Amnesty International has designated Luis Pacheco and Héctor Chaclán, ancestral authorities of the 48 cantons of Totonicapán in 2023, as prisoners of conscience. They have been unjustly imprisoned for over a year simply for having made use of their right to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression. “Luis Pacheco and Héctor Chaclán should never have […]
Reacting to reports that Azat Miftakhov, a mathematician and anarchist activist, was subjected to torture, including sexualized abuse, in a Russian penal colony, Denis Krivosheev, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, said: “The authorities must urgently launch an independent and effective investigation into these allegations, hold all those suspected to […]
Amnesty International strongly condemns the Zambian government for open-endedly “postponing” RightsCon – the largest global tech and human rights conference, which was due to start today in Lusaka and online – after allegedly being pressured by Chinese diplomats. Conference organizers Access Now have confirmed they believe “foreign interference” was behind the last-minute postponement. According to their statement, officials from Zambia’s Ministry of Technology and Science had communicated that they were under pressure from Chinese diplomats over, among others, the participation of Taiwanese civil society, prior to the Zambian authorities’ decision to postpone the event. In its 29 April statement announcing […]
In our increasingly complex world, racism and racial discrimination is still very much alive, with dire consequences for the lives of millions. This demands a clear and shared understanding of how systemic racism is produced, maintained, normalized and reproduced – and how it can be tackled. Learning is a form of resistance: unpacking what connects history to present-day issues and learning from others to challenge […]
An innovative new research briefing by Amnesty International breaks down the “virulent cocktail” of xenophobic, racist and misogynistic hate targeting racialized women and LGBTQI+ people in Canada. The Hate is Intersectional: Xenophobic Technology-facilitates Gender-Based Violence (TfGBV) against Racialized Women and 2SLGBTQIA+ People in Canada exposes a playbook of toxic tropes and tactics spreading across social media as anti-immigrant rhetoric rises both online and offline. Launching alongside […]
Reacting to the disappearance of Malian lawyer and leading opposition figure Mountaga Tall in the early hours of 3 May, Ousmane Diallo, Senior Researcher on Sahel at Amnesty International’s Regional Office for West and Central Africa, said: “We are alarmed by the disappearance of Mountaga Tall who was taken from his home by armed men […]
Civilians killed, abducted and tortured in sustained campaign of violence Islamic State-linked group’s violations amount to crimes against humanity “The ADF’s violence is contributing to an escalating humanitarian crisis” – Agnès Callamard Civilians in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are suffering a surge in human rights abuses committed by Allied Democratic Forces’ (ADF) […]
Authorities across East and Southern Africa continued their campaigns of harassment and arbitrary arrests and detention of independent journalists over the past year, Amnesty International said today ahead of World Press Freedom Day. The organization documented sustained intimidation, harassment, and attacks on independent media in several countries in the region. Amnesty International also documented increased […]
OpEd by Dr Marta Schaaf & Nazia Erum The world’s slide into authoritarian practices is accelerating the climate crisis. At its core, the authoritarian goal is typically to enable resource consolidation for a few. Such projects pursue muscular governance that puts the concerns of these few people ahead of the planet, while weaponising disinformation and […]
The outbreak of conflict has had a devastating human rights impact on millions across the Middle East, affecting civilians in at least 12 countries. More than 5,000 people have been killed, tens of thousands injured, and millions displaced across the region. In Lebanon, at least 2,567 people have been killed, including 103 healthcare workers. Despite […]
