Amnesty International

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 »