Human Rights on Capitol Hill – October 2020 Newsletter

In September, Amnesty International’s India section was forced to halt its human rights work after learning that all its bank accounts had been frozen, upon orders by Indian authorities. This latest action follows two years of relentless threats, intimidation, and harassment by the Indian government. All Amnesty India staff have been let go, and all Amnesty India research, advocacy, and campaigning has ceased. Amnesty International USA has called on Congress to press the Indian government to lift the freeze on Amnesty India’s bank accounts, so Amnesty India can resume vital human rights work.

On October 21 Politico reported that the State Department, under Secretary Pompeo’s initiative, may categorize Amnesty International as antisemitic. In response, Amnesty International USA’s Interim Executive Director Bob Goodfellow issued this statement:

“Secretary Pompeo’s baseless accusations are yet another attempt to silence and intimidate international human rights organizations. The administration is spreading misinformation and working to undermine those who are working to protect human rights. Amnesty International USA is deeply committed to fighting antisemitism and all forms of hate worldwide, and will continue to protect people wherever justice, freedom, truth, and dignity are denied. We vigorously contest any allegation of antisemitism.

“Our human rights work, as well as the broader human rights movement today, exist because of the actions taken by the international community in the aftermath of the Holocaust. Nations came together and said, ‘never again.’ Never again would atrocities such as those committed in the Holocaust occur because governments would now recognize that all human beings have rights. 

“The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the founding document of our work and our guiding light, came together precisely because of the atrocities committed against the Jewish people. These accusations are an affront to anyone who believes in the human rights movement.” Read more here.

Should you have any questions, please contact Philippe Nassif at [email protected].

Amnesty International is a Nobel Peace Prize-winning global movement of more than 10 million people who campaign for a world where human rights are enjoyed by all. The organization investigates and exposes abuses, educates and mobilizes the public, and works to protect people wherever justice, freedom, truth and dignity are denied. 

An October 19 Just Security article by Joanne Lin, The 116th Congress’s Record on International Human Rights: The Good, the Bad, and the Unfinished Business, analyzes this Congress’s record on international human rights. The 116th session has been marked by important progress in addressing the human rights of Uyghurs in China, but also by devastating setbacks for Yemeni civilians subjected to war crimes and for asylum seekers denied access to protection at the U.S. border. Meanwhile, there was limited movement in Congress on addressing the human rights of Venezuelans and the Rohingya, and little action to address international human rights amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Amnesty International calls for the next Congress to take unified action on international human rights. Click here for more.

Amnesty International has published nearly 80 separate detailed policy recommendations for the federal government to adopt and implement in early 2021 both for domestic and foreign policy issues. These policy reforms are essential to protect and advance human rights. 

Amnesty International USA joins leading women’s rights organizations to call on the U.S. government to prioritize addressing gender-based violence (GBV) globally in the first 100 days of 2021. One in three women experience GBV. The U.S. should 1) establish a presidential initiative on ending GBV globally; 2) re-establish GBV as grounds for asylum; and 3) tackle the increase in GBV since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Amnesty International USA applauds the historic resolution (H.Res. 1147) calling for the adoption of a feminist foreign policy across all auspices of U.S. foreign policy. The resolution is grounded in a bold vision centered on gender equality that is foundational to making our world more equitable and safe. Amnesty urges Congress to pass this resolution.

Amnesty International sent an October 13 letter protesting the Oct. 16 meeting between Defense Secretary Esper and Prabowo Subianto, Indonesia’s Defense Minister, at the Pentagon. Until October 2020, Prabowo Subianto had been banned since 2000 from entering the U.S. due to his alleged direct involvement in crimes against humanity in Indonesia and East Timor. The Pentagon’s invitation was an abrupt reversal of longstanding U.S. policy toward Indonesia, in place through the entirety of the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations. Seeing the Pentagon roll out the welcome mat for a human rights violator is devastating for the many Indonesian survivors of torture who have been waiting two decades for justice, accountability, and reparations.

Amnesty International USA submitted a statement for the record for the Sept. 22 hearing before the House Foreign Affairs Committee Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, and Nonproliferation titled “Stemming a Receding Tide: Human Rights and Democratic Values in Asia.” Our statement highlighted grave human rights abuses across the continent including: mass internment, surveillance, and forced cultural assimilation of predominantly Muslim ethnic groups in China’s Xinjiang region; a draconian new national security law in Hong Kong; crimes against humanity targeting Rohingya in Myanmar; and enforced disappearances in Thailand and Pakistan.

Secretary Pompeo is scheduled for an October 27 visit with Sri Lanka’s president and prime minister. Amnesty International sent a letter detailing the deteriorating human rights situation in Sri Lanka including enforced disappearances, crackdown on journalists, jailing of peaceful dissidents, and persecution of Muslim minorities.

Amnesty International applauds passage of Savanna’s Act which was signed by the President on October 10. The law addresses the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (“MMIWG”) in the U.S. The new law: 1) improves collection of data; 2) increases coordination between state, federal, and tribal law enforcement; and 3) requires Justice Department reporting on MMIWG.