Amnesty International

3 November 2009 -- On the eve of a United Nations General Assembly debate, Amnesty International has called on UN ambassadors in New York to grasp a unique opportunity to address accountability for war crimes in Gaza and southern Israel earlier in the year.

The General Assembly will convene on Wednesday to debate the comprehensive and authoritative report of the Fact Finding Mission led by Judge Richard Goldstone. The report found that the Israeli and Palestinian sides committed serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, including war crimes and possibly crimes against humanity.

Amnesty International sent an open letter to all permanent representatives to the General Assembly and another to the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.    » read more »

17 June 2009 -- Demonstrations against Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s disputed election victory have spread to all corners of the country. New reports suggest that around 15 protesters have been killed and hundreds more injured or arrested by security forces.

Up to two million people, including supporters of opposition leader Hossein Mousavi, took to the streets in Tehran on Monday to protest the outcome of the election. Large numbers massed again on Tuesday afternoon despite government threats that they would clamp down on "illegal protests".    » read more »

28 May 2009 -- More than six decades of human rights failures by governments have been exacerbated by the world economic crisis, which brought the problems of poverty and inequality to the fore, according to Amnesty International’s Secretary General.

"It’s not just the economy, it’s a human rights crisis: the world is sitting on a social, political and economic time bomb," said Irene Kahn as she launched Amnesty International’s annual report on the state of the world’s human rights.

Billions of people are suffering from insecurity, injustice and indignity around the world. In many cases, the economic crisis made matters worse, with millions more sliding into poverty.    » read more »

28 May 2009 -- Amnesty International’s Secretary General has called on the G-20 grouping that brings together the world’s leading economies to lead by example and show real commitment to human rights.

"To be truly global leaders, the G-20 must subscribe to global values and confront their own tarnished records and double standards on human rights", said Irene Khan as she launched Amnesty International’s annual report on the state of the world’s human rights.

The G-20 is made up of Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, UK, USA and the EU.    » read more »

12 May 2009 -- US-Iranian journalist Roxana Saberi was released from jail in Iran on Monday following international and domestic protests at her detention. A court heard an appeal against her conviction on Sunday and commuted her eight-year sentence to a suspended two-year term on the charge of "collecting classified information".

The court imposed a five-year ban on her working as a journalist in Iran. Amnesty International, which had campaigned for her release, welcomed the news.    » read more »

4 March 2009 -- The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al Bashir. The warrant details charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes, committed during the conflict in Darfur.

The arrest warrant is an unprecedented move in the history of a conflict that, since it started in 2003, has seen more than 300,000 killed, thousands raped, and millions forcibly displaced.

The decision, reached by the Pre-Trial Chamber of the ICC, was announced during a press conference held at the Court's seat in The Hague on Wednesday.

President al Bashir has been urged to surrender himself immediately to face trial.    » read more »

28 January 2009 -- In his inaugural address, President Barack Obama rejected as "false" the choice between safety and respect for human rights. He has since moved swiftly to turn words into action, issuing three executive orders that promise an end to some of the most contentious policies of the past administration's "war on terror".

President Obama ordered the closure within a year of the Guantánamo Bay detention facility, symbol of the previous government's disregard for human rights.

He ordered the CIA to close any long-term detention facilities it was operating, and prohibited it from operating such facilities in the future.    » read more »

Lumps of still smouldering white phosphorus found in Gaza City

19 January 2009 -- The Israeli army used white phosphorus, a weapon with a highly incendiary effect, in densely populated civilian residential areas of Gaza City, according to indisputable evidence found an Amnesty International fact-finding team which reached the area last Saturday.

When white phosphorus lands on skin it burns deeply through muscle and into the bone, continuing to burn until deprived of oxygen.    » read more »

Irbil, Iraq -- 28 May 2008 -- An Amnesty International report on worldwide human rights says violence against women is widespread in northern Iraq.

In its report, Amnesty International says women and girls throughout the world suffer disproportionately from violence - in times of both peace and conflict - at the hands of their governments, their communities and their families.

Iraqi woman, Kurdistan: Photo by James Gordon (CC)

The report highlights the issue of violence against women as a major problem in northern Iraq. That is an assessment that the Kurdistan regional government's human-rights minister, Yousif Aziz, has already reached.    » read more »

23 May 2008 -- Amnesty International is gravely concerned by the Sudanese security forces’ crackdown following the incursion into Khartoum, by an armed group. The crackdown has been characterized by serious human rights violations including hundreds of arbitrary arrests, cases of ill-treatment, as well as extra-judicial executions. These violations have mostly been targeted at Darfuris.

An exhibition of weapons and military hardware captured during the Darfur rebel attack on Omdurman on May 10/11: The show took place in the grounds of the Khalifa's mosque in Omdurman. Photo by Andrew Heavens (CC)    » read more »

31 March 2008 -- Liu Jingmin, Vice-President of the Beijing Olympic Bid Committee, said in 2001 that allowing Beijing to host the Games would “help the development of human rights". Seven years on, China’s human rights record shows little sign of improvement, according to an Amnesty International report.

Beijing National Stadium, "The Bird's Nest", built for the 2008 Summer Olympics: Photo by Ming Xia (CC)    » read more »

17 March 2008 -- Five years after the US-led invasion of Iraq, the country is still in disarray. The human rights situation is disastrous, a climate of impunity has prevailed, the economy is in tatters and the refugee crisis continues to escalating.

A new Amnesty International report, Carnage and Despair: Iraq five years on, says that, despite the heavy presence of US and Iraqi security forces, Iraq is one of the most dangerous countries in the world, with hundreds of Iraqi civilians killed every month.    » read more »

11 January 2008 -- The human rights group Amnesty International staged protests around the world Friday to mark the sixth anniversary of the first arrival of detainees at the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The group is demanding the prison be shut down. Meanwhile, a U.S. appeals court in Washington has ruled against four British men who allege they were tortured during their detention at Guantanamo.    » read more »

11/15/2007 -- Today's call for a global moratorium on executions by the UN General Assembly's Third Committee is an "historic resolution and major step towards the abolition of the death penalty worldwide", Amnesty International said.

The landmark decision had cross-regional support and was co-sponsored by 87 states from around the world.

The resolution was adopted by 99 countries in favour, 52 against and 33 abstentions. The General Assembly is expected to endorse the decision in a plenary session in December.    » read more »

13 November 2007 -- An international human rights group is urging NATO to stop transferring detainees to Afghan security forces because of reports they torture their prisoners.

Amnesty International says the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force could be exposing prisoners to mistreatment and abuse by placing them in the custody of the Afghan National Directorate of Security.

The rights group wants ISAF to temporarily suspend all prisoner handovers to Afghan authorities until proper safeguards are in place.    » read more »