It’s been a difficult year, but there’s been a lot to celebrate in 2020. From writing letters and taking action to signing petitions and protesting in a safe way, people have come together – despite the most difficult circumstances – to show that change is possible. And if you’re in need...

Amnesty International today launches the world’s biggest human rights campaign, Write for Rights, calling on governments to put right injustices against individuals who are detained or persecuted in countries across the globe, and to lead by example in building a fairer post-COVID-19 world. ...

Responding to reports that the United States Department of State, under Secretary Pompeo’s initiative, may categorize several non-governmental organizations as antisemitic and call on governments worldwide to stop funding them, Bob Goodfellow, the Interim Executive Director of Amnesty...

Narges was facing a 16-year sentence for her peaceful activism, most notably in support of women’s rights and gender equality, and against the death penalty. Her health had been declining since June, and she had demonstrated some COVID-19 symptoms, but was denied adequate health care.  Thanks to...

35 years ago, on a wintry evening in early 1985, I attended my first Amnesty International meeting.    I had just begun studying law at Dalhousie University in Halifax, with an entirely unformed notion of becoming a lawyer pursuing social change. I had seen an intriguing notice on a...

In the new report, Dying before a judge: the arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, torture and death of Rafael Acosta Arévalo, Amnesty International publishes new findings on the case that cast doubt on the official version of events and demonstrate Nicolás Maduro’s government’s deadly...

New analysis by Amnesty International has found that at least 7,000 health workers have died around the world after contracting COVID-19. At least 1,320 health workers are confirmed to have died in Mexico alone, the highest known figure for any country. Amnesty International also recorded high...

Last December during Write for Rights, the world’s biggest human rights event, Amnesty supporters took more than 6.6 million actions in solidarity with young people facing injustices head on — to support them, give them strength and make it possible for them to continue to dare where...

On 11 August, Reza Khandan, Nasrin Sotoudeh’s husband, posted on Facebook that Nasrin Sotoudeh had gone on hunger strike to “demand the release of political prisoners in Iran”. The post included the following statement from Nasrin Sotoudeh: Human rights activists,  In the midst of the...

By Lisa Maracani, Amnesty International’s Researcher on Human Rights Defenders COVID-19 has presented a set of huge new challenges which require governments to listen to advice, be open to criticism and scrutiny from experts, and consult those most affected in order to find solutions that...

Governments who were lauded for releasing prisoners in response to COVID-19 outbreaks have excluded human rights defenders from the measures and continue to make new arrests of activists, journalists and critics, Amnesty International said today. In a new briefing, “Daring to Stand up for Human...

Good News comes from New Zealand, after Behrouz Boochani, Kurdish journalist from Iran who fled persecution and attempted to seek safety in Australia, has finally been granted asylum after six agonizing years in Australia’s offshore detention centres on Manus Island (Papua New Guinea), beginning...