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Press Release

Countries are failing to protect rights of health workers at the forefront of the COVID-19 pandemic

The cost of curing: Health workers’ rights in the Americas during COVID-19 and beyond documents how those on the forefront of the pandemic are often working in unsafe conditions with insufficient protective equipment and risk reprisals from authorities or employers if they speak out, while some have even suffered death threats and physical attacks. The report also calls on governments to ensure safe working conditions for cleaners and other support staff who are at risk due to their work in healthcare facilities and nursing homes. 

May 19, 2020

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - MARCH 28: A Brazilian Army soldier from the 1st Nuclear, Radiological, Biological and Chemical Defense Battalion (1 BTL DQBRN) performs disinfection operations at BRT (Bus Rapid Transportation) Stations at Barra da Tijuca neighborhood due to the coronavirus (COVID - 19) pandemic on March 28, 2020 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has spread to many countries across the world, claiming over 20,000 lives and infecting hundreds of thousands more. (Photo by Andre Coelho/Getty Images)

Press Release

Response to President Bolsonaro’s comments around COVID-19: health and life are basic human rights

In relation to the COVID-19 pandemic and President Jair Bolsonaro's statement on national television last Tuesday night, Amnesty International said:  “Health and life are human rights. We’re facing what is already one of the greatest crises in history, with these two rights that are so basic and precious to us under threat. Scientific evidence and recommendations from global health authorities show the seriousness of COVID-19 for people’s health and the healthcare systems of all countries. There are 220 million of us in Brazil. Imagine if we get infected and need to run to hospitals at the same time, as has…

March 25, 2020

BEN STANSALL/AFP via Getty Images

Press Release

Generation Z Ranks Climate Change Highest as Vital Issue of our Time in Amnesty International Survey

Climate change leads as one of the most important issues facing the world, according to a major new survey of young people published by Amnesty International today to mark Human Rights Day.

December 9, 2019

People attend a memorial Mass to mark the one-year death anniversary of slain councilwoman Marielle Franco, at the Candelaria Catholic Church in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, March 14, 2019. Authorities arrested two former police officers Tuesday in the killing of Franco and her driver Anderson Gomes, a brazen assassination that shocked Brazilians and sparked protests in several countries. (Photo by Fabio Vieira/FotoRua/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Press Release

18 Months On, Brazilian Authorities Must Not Let Marielle Franco Killing Remain Unsolved

Six months after authorities in Rio de Janeiro arrested two men accused of killing Marielle Franco and her driver, Anderson Gomes, and committed to continue the investigations in meetings with Amnesty International and Marielle’s family, they have yet to make any meaningful progress in identifying those who ordered the crime and their motives.

September 11, 2019

Credit: Micah Farfour, Remote Sensing Expert on Amnesty's Crisis Team.

Press Release

Brazilian Government’s Failures are Fueling Wildfires Across the Amazon

Responding to the news of the wildfires that have been raging in the Amazon rainforest for several weeks, Kumi Naidoo, Secretary General of Amnesty International said: "The responsibility to stop the wildfires that have been raging in the Amazon rainforest for several weeks now lies squarely with President Bolsonaro and his government."

August 22, 2019

HAMBURG, GERMANY - MARCH 01: Teenage Swedish activist Greta Thunberg demonstrates with high school students against global warming at a Fridays for Future demonstration on March 01, 2019 in Hamburg, Germany. Fridays for Future is an international movement of students who, instead of attending their classes, take part in demonstrations demanding for action against climate change. The series of demonstrations began when Thunberg staged such a protest outside the Swedish parliament building. (Photo by Adam Berry/Getty Images)

Press Release

Climate activists Greta Thunberg and the Fridays for Future movement honored with top Amnesty International award

Climate change activist Greta Thunberg and the Fridays for Future movement of school-children have been honored with Amnesty International’s Ambassador of Conscience Award for 2019, the human rights organization announced today. “The Ambassador of Conscience Award is Amnesty International’s highest honor, celebrating people who have shown unique leadership and courage in standing up for human rights. I can think of no better recipients this year than Greta Thunberg and the Fridays for Future climate strike movement,” said Kumi Naidoo, Secretary General of Amnesty International. “We are humbled and inspired by the determination with which youth activists across the world are…

June 7, 2019

Press Release

Brazil: Risk of bloodshed in the Amazon unless government protects Indigenous peoples from illegal land seizures and logging

There is an imminent risk of violent clashes in Brazil’s Amazon region unless the government protects Indigenous peoples’ traditional lands from increasing illegal land seizures and logging by armed intruders, Amnesty International warned today.

May 7, 2019

Press Release

Amnesty and Sofar Sounds partner for Write for Rights concert and letter writing event

On Saturday, December 8, human rights organization Amnesty International USA in partnership with live music events startup Sofar Sounds will host a powerful evening of collective action along with an intimate concert experience in New York City.  The event, Write for Rights, is aimed at securing justice for women human rights defenders under threat and in need of urgent help as a result of speaking out and taking action against various human rights abuses. Write for Rights will feature a letter-writing session during which members of the public will be asked to write government officials in support of specific cases…

November 30, 2018

Nawal Benaissa, 36 yeards-old, is a mother of 4 who joined Hirak early on and became one of its main female leading voices. She took part to several protests with her husband and children and has been very active on social media. Her Facebook profile gained more than 80 000 followers, before authorities asked her to shut down during one of her detention in custody. She was arrested and held in custody for few hours four times between June and September 2017. This last time she was sued and on mid-February 2018, she was sentenced to 10 months suspended sentence and a fine of 500 hundred dirhams for inciting to commit an offence (by speech, cries or threats made in the places where public meetings, either through posters exposed to the public or by any means fulfilling the condition, advertising, including electronically, on paper and by audio-visual channel, if the provocation has not been followed by effect. Article 299 of the penal code). Her lawyer has appealed the sentence, the Court of Appeal has yet to rule. Benaissa responded to the court's decision on her Facebook page by expressing her continued support for the Rif protests. "I am proud to take part in the protests in the region and I denounce the imprisonment of Hirak activists. I demand their immediate release," she wrote. Few weeks ago, she moved from the northern city of Al Hoceima to another Moroccan city in order to flee harassment from authorities.

Press Release

Amnesty International launches world’s biggest human rights campaign

Women human rights defenders around the world are facing unprecedented levels of abuse, intimidation and violence, said Amnesty International as it launched its global Write for Rights campaign, in a bid to shine a spotlight on brave women who have been harassed, jailed, tortured or even killed for their human rights work. Women continue to face multiple forms of discrimination, targeted because of their gender and other characteristics, as well as for their human rights work. However, women refuse to stay silent and have been at the forefront of the battle for human rights in 2018. “Across the world, women are…

November 28, 2018

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - OCTOBER 28: Jair Bolsonaro, far-right lawmaker and presidential candidate of the Social Liberal Party (PSL), arrives to cast his vote on October 28, 2018 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Ricardo Moraes-Pool/Getty Images)

Press Release

Brazil: Toxic speech must not become government policy

Reacting to the election of Jair Bolsonaro and Hamilton Mourão as president and vice president of Brazil, Amnesty International said today: “The president-elect has campaigned with an openly anti-human-rights agenda and frequently made discriminatory statements about different groups of society. His election as Brazil´s president could pose a huge risk to Indigenous Peoples and quilombolas, traditional rural communities, LGBTI people, black youth, women, activists and civil society organizations, if his rhetoric is transformed in public policy” said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International. Bolsonaro’s campaign promises include loosening gun control laws and granting prior authorization for law enforcement officials to…

October 28, 2018

A protester shows a local newspaper during a demonstration against the murder of Brazilian councilwoman and activist Marielle Franco in front of Rio's Municipal Chamber, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on March 20, 2018. Brazilians mourned for the Rio de Janeiro councilwoman and outspoken critic of police brutality who was shot in the city center in an assassination-style killing on March 14. / AFP PHOTO / Mauro Pimentel (Photo credit should read MAURO PIMENTEL/AFP/Getty Images)

Press Release

Brazil: Failure to identify Marielle Franco’s killers after six months is unacceptable

The Brazilian authorities’ failure to identify all those responsible for the killing of human rights defender Marielle Franco, six months after she was brutally shot dead, raises concerns about their commitment to deliver justice for this atrocious crime and ensure a safe environment for human rights defenders in the country, Amnesty International said today. Marielle Franco and her driver Anderson Gomes were killed in their car in Rio de Janeiro on March 14. She was shot in the head four times. Media reports suggest that the killing was carefully planned, believed to have involved agents of the state and the security forces. “Today sadly…

September 14, 2018

(From L) Russian Foreign Affairs Minister Sergei Lavrov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of China Wang Yi, South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Lindiwe Sisulu, Brazil's Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Marcos Galvao and Indias External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj pose for a picture during the BRICS Ministerial Meeting held at OR Tambo International Building on June 4, 2018 in Pretoria. - South Africa, which currently chairs the Brics association, hosts member states' foreign ministers in preparation for the full heads of state summit between July 25 and 27. (Photo by STRINGER / AFP) / The erroneous mention appearing in the metadata of this photo has been modified in AFP systems in the following manner: [Sushma Swaraj] instead of [Sushma Swarajon]. Please immediately remove the erroneous mention from all your online services and delete it from your servers. If you have been authorized by AFP to distribute it to third parties, please ensure that the same actions are carried out by them. Failure to promptly comply with these instructions will entail liability on your part for any continued or post notification usage. Therefore we thank you very much for all your attention and prompt action. We are sorry for the inconvenience this notification may cause and remain at your disposal for any further information you may require. (Photo credit should read STRINGER/AFP/Getty Images)

Press Release

BRICS: Nations Must Put Human Rights First

BRICS nations must put human rights at the forefront of their discussions, said Amnesty International India and South Africa in a joint statement released at the commencement of the 10th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg today. All the BRICS countries face a number of human rights challenges. In Brazil, there are still no answers for the murder of Marielle Franco, a human rights defender who was killed in Rio De Janeiro. In Russia, LGBTI people face serious threats and live in constant fear. In China, a Tibetan HRD, Tashi Wangchuck, was handed an unjust five year prison sentence after being featured…

July 25, 2018