The Tunisian government is misleading the world as it conveys a positive image of the human rights situation in the country while abuses by its security forces continue unabated and are committed with impunity, Amnesty International revealed in a new report today.
“The Tunisian government has repeatedly asserted that it abides by its international human rights [...]

Tags: Tunisia

Leave a comment »

In this, the 60th anniversary year of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) on World Refugee Day, Amnesty International calls on states to reaffirm everyone’s right to seek and to enjoy asylum from persecution, as recognized in the words of article 14 of the UDHR.
Almost two million Iraqi refugees, fleeing murder, kidnap, torture [...]

Tags: EU, UN

Leave a comment »

As the Olympic torch relay travels to Lhasa, Amnesty International urged the Chinese government to provide information about the over 1,000 people detained during the protests last March and called for free access to Tibet by independent observers.

The call came as Amnesty International published an update on the situation in Tibet since the outbreak of [...]

Tags: China, Tibet

Leave a comment »

Two people who were under 18 at the time of their detention by the US military in Afghanistan are facing military commission hearings in Guantánamo. Pre-trial hearings resumed this week in the cases of Mohammed Jawad and Omar Khadr.
These are the first commission hearings to take place since the US Supreme Court ruled last [...]

Tags: USA

Leave a comment »

Amnesty International revealed on Thursday that 12 bodies have been found in various areas of Zimbabwe. Most of the victims appear to have been tortured to death by their abductors.
They were allegedly abducted by ZANU-PF supporters who, in some instances, were accompanied by armed men believed to be government agents.  
Four of the victims were [...]

Tags: Zimbabwe

Leave a comment »

Amnesty International submits its human rights agenda to President Rodriguez Zapatero
(Madrid) Amnesty International today made public the human rights agenda for the Spanish government’s second term, a review of progress to date and a number of concrete suggestions for future action which was presented yesterday to President Rodriguez Zapatero.
“We welcome the commitment President Zapatero [...]

Tags: Spain

Leave a comment »

The United Nations Human Rights Council has adopted a new legal instrument to strengthen the protection of economic, social and cultural rights.
The Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights was adopted at the council’s session on Wednesday 18 June.
The Optional Protocol will provide the opportunity for individuals seeking a remedy [...]

Tags: UN

Leave a comment »

Government Should Halt Deportations, Allow Right to Work
The South African government should recognize that political repression and economic deprivation have forced Zimbabweans to flee their country and immediately stop deporting them, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Human Rights Watch called on the government to grant Zimbabweans in South Africa temporary status [...]

Tags: South Africa, Zimbabwe

Leave a comment »

On the 12 June 2008 the US Supreme Court recognized, in the case of Boumediene v.Bush, the right of those detained at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba to challenge their detention in US civilian courts. Amnesty International described the ruling as an essential step towards restoring the rule of law to the USA’s counter terrorism measures.
The [...]

Tags: USA

Leave a comment »

Lawyers, Civil Society Allege Bias and Political Manipulation by Ruling Party
The ousting of 22 National Assembly members, following a Constitutional Court decision that they could not sit as “independents,” raises serious concerns about double standards given that other independent deputies supporting the government remain in parliament, Human Rights Watch said today. The affected parliamentarians had [...]

Tags: Burundi

Leave a comment »