...

2018 has been a difficult year for human rights in South Asia. Crackdowns on the Right to Freedom of Expression intensified across the region. Enforced disappearances continued to scar communities in Pakistan and Bangladesh; civilian casualties remained at record highs in Afghanistan, civil society...

The new Constitution of Nepal, written in 2015, significantly widened the scope of human rights protections—including through strengthening the guarantee of economic, social and cultural rights (ESCR). Nepal is also a state party to many key human rights treaties including the International...

Responding to the death in Bajura district, Nepal, of a woman and her two young sons who had been forced to sleep in an outhouse during her menstruation, a practice known as Chhaupadi, Amnesty International said, the authorities must take urgent action to eradicate this discriminatory, harmful...

I am an international human rights lawyer with two decades experience working on sexual and reproductive rights globally, including as a consultant for the World Health Organisation and other UN agencies. I tend to work in countries with restrictive abortion laws, like Ireland. I have found...

Women and girls in Ireland finally have a once in a generation opportunity to have their right to decide what happens to their bodies recognised, said Amnesty International ahead of Friday’s referendum on abortion. The long fought-for referendum will give Irish people a chance to vote on removing a...

Ahead of Ireland’s historic referendum on abortion, the #hometovote hashtag has unleashed a wave of solidarity and inspired Irish voters from Nairobi to Toronto to return home and campaign for a woman’s right to decide.  When the Irish government finally announced there would be a...

Amnesty International submits this briefing to the United Nations (UN) Committee against Torture (the Committee) ahead of its examination, in July 2017, of Ireland’s second periodic report on the implementation of the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or...