Latest News
Bangladesh: Appeals for commutation of death sentences
Amnesty International calls on the Bangladesh authorities not to carry out death sentences against five men found guilty of the killing 34 years ago of then President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and members of his family
2009-11-20
Singapore defamation case threatens press freedom
A magazine and its editor have agreed to pay S$405,000 (Approximately US$290,000) following a fine by the country’s highest court for alleged defamation.
2009-11-19
Egyptian Military Court of Appeals fails to rectify injustice
Amnesty International condemns the failure of Egypt's military appeals court to overturn sentences imposed on leading members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood organization after unfair trials and call
2009-11-19
Soldiers convicted for ill-treatment of conscientious objector in Turkey
Amnesty International has welcomed the conviction of three Turkish soldiers for “intentionally wounding” a conscientious objector while he was in military custody.
2009-11-19
Egypt: Military Court of Appeals fails to rectify injustice
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2009-11-19
Democratic Republic of Congo: More prosecutions should follow for war crimes in the Kivus
Amnesty International welcomes the arrest by the German authorities of Ignace Murwanashyaka, President of the Democratic Liberation Forces of Rwanda (FDLR), and his deputy, Straton Musoni, on 17 November 2009 as an important step forward in addressing impunity and establishing accountability for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in eastern DRC
2009-11-18
Australia: Government must end state-sponsored racially discriminatory measures
Slamming decades of failure by Australian governments to address the dire living conditions, disempowerment and discrimination faced by many of the country’s Indigenous peoples, Amnesty International’s Secretary General Irene Khan warned that the government of Prime Minister Rudd must not squander its unique opportunity to right these historic wrongs.
2009-11-18
USA: Future of Guantánamo detainees must be resolved
President Barack Obama has acknowledged that his administration will not meet his deadline for the closure of the military facility in Cuba.
2009-11-18
Afghanistan's President Karzai must commit to human rights
Amnesty International has urged newly re-elected President Hamid Karzai to prioritize human rights and the rule of law in his second term in order to strengthen the country's stability and security.
2009-11-18
Iranian authorities must investigate death of detention centre doctor
Dr Ramin Pourandarjani had allegedly received threats to deter him from revealing the extent of abuse that had taken place at Kahrizak detention centre.
2009-11-18
Jordan must fully investigate suspected police killings
Two men have died in one week after they were allegedly beaten by police officers. Amnesty International has called for full and independent investigations into their deaths.
2009-11-18
Haiti: Girls Working as Domestic Help in Haiti are Virtual Slaves, Says Amnesty International
Tens of thousands of children in Haiti -- most of them girls -- are working as domestic servants in conditions that amount to slavery, Amnesty International said in a briefing Tuesday, ahead of Universal Children?s Day (Friday, Nov. 20). The human rights organization is launching a campaign to press the government of Haiti to protect child workers from abuse and exploitation.
2009-11-18
USA: Amnesty International Asks Why Obama Can't Close Guantánamo by His Deadline
Larry Cox, Amnesty International USA executive director, issued the following statement in response to President Barack Obama's remarks that the U.S.-controlled detention facility at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, will not be closed by his January 22, 2010, deadline.
2009-11-18
India/USA: Open Letter to Barak Obama Ahead of his Visit to India
On behalf of Amnesty International USA, I urge you to candidly address human rights concerns in India during your upcoming meeting with the Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh and to press him to make substantive improvements
2009-11-18
Amnesty International visits Honduras to assess human rights situation
An Amnesty International delegation will be travelling to Honduras between 24 November and 4 December to assess the human rights situation in the context of the political crisis facing the Central American nation.
2009-11-18
Future of Guantánamo detainees must be resolved
The US government must redouble efforts to resolve the future of detainees still held at the military facility in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, Amnesty International said after President Barack Obama acknowledged his administration would not meet his deadline for its closure.
2009-11-18
Egypt: Cairo's poorest risk being buried alive in their homes
The Egyptian authorities must take immediate and inclusive steps to protect Cairo’s poorest inhabitants living in ‘unsafe areas’ where they are at risk from rockslides and other dangers, Amnesty International said in a new report released today.
2009-11-17
Morocco/Western Sahara: Expulsion of human rights defender reflects growing intolerance
Amnesty International deplores the decision of the Moroccan authorities to expel human rights defender Aminatou Haidar from Western Sahara on 14 November, and urges the authorities to immediately allow her to return to her home in Laayoune
2009-11-17
USA: World's Largest Letter-Writing Event Saves Lives and Frees People Unjustly Imprisoned; Amnesty International Activists to Use Pens to Fight For Global Justice
Since it takes more than a Twitter post to free a prisoner of conscience, tens of thousands of human rights activists around the world will participate in Amnesty International?s eighth annual Global Write-a-thon from December 5-13.
2009-11-16
Iran: Amnesty International Calls on Iran to Stop Imminent Execution of Kurdish Man
The Iranian authorities must halt the imminent execution of Sherko Moarefi, a Kurdish man convicted of "enmity against God" over his alleged membership in a proscribed Kurdish organization, Amnesty International said today.
2009-11-16
USA: Amnesty International Urges Obama to Publicly Speak about Human Rights in China
Human rights organization says failure to address these issues will only encourage China to continue its abuses
2009-11-16
Egypt: AI Report Urges Protection for Cairo's Poor at Risk of Being Buried Alive in Dangerous Slums
Precarious Hillside Slums Threaten Millions of Lives
2009-11-16
Iranian 'web crime' unit designed to silence dissent
Reports that the Iranian government plans to establish "cyber police" to fight "crimes" on the internet indicate they are intensifying their attack on freedom of expression.
2009-11-16
US must reform Afghanistan detention policy as new facility opens
The Obama administration should revise its detention policies in Afghanistan to make them consistent with international law, Amnesty International, Human Rights First, and Human Rights Watch have said
2009-11-16
Amnesty International takes action for Sri Lanka displaced
Activists and supporters of Amnesty International will launch a week of action on Monday highlighting the continued detention of thousands of displaced civilians in government camps in Sri Lanka.
2009-11-16
US: Reform Afghanistan Detention Policy as New Facility Opens, Prisoner Rights Still Lacking
(London November 15, 2009) –The Obama administration should revise its detention policies in Afghanistan to make them consistent with international law, Amnesty International, Human Rights First, and Human Rights Watch said today.
2009-11-15
Mozambique: Unlawful Police Killings Carried Out with Near Impunity
Since January 2006, at Least 46 People Killed by Police; Few Officers Held to Account
2009-11-15
USA: Amnesty International Calls Transfer of 9/11 Suspects to Federal Courts "An Important Step" - Concerns Remain about Military Commissions
Tom Parker, Amnesty International USA policy director for (counter) terrorism and human rights, issued the following statement in response to the Obama administration?s announcement that several 9/11 detainees will be transferred to federal courts:
2009-11-13
Indigenous teacher missing in Brazil after violence over ancestral lands
Brazilian and Paraguayan authorities must redouble their efforts to find an indigenous teacher who has been missing since 30 October.
2009-11-13
Macedonia must guarantee the right to freedom of peaceful assembly
Amnesty International has welcomed the commitment by the Macedonian authorities to ensure that the International Day for Tolerance march in Skopje goes ahead on 16 November without hindrance.
2009-11-13
Latest Reports
Ethiopia: Free Birtukan Medeksa (Postcard action Addressee 1)
2009-11-10
Ethiopia: Free Birtukan Medeksa (Postcard action Addressee 2)
2009-11-10
Israel/Occupied Palestinian Territories: Demand Dignity: Troubled waters - Palestinians denied fair access to water
Lack of access to adequate, safe and clean water has been a longstanding problem for Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT), principally as a result of discriminatory Israeli policies and practices. Some 180,000-200,000 Palestinians in rural communities in the West Bank have no access to running water. The water shortage has hindered social and economic development for Palestinians in the OPT and has resulted in violations of their right to an adequate standard of living, including the rights to water, food, health, work and adequate housing.
2009-10-27
Out of Reach: The Cost of Maternal Health in Sierra Leone
This report is about maternal mortality as a human rights issue. It focuses on: 1, the urgent need to remove financial barriers to health care and in particular emergency obstetric care; 2, the accountability of the government of Sierra Leone, given its obligations to address maternal health care and to ensure the availability, accessibility, acceptability and quality of health care services, facilities and goods; and 3, discrimination and other social factors that contribute to undermining women's right tohealth.
2009-10-08
Turkmenistan: Shed light on the disappeared - Postcard
2009-09-23
Spain: End Incommunicado detention in Spain (postcard)
2009-09-15
Spain: Out of the shadows: End incommunicado detention in Spain
Spanish law allows people to be held incommunicado, which means they have no effective access to a lawyer or to a doctor of their choice, and their family is not informed where they are or that they have been detained. It is one of the strictest detention regimes in the European Union. Many detainees held incommunicado say that they were tortured or otherwise ill-treated. Amnesty International is calling for the Spanish authorities to abrogate legislation that allows incommunicado detention and to investigate allegations of torture.
2009-09-15
Spain: Out of the shadows - Time to end incommunicado detention
Amnesty International considers that the incommunicado regime in Spanish law is a violation of Spain’s obligations under international human rights law. No other European Union country maintains a detention regime with such severe restrictions on the rights of detainees. The continuing allegations of torture and other ill-treatment demonstrate the grave consequences detention in this regime may have. Amnesty International calls on parliament to abrogate the existing legislation and to ensure the effective protection of the rights of all persons deprived of their liberty.
2009-09-15
Saudi Arabia: Countering terrorism with repression
Since the 11 September 2001 attacks in the USA, carried out by a group that included Saudi Arabian nationals, and in the wake of bombings and other attacks inside Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Arabian authorities have imposed a range of counter-terrorism measures that have swept aside embryonic legal reforms and left people in Saudi Arabia almost completely devoid of fundamental freedoms and rights. In this document, which includes case studies, Amnesty International is calling on the Saudi Arabian authorities to stop the endemic abuse of human rights.
2009-09-11
Qatar: Submission to the UN Universal Periodic Review
Seventh session of the UPR Working Group of the Human Rights Council, February 2010
2009-09-01
Canada still refusing to seek Omar Khadr's repatriation from Guantánamo; Mohammed Jawad returned to Afghanistan
By refusing to seek the repatriation of its national, Omar Khadr, from US custody in Guantánamo Bay, the Canadian government is betraying human rights principles and perpetuating injustice, while also failing to offer a remedy for its own participation in the violation of his human rights.
At the same time as the Canadian authorities were continuing on their path of resisting calling for Omar Khadr?s repatriation, Afghan national Mohammed Jawad ? like Omar Khadr taken into US custody in 2002 in Afghanistan when he was still a child ? was released from Guantánamo and has been reunited with members of his family in Afghanistan.
2009-08-28
Morocco/Western Sahara: No more half measures: Addressing enforced disappearances in Morocco and Western Sahara
In a significant break with the past in Morocco and Western Sahara, King Mohamed VI established the Equity and Reconciliation Commission in 2003 to investigate cases of enforced disappearances and arbitrary detention that occurred between 1956 and 1999. But the hopes initially raised by this initiative have been marred by an inability to adequately deliver truth, justice and reparation to the many victims and families of the disappeared. Further steps are essential and Amnesty International therefore makes appropriate recommendations to the Moroccan authorities in this document.
2009-08-28
Europe and Central Asia: Stop enforced disappearances in Europe and Central Asia
International Day of the Disappeared, 30 August 2009, is the time to demand justice for victims of enforced disappearances. In this document Amnesty International is urging governments to ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. Only three of the 47 member states of the Council of Europe have so far done so. The context and scale of enforced disappearances vary in European and Central Asian countries; this document includes illustrative examples.
2009-08-25
Africa: Stop enforced disappearances in Africa
International Day of the Disappeared, 30 August 2009, is the time to demand justice for victims of enforced disappearances. In this document Amnesty International is urging governments to ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance: only two African countries have so far done so. In some countries in Africa enforced disappearance is used in course of policing activities; and in some, enforced disappearances are used as a means of retaliation against a particular political or ethnic group. This document includes illustrative examples.
2009-08-25
Honduras: Human Rights Crisis Threatens As Repression Increases
A delegation from Amnesty International visited Honduras from 28 July ? 1 August 2009 to investigate reports of human rights violations following the military-backed coup d?etat on 28 June.
The delegation held meetings with representatives from across a wide range of civil society and visited persons in detention and several people receiving medical treatment in hospitals. Where requested, the identity of those interviewed has been withheld for their own safety.
2009-08-20
North Korea: The right to food and monitoring human rights - Information sheet
2009-08-02
North Korea: Freedom of movement, opinion and expression - Information sheet
2009-08-02
North Korea: Torture, death penalty and abductions - Information sheet
2009-08-02
India: Don't take my home away: A healthy environment is a human right: Demand Dignity - postcard
2009-07-29
India: Our land, our choice: A healthy environment is a human right: Demand Dignity - postcard
2009-07-29
China: Briefing for the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination: 75th Session, August 2009
Amnesty International has prepared this briefing for the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) to assist their consideration of China?s 10th to 13th periodic reports. The scope of this briefing is confined to mainland China. The briefing highlights some of the most egregious aspects of racial discrimination, in law and practice, including the on-going repression of Tibetans and Uighurs in China.
2009-07-27
Nicaragua: The Total Abortion Ban in Nicaragua
Pregnant women and girls in Nicaragua are being denied life-saving medical treatment as a result of the country's total ban on abortions because doctors are afraid of harming fetuses, which would leave them open to being criminally prosecuted under the severe new law.
2009-07-27
Saudi Arabia: Assaulting human rights in the name of counter-terrorism
2009-07-22
USA: Trials in error. Third go at misconceived military commissions experiment
In a September 2002 report, the assistant commander of the US Army Intelligence Center described the detention facility at the US Naval Base at Guantánamo Bay in Cuba as "America?s Battle Lab" in the global "war on terror".
According to the then head of the Pentagon's Criminal Investigative Task Force (CITF), two commanders in charge of the Guantánamo detentions, Major General Michael Dunlavey and his successor, Major General Geoffrey Miller, adopted the "Battle Lab" description. They were among those officials who sought approval for, or approved, interrogation methods that violated the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.
2009-07-16
USA: Not too late to abandon military commissions
Amnesty International continues to urge the USA, as part of the shutting down of the Guantánamo detention facility, to abandon its military commission experiment, begun by President George W. Bush in November 2001 and revised under the MCA in September 2006. The organization believes that the military commissions cannot be a part of any real solution to the disregard for human rights that has marked the USA?s response to the attacks of 11 September 2001. De-militarizing trials of Guantánamo detainees and others accused of similar conduct should be a key part of bringing this regrettable chapter to a close and towards ensuring the USA?s future respect for its human rights obligations.
2009-07-16
Israel/Gaza: Operation Cast Lead - 22 Days of Death and Destruction
2009-07-02
