Amnesty International USA is the US Section of Amnesty International, a worldwide human rights organization. http://www.amnestyusa.org/rss/en/news/uspolicy.xml en Amnesty International Amnesty International hourly 4 http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGUSA20090702001&lang=e&rss=uspolicy Pakistan's central and regional governments must urgently do more to assist the more than two million people who have fled escalating fighting in northwestern Pakistan but do not have access to aid distributed in official displacement camps, Amnesty International said today. In particular, the Pakistani government must ensure that ethnic Pashtuns fleeing the fighting do not face discrimination in receiving assistance. 2009-07-02T00:00:00-05:00 countries=pakistan,usa http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGUSA20090701001&lang=e&rss=uspolicy Only full accountability for the human rights violations that have been taking place over the past decade and more can bring real normalization to Chechnya and the North Caucasus, Amnesty International said in a new report, Rule without Law: Human Rights Violations in the North Caucasus, published today. 2009-07-01T00:00:00-05:00 countries=russian_federation,usa http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGUSA20090630001&lang=e&rss=uspolicy Amnesty International said today that Honduran President Manuel Zelaya must be able to return to Honduras immediately, safely and without conditions. 2009-06-30T00:00:00-05:00 countries=honduras,usa http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGUSA20090630002&lang=e&rss=uspolicy With further demonstrations by supporters of ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya expected on Tuesday, Amnesty International urged government security forces to refrain from using excessive force against protesters and ensure their safety. 2009-06-30T00:00:00-05:00 countries=honduras,usa http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGUSA20090630003&lang=e&rss=uspolicy The Nigerian government and companies extracting oil in the Niger Delta have shown a "shocking disregard" for the human impact of oil-related pollution, which includes damage to fishing and farming that had sustained the desperately-poor population, Amnesty International said today in a new report, Petroleum, Pollution and Poverty in the Niger Delta. 2009-06-30T00:00:00-05:00 countries=nigeria,usa http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGUSA20090629001&lang=e&rss=uspolicy Today, Amnesty International members across Europe, including the United Kingdom, Germany and Turkey, take to the streets in support of independent media in Azerbaijan which is coming under increasing pressure from the authorities. 2009-06-29T00:00:00-05:00 countries=azerbaijan,germany,turkey,united_kingdom,usa http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGUSA20090629002&lang=e&rss=uspolicy Amnesty International is gravely concerned that several opposition leaders detained in the wake of the June 12 elections may be facing torture, possibly to force them to make televised 'confessions' as a prelude to unfair trials in which they could face the death penalty. 2009-06-29T00:00:00-05:00 countries=iran,usa http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGUSA20090625001&lang=e&rss=uspolicy Amnesty International today condemned the amputations of the hands and legs of four teenagers in Somalia as punishment for the alleged theft of pistols and mobile phones. The human rights organization said the double amputations amount to torture and defy international law. The punishment was carried out in front of a crowd by the al-Shabab armed militia in northern Mogadishu. 2009-06-25T00:00:00-05:00 countries=mali,somalia,usa http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGUSA20090624003&lang=e&rss=uspolicy Interviews with former Bagram detainees by the BBC are a timely reminder of the continuing need for accountability, transparency and for the human rights of those held by the United States in Afghanistan to be fully protected, said Amnesty International today. The organization reiterated its call on the U.S. authorities to establish a full independent commission of inquiry into all aspects of the United States' detention and interrogation regime in what the Bush administration dubbed the "war on terror." 2009-06-24T00:00:00-05:00 countries=afghanistan,usa http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGUSA20090617002&lang=e&rss=uspolicy Documents before the Human Rights Council for adoption today strongly imply that the Council will end the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on Sudan, according to Amnesty International, which said such a move would be the wrong move given the continuing human rights abuses in Darfur. 2009-06-17T00:00:00-05:00 countries=sudan,usa http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGUSA20090611001&lang=e&rss=uspolicy Chad Stokes, lead singer for the socially and politically-charged rock band State Radio, is teaming up with Amnesty International on Thursday evening, June 11, for a teach-in on women's human rights. On Friday evening, Stokes reunites with Dispatch for a sold-out event at the Kennedy Center. 2009-06-11T00:00:00-05:00 countries=usa,zimbabwe http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGUSA20090611002&lang=e&rss=uspolicy Amnesty International today urged the Senate to act on legislation passed by the House of Representatives on Wednesday that permanently establishes a State Department office focusing on preventing epidemic levels of violence against women worldwide. The human rights organization said passage of H.R.2410, the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, will make permanent the Office for Global Women's Issues, which President Obama created by Executive Order. 2009-06-11T00:00:00-05:00 countries=usa http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGPRE200906101091&lang=e&rss=uspolicy Reports that the government of Palau has offered to temporarily accept up to 17 Guantánamo detainees leave many questions unanswered and even if the offer is taken up it would not relieve the US authorities of their responsibility to the men, Amnesty International said today. 2009-06-10T00:00:00-05:00 countries=usa http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGUSA20090605001&lang=e&rss=uspolicy In response to Governor Rell?s veto today of HB 6578, Connecticut's death penalty abolition bill, Amnesty International USA Executive Director Larry Cox made the following statement. 2009-06-05T00:00:00-05:00 countries=usa http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGUSA20090604001&lang=e&rss=uspolicy Larry Cox, Amnesty International USA executive director, issued the following quote in response to President Obama's major address in Cairo. 2009-06-04T00:00:00-05:00 countries=egypt,usa http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGUSA20090602001&lang=e&rss=uspolicy Amnesty International today applauded the partnership between the Oklahoma Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training (CLEET) and Oklahoma rape crisis advocates for training more than 1000 of its officers in a year and a half on evidence-based sexual assault and sexual violence. 2009-06-02T00:00:00-05:00 countries=usa http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGUSA20090601001&lang=e&rss=uspolicy Dear Mr. President: On the occasion of your forthcoming trip to Egypt and Saudi Arabia, Amnesty International urges you to highlight the importance of human rights in the region. Counter terrorism and political insecurity have too often been used to justify human rights violations by governments throughout the region and to shield the perpetrators from accountability. This atmosphere of impunity has in turn encouraged abuses and has lead to instability. 2009-06-01T00:00:00-05:00 countries=saudi_arabia http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGUSA20090521001&lang=e&rss=uspolicy In response to President Barack Obama's national security address today, Amnesty International's executive director Larry Cox issued the following statement: 2009-05-21T00:00:00-05:00 countries=usa http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGUSA20090515001&lang=e&rss=uspolicy In response to today's news from the Central Intelligence Agency that it was denying former Vice President Cheney?s request for the public release of two memos--on the basis that the documents are currently the subject of pending litigation, including a suit filed jointly under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by Amnesty International USA, the Center for Constitutional Rights, and the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice--the organizations released the following statements: 2009-05-15T00:00:00-05:00 countries=usa http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGUSA20090515003&lang=e&rss=uspolicy In response to President Barack Obama restarting the military commissions at the U.S.-controlled detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Amnesty International's executive director Larry Cox issued the following statement: 2009-05-15T00:00:00-05:00 countries=usa http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGUSA20090513001&lang=e&rss=uspolicy Amnesty International is urging President Barack Obama to speak out against the indiscriminate killing of civilians in the current conflict between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The human rights organization has also urged United Nations Security Council members to discuss the latest disturbing developments in the country and establish a Commission of Inquiry into violations of international law that have taken place during the violence. 2009-05-13T00:00:00-05:00 countries=sri_lanka http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGUSA20090513003&lang=e&rss=uspolicy Amnesty International USA's executive director Larry Cox released the following statement in response to news reports that the Obama administration will not be fulfilling its legal obligation per the American Civil Liberties Union's FOIA suit to release photos documenting abuse and torture of detainees in Iraq and Afghanistan: 2009-05-13T00:00:00-05:00 countries=usa http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGUSA20090429001&lang=e&rss=uspolicy Amnesty International today described President Barack Obama?s first 100 days when it comes to counterterrorism policies as "promises for change with only limited action." 2009-04-29T00:00:00-05:00 countries=usa http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGUSA20090422002&lang=e&rss=uspolicy Upon release of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) full report on the treatment of detainees in U.S. custody, Amnesty International USA's executive director Larry Cox issued the following statement: 2009-04-22T00:00:00-05:00 countries=usa http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGUSA20090417001&lang=e&rss=uspolicy In response to news that the U.S. Department of Justice released memos that provided the legal framework for the Central Intelligence Agency's use of waterboarding and other illegal interrogation methods that violate domestic and international law, Amnesty International's executive director Larry Cox made the following statement: 2009-04-17T00:00:00-05:00 countries=usa http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGUSA20090417002&lang=e&rss=uspolicy Amnesty International USA applauds the president?s reported plans to tackle the proliferation of small arms and light weapons by calling on the U.S. Senate to ratify the Organization of American States (OAS) Firearms Convention that has contributed to massive human rights violations in Latin America over the past decade. 2009-04-17T00:00:00-05:00 countries=usa http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGUSA20090417004&lang=e&rss=uspolicy Following the release yesterday of four key torture memos from the Bush administration and the concurrent statements by President Barack Obama and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder that Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operatives who carried out interrogations of terrorism suspects will not be prosecuted, Amnesty International USA?s (AIUSA) counterterrorism expert Tom Parker released the following statement: 2009-04-17T00:00:00-05:00 countries=usa http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGUSA20090416001&lang=e&rss=uspolicy An open letter from Amnesty International USA Executive Director, Larry Cox, to Dr. Yvette Roubideaux, to be confirmed before the Senate Indian Affairs Committee next Thursday as Director of the Indian Health Service. She will be the first American Indian woman ever to lead the agency. 2009-04-16T00:00:00-05:00 countries=usa http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGUSA20090415002&lang=e&rss=uspolicy Amnesty International Urges Government Leaders at Americas Summit to Focus on Poverty, Climate Change, Public Security and Corporate Accountability 2009-04-15T00:00:00-05:00 countries=usa http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGUSA20090413001&lang=e&rss=uspolicy The Obama administration should take immediate steps to declassify and release documents that would allow the American public to understand the truth about the human rights violations committed as part of the U.S. secret detention, extraordinary rendition, and coercive interrogation programs, said three prominent human rights groups today. 2009-04-13T00:00:00-05:00 countries=usa