Human Rights and Social Justice

Following an internet and telecommunications blackout imposed by Iranian authorities on 8 January 2026, as nationwide protests intensified since erupting on 28 December 2025, Rebecca White, researcher at Amnesty International’s Security Lab, said:   “The Iranian authorities have once again deliberately blocked internet access inside Iran to hide the true extent of the grave human rights violations and crimes under international law they are carrying out to crush the largest nationwide protests since the Woman Life […]

Following the release of a small number of persons arbitrarily detained in Venezuela on 8 January 2026 out of a total of around one thousand politically-motivated arbitrary detainees (according to local civil society organizations), which included prisoner of conscience Rocío San Miguel and Spanish nationals like Jose María Basoa and Andrés Martínez, as well as political leader Enrique Márquez and journalist Biagio Pilieri, Ana Piquer, […]

Click to expand Image Nigerien military police stand guard outside airbases in Niamey, as supporters of Niger’s military junta gather on August 27, 2023. © 2023 AFP via Getty Images Niger’s military junta adopted a sweeping “general mobilization” decree on December 26. The new law grants authorities far-reaching powers to confront security threats, but at the […]

Click to expand Image Community members attend a vigil for Renee Nicole Good, following a fatal shooting by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, US, January 7, 2026.  © 2026 Jaida Grey Eagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images (Washington, DC, January 9, 2026) – The killing of a woman in Minneapolis by a […]

Reacting to the decision by an Istanbul court to acquit the president and the 10 members of the executive board of the Istanbul Bar Association of terrorist propaganda charges, Esther Major, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for Research in Europe said: “The decision to acquit the Istanbul Bar Association leadership of these unfounded charges is welcome news. This […]

Click to expand Image Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney (L) with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Gyeongju, South Korea, October 31, 2025. © 2025 Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP Photo (Ottawa) – Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney should make human rights a key focus of his visit to China from January 13 to 17, 2026, […]

Responding to the Trump administration’s announcement that the United States is withdrawing from 66 international organizations, conventions, and treaties, Erika Guevara Rosas, Amnesty International’s Senior Director of Research, Advocacy, Policy and Campaigns, said:  “This is a vindictive and reckless assault on the legitimacy and integrity of the United Nations and the rules-based international order that has been the bedrock of […]

As voters prepare to go to the polls in Benin, candidates running in the country’s legislative and municipal elections on 11 January 2026, and presidential election on 12 April 2026, must commit to prioritizing human rights, Amnesty International and 13 civil society organizations said. The organizations have published a manifesto setting out key human rights […]

Iranian authorities have unleashed a deadly crackdown on protesters across the country since 28 December 2025, marked by security forces’ unlawful use of force and firearms and mass arbitrary arrests, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said today. The organizations’ findings reveal how security forces, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Iran’s police […]

Click to expand Image A police patrol vehicle outside the United Nations compound in Sanaa, Yemen, following reports of UN staff being detained by the Houthis, October 29, 2025. © 2025 Khaled Abdullah/Reuters Houthi authorities have arbitrarily detained at least 69 UN staff and dozens of civil society staff over the last 18 months and […]