Press releases
The Unheard Truth: World leaders must change debate on poverty and human rights - 15 October 2009
(New York) In the run up to the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty on 17 October, Amnesty International called on world leaders and policy makers to change the debate on poverty from economics to addressing the human rights problems that impoverish and keep people poor.US joins Arms Trade Treaty talks, but at high price - 14 October 2009
Today's announcement by the US government at the United Nations of its support for beginning negotiations on the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) was welcomed by Oxfam International and Amnesty International. But the two international organisations also warned that Washington’s support comes at a very high price.Cuba: Blogger denied freedom to travel outside Cuba - 13 October 2009
Amnesty International calls on the government of Cuba to lift the travel on Cuban blogger Yoani Sánchez, preventing her from travelling to New York to receive an international journalism award.
Iran: Protester death sentence must be reviewed - 9 October 2009
Amnesty International is urging the Iranian authorities to rescind the death sentence imposed on Mohammad-Reza Ali-Zamani, the first person to be sentenced to death in connection with protests following disputed presidential elections.Guinea: Call for suspension of military and police weapons transfers - 8 October 2009
Amnesty International calls on all states to suspend international supplies of military and police weaponry, munitions and other equipment that could be used to commit human rights violations by Guinean security forcesSri Lanka: Displaced now trapped between the military and the impending monsoon - 8 October 2009
A quarter of a million Sri Lankans now being held in de facto detention camps are facing a humanitarian disaster as monsoon rains threaten to flood camps, said Amnesty International today.
Months after the government of Sri Lanka set up camps in Vavuniya District in the north-east of the country following the end of the conflict there, the authorities are still failing to deliver basic services.
Camps remain overcrowded and lack basic sanitation facilities and heavy rains in September saw rivers of water cascading through tents with camp residents wading through overflowing sewage.
“People living in these camps are desperate to leave. The government must ensure that the displaced are treated with dignity. They have a right to protection and must be consulted on whether they wish to return to their homes or resettle," said Yolanda Foster, Amnesty International’s Sri Lanka expert, who is in contact with relatives of people inside the camp.
Belarus: Imminent execution must be stopped - 7 October 2009
Amnesty International has urged the President of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenka to grant clemency to a man who may be facing imminent executionAfghanistan: Candidates must stop intimidation of journalists - 7 October 2009
Afghan President Hamid Karzai and his chief election rival, Abdullah Abdullah, must stop their supporters intimidating journalists and monitors reporting on allegations of fraud during the country’s recent presidential elections, Amnesty International said today.
Since the 20 August polls, Amnesty International has received evidence of at least 20 cases of intimidation, harassment and violence against Afghan journalists and media organizations as they reported on suspected cases of electoral fraud or irregularities.
