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=ENGUSA20080722001&lang=e The Department of Justice (DOJ) must stop its stonewalling tactics and produce documents related to the U.S. government?s ghost detention, torture, and extraordinary rendition program, three prominent human rights groups urged today, just after collectively filing a motion to require the DOJ to make certain information public. The motion also seeks to compel the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to process the groups? request for particular documents. 2008-07-22T00:00:00-05:00 countries=usa http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGUSA20080722002&lang=e The Department of Justice (DOJ) must stop its stonewalling tactics and produce documents related to the U.S. government?s ghost detention, torture, and extraordinary rendition program, three prominent human rights groups urged today, just after collectively filing a motion to require the DOJ to make certain information public. The motion also seeks to compel the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to process the groups? request for particular documents. 2008-07-21T00:00:00-05:00 countries=usa http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGUSA20080718001&lang=e [Washington, DC]-Amnesty International USA's executive director Larry Cox released the following statement in response to today's U.S. federal court decision allowing the military commission trial of Salim Hamdan to proceed as scheduled. Hamdan is a Yemeni national who has been in U.S. custody since November 2001. He will be the first defendant before the military commissions at Guantanamo. 2008-07-18T00:00:00-05:00 countries=usa http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGUSA20080715002&lang=e Reacting to today's release of a video publicly showing Canadian citizen Omar Khadr being questioned at the U.S.-controlled detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Amnesty International called for Khadr to be repatriated to Canada immediately. 2008-07-15T00:00:00-05:00 countries=canada http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGUSA20080711001&lang=e On 10 July 2008, military commission judge US Marine Colonel Ralph Kohlmann held further proceedings to question the men accused of orchestrating the attacks of 11 September 2001 about their decision to represent themselves at their forthcoming death penalty trial in the US Naval Base in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. Amnesty International had an observer at the proceedings. 2008-07-11T00:00:00-05:00 countries=usa http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGUSA20080710001&lang=e Two of the five men accused of orchestrating the attacks of 11 September 2001 and facing a death penalty trial by military commission appeared separately in front of a military judge yesterday in Guantánamo to be questioned about their decision to represent themselves. The three other defendants are scheduled to appear before the judge, US Marine Colonel Ralph Kohlmann, today. Amnesty International has an observer at the proceedings. 2008-07-10T00:00:00-05:00 countries=usa http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGUSA20080709001&lang=e Five Guantánamo detainees accused of involvement in the September 11, 2001 attacks are due to appear in front of a military judge this week, beginning tomorrow, as pre-trial hearings in the case resume. Amnesty International will have an observer at the proceedings. 2008-07-09T00:00:00-05:00 countries=usa http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGUSA20080702001&lang=e Amnesty International today welcomed human rights protections in Congress' final version of the aid package to fight drug cartels in Mexico and Central America, saying the final bill is an important first step to prevent military and police abuses, including torture. The human rights organization warned that implementation will depend on the commitment by Mexican, Central American and U.S. authorities. The first block of funding for the so-called Merida Initiative was signed into law by President Bush on Monday. 2008-07-02T00:00:00-05:00 countries=mexico,usa http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGUSA20080701002&lang=e The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) must no longer be allowed to use classification arguments in its attempts to prevent the disclosure of illegal or embarrassing conduct in its secret detention, torture, and rendition programs, three prominent human rights groups said today. The statement came just hours after they collectively filed a motion to require the CIA to make certain information public and to provide more details about all the documents withheld. 2008-07-01T00:00:00-05:00 countries=usa http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGUSA20080626001&lang=e The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) must no longer be allowed to use classification arguments in its attempts to prevent the disclosure of illegal or embarrassing conduct in its secret detention, torture, and rendition programs, three prominent human rights groups said today. The statement came just hours after they collectively filed a motion to require the CIA to make certain information public and to provide more details about all the documents withheld. 2008-06-26T00:00:00-05:00 countries=usa http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGUSA20080624001&lang=e Larry Cox, executive director of Amnesty International USA, issued the following statement in advance of the U.S. House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties hearing on the Bush administration's interrogation rules. Vice President Dick Cheney's Chief of Staff David Addington and former U.S. Justice Department lawyer John Yoo are expected to testify. 2008-06-24T00:00:00-05:00 countries=usa http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGUSA20080623001&lang=e Amnesty International USA (AIUSA) will bring its national tour of a life-size Guantanamo prison cell replica to Washington, DC on Wednesday, June 25; activists will gather at noon east of the Washington Monument on the National Mall to experience the cell and push the Bush administration to shut down Guantanamo. 2008-06-23T00:00:00-05:00 countries=usa http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGUSA20080616001&lang=e Amnesty International USA (AIUSA) will bring its national tour of a life-size Guantanamo prison cell replica to Washington, DC on Wednesday, June 25; activists will gather at noon east of the Washington Monument on the National Mall to experience the cell and push the Bush administration to shut down Guantanamo. 2008-06-16T00:00:00-05:00 countries=usa http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGUSA20080613001&lang=e Amnesty International hailed yesterday's U.S. Supreme Court decision in the pivotal Boumediene v. Bush case recognizing habeas corpus and declaring that the system the Bush administration and Congress have put in place to review classification of the detainees as "unlawful enemy combatants" is inadequate. Amnesty International USA's executive director Larry Cox released a statement in response to the decision. 2008-06-13T00:00:00-05:00 countries=usa http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGUSA20080613002&lang=e Amnesty International USA strongly supports efforts to further institutionalize the Congressional Human Rights Caucus as a vital part of the U.S. Congress and applauds Speaker Nancy Pelosi's naming of a co-chair to carry out the group's important work. Speaker Pelosi named Congressman Jim McGovern of Massachusetts on Thursday to assume the important role of House co-chair following Congressman Tom Lantos of California, who previously served as a House co-chair of the caucus. 2008-06-13T00:00:00-05:00 countries=usa http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGUSA20080605001&lang=e Guantanamo prison cell replica brought to Portland, Maine to help increase public awareness and mount pressure on the Bush administration to close down the detention facility. 2008-06-05T00:00:00-05:00 countries=usa http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGUSA20080529001&lang=e Amnesty International USA called on congressional negotiators today to include strong human rights protections in the final version of legislation that would provide U.S. funds to fight drug cartels and organized crime in Mexico and Central America. 2008-05-29T00:00:00-05:00 countries=mexico,usa http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGUSA20080513003&lang=e Given a long history of human rights abuses by Mexican police and military forces -- including unresolved claims by 26 women that they were beaten and raped by police in San Salvador Atenco two years ago -- U.S. aid to Mexico must include strict accountability mechanisms for Mexican security forces and the justice system, Amnesty International said today. The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to review and vote this week on legislation for the Merida Initiative, a $1.4 billion aid package for Mexico and Central America to fight drug cartels and organized crime requested by the Bush administration. Legislation authorizing the funding but including insufficient human rights safeguards will reportedly be introduced today. 2008-05-13T00:00:00-05:00 countries=mexico,usa http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGUSA20080513004&lang=e The Colombian government's decision to extradite 14 top paramilitary leaders wanted by the United States for drug trafficking should not be an excuse to end investigations into the paramilitaries' role in committing human rights violations against thousands of people, often in collusion with or the acquiescence of Colombian security forces, Amnesty International said today. 2008-05-13T00:00:00-05:00 countries=colombia,usa http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGUSA20080508001&lang=e Today, Amnesty International USA (AIUSA) launched its national tour of a life-size Guantanamo prison cell replica in Miami to increase public awareness and mount pressure on the Bush administration to close down the U.S.-controlled detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. 2008-05-08T00:00:00-05:00 countries=usa http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGUSA20080506001&lang=e Amnesty International's hard-hitting new video depicting waterboarding is sweeping the Internet just as a House Judiciary Subcommittee holds today's hearing on the Justice Department's role in sanctioning harsh interrogation topics. 2008-05-06T00:00:00-05:00 countries=usa http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGUSA20080501001&lang=e Violence prevention, women's and human rights leaders today hailed the introduction late yesterday in the House of Representatives of groundbreaking legislation to address the global crisis of violence against women and girls. The International Violence Against Women Act (I-VAWA / HR 5927) is being sponsored in the House by Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman (D-CA). It would apply the force of U.S. diplomacy and foreign aid over five years toward preventing abuse and exploitation, which is estimated to affect one in three women worldwide. 2008-05-01T00:00:00-05:00 countries=usa http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGUSA20080423001&lang=e The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) must stop stonewalling congressional oversight committees and release vital documents related to the program of secret detentions, renditions, and torture, three prominent human rights groups said today. Amnesty International USA (AIUSA), the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) and the International Human Rights Clinic at NYU School of Law (NYU IHRC) reiterated their call for information, following the CIA?s filing of a summary judgment motion this week to end a lawsuit and avoid turning over more than 7000 documents related to its secret ?ghost? detention and extraordinary rendition program. This motion is in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit filed in federal court last June by these groups. The organizations will file their response brief next month. 2008-04-23T00:00:00-05:00 countries=usa http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGUSA20080410003&lang=e Amnesty International USA (AIUSA) will launch its national tour of a life-size Guantanamo prison cell replica in Miami, FL. AIUSA members and other activists will gather at the Perpetual Torch of Friendship in Miami?s Bayfront Park at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, May 8, 2008, to experience the cell and urge the Bush administration to shut down the U.S.-controlled detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. 2008-04-10T00:00:00-05:00 countries=usa http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGUSA20071207002&lang=e The destruction by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of videotapes of the interrogation of two high value detainees in 2002 amounts to obstruction of justice and concealment of evidence. 2007-12-07T00:00:00-05:00 countries=usa http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGUSA20071205001&lang=e Amnesty International USA's executive director Larry Cox issued the following comments regarding the cases Boumediene v. Bush and Al Oadah v. United States currently before the United States Supreme Court 2007-12-05T00:00:00-05:00 countries=usa http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGUSA20071121001&lang=e More than 40 human rights organizations today decried the scheduled demolition of 3,000 public housing units in New Orleans. The groups have issued a letter to U.S. Representative Maxine Waters, urging her continued leadership on behalf of public housing residents by finalizing dates for nationwide congressional hearings. 2007-11-21T00:00:00-05:00 countries=usa http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGUSA20071101002&lang=e Amnesty International USA, the Family Violence Prevention Fund and the Women's Edge Coalition today applauded the introduction of groundbreaking legislation to combat the global crisis of violence against women and girls. 2007-11-01T00:00:00-05:00 countries=usa http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGUSA20071018001&lang=e Amnesty International USA and Human Rights Watch today called on members of Congress to question Colombian Defense Secretary Juan Manuel Santos during his two-day trip to Washington about the steep rise in reports of extrajudicial executions by the Colombian military. 2007-10-18T00:00:00-05:00 countries=colombia,usa http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGUSA20071018002&lang=e Amnesty International welcomes today's U.S. House of Representatives Joint Oversight Hearing on Rendition to Torture: The Case of Maher Arar by the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights and Oversight and the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. 2007-10-18T00:00:00-05:00 countries=usa