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Citing concerns over the new Omicron variant, today officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced an extension to Title 42, a clause in public health law that the Biden and Trump administrations have misused to expel hundreds of thousands of individuals and families arriving at U.S. borders.
Today the Biden administration announced it will restart and expand the implementation of the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), also known as ‘Remain in Mexico’, with the willing cooperation of the Mexican Government. It is inexplicable and unconscionable that the administration has chosen to expand the populations subjected to the deadly program, despite not being under any obligation to do so. Several #WelcomeWithDignity partners asserted in an amicus brief filed earlier this year that any form of MPP would in fact violate the laws of the United States and its treaty obligations to people escaping persecution. In fact, Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in his memo terminating the program, “MPP not only undercuts the Administration’s ability to implement critically needed and foundational changes to the immigration system, but it also fails to provide the fair process and humanitarian protections that all persons deserve.”
Responding to the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA)’s decision to halt all competitions in China, Doriane Lau, Amnesty International’s China researcher said: “Amnesty International shares the WTA’s concern about the state censorship around allegations made by Peng Shuai and the related online discussion. The Chinese government has a track record of silencing women who make allegations of sexual violence.
This morning, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (JWHO), a challenge to Mississippi’s abortion ban that could decimate the right to an abortion established by Roe v. Wade. If Roe is overturned or further gutted, millions of people in 26 mostly southern and midwestern states could lose access to safe abortion.
Asylum-seekers staying in a new EU-funded refugee camp on the island of Samos are being detained illegally by Greek authorities following a yet unpublished decision from the Greek Minister for Migration and Asylum, based on information received by Amnesty International.
We write to express our grave concerns about the Department of Defense’s civilian harm policies and practices and their impact, as evidenced most recently by the August 29 drone strike in Kabul, Afghanistan that killed 10 civilians, including an aid worker and seven children; the Air Force Inspector General’s investigation into that strike; and a New York Times report in November that the U.S. military hid the effects of a 2019 airstrike in Baghuz, Syria that killed dozens of civilians and was flagged as a possible war crime by at least one Defense Department lawyer. These strikes, and the Defense Department’s record of civilian harm over the past twenty years, illustrate an unacceptable failure to prioritize civilian protection in the use of lethal force; meaningfully investigate, acknowledge, and provide amends when harm occurs; and provide accountability in the event of wrongdoing. For too long, the United States has failed to live up to its legal and moral commitments to the protection of civilians, as well as its own stated policies. This needs to change.
Yesterday, the Cameroon Advocacy Network (CAN), in collaboration with Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), held a Congressional briefing on the need for a temporary protected status (TPS) designation for Cameroon. The briefing had country conditions experts as well as impacted community members from CAN, Amnesty International, CASA, and the Center for Research, Education and Resources Distribution to the Rural and Underprivileged People. These individuals highlighted the deteriorating country conditions in Cameroon that make safe return impossible as they described the ongoing armed conflict, massive internal displacement, dangerous political conditions, and severe consequences for Cameroonians who have thus far been deported there. The briefing was one of several actions organized by the network, including a bicameral Congressional letter to the administration and support for the introduction of the Cameroon TPS Act of 2021. The speakers at the briefing strongly request that Congressional offices contact the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and demand answers for the prolonged delay for TPS for Cameroon.
In response to today’s proposals from the European Commission which would allow Latvia, Lithuania and Poland to derogate from EU rules, including by holding asylum-seekers and migrants at the border for 16 weeks with minimal safeguards, Eve Geddie, Director of Amnesty International’s European Office said: “The arrival of people at the EU’s borders with Belarus is entirely manageable with the rules as they stand. Today’s proposals will further punish people for political gain, weaken asylum protections, and undermine the EU’s standing at home and abroad. If the EU can allow a minority of member states to throw out the rule book due to the presence of a few thousand people at its border, it throws out any authority it has on human rights and the rule of law.
Today members of Congress joined health, labor, faith and development leaders in a press conference urging President Joe Biden to deliver on his pledge to remove intellectual property barriers that limit access to COVID-19 vaccines, treatments and diagnostic tests and prolong the pandemic by securing a waiver at the World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial starting next week. A meaningful WTO waiver that can facilitate the necessary scale-up in production will only be agreed if the Biden administration applies maximum diplomatic and political pressure to make it happen, the groups said.
The international community must urgently ease existing financial restrictions on Afghanistan that are blocking the provision of healthcare, food and other essential services, and expedite delivery of scaled-up humanitarian assistance to avert a mounting crisis that threatens the lives of tens of millions of people, said Amnesty International.
Amnesty International USA’s Media Team helps journalists with background, expert interviews, and other information. Reach them at [email protected]
