“We condemn the restrictions on accessing social media and the disruption of the signal of the private television channel Walf TV by the Senegalese authorities following the violent demonstrations that took place in Dakar, Ziguinchor and Kaolack, among other places. These restrictions on the right to freedom of expression and information constitute arbitrary measures contrary to international law and cannot be justified by security imperatives.

Arbitrary arrests must also cease immediately. We call on the Senegalese authorities to unconditionally release Aliou Sané, coordinator of Y’en a Marre, who has been detained since 29 May, as well as two members of FRAPP, Bentaleb Sow, detained since 31 May, and Tapha Diop, who was arrested on his way to the Foire gendarmerie to enquire as to the whereabouts of those being detained.

Samira Daoud, Regional Director for West and Central Africa, Amnesty International

Seydi Gassama, Executive Director of Amnesty Senegal, also stated:

“We further call on the Senegalese authorities to conduct credible and independent investigations into the deaths that occurred during the demonstrations in Dakar and Ziguinchor. We would remind the Senegalese authorities that force must only be used where necessary and in a proportionate manner. Everyone’s life and physical integrity must be respected and protected by the forces of law and order.”

Background

On Thursday 1 June, political opponent Ousmane Sonko was sentenced to 2 years’ imprisonment on a charge of corrupting young people. Following this announcement, spontaneous and violent demonstrations broke out that same day in a number of towns, including Dakar, Ziguinchor and Kaolack. According to the government, nine people lost their lives.

Aliou Sané, leader of Y’en a Marre and a member of the Forces Vives de la Nation (F24) platform was arrested on 29 May in Dakar as he was trying to visit Ousmane Sonko, who has been prevented from leaving his home since Sunday. He was taken to the Public Prosecutor’s office the following day and charged with, among other things, taking part in an undeclared demonstration, public gathering and disturbance of the peace. FRAPP member Bentaleb Sow was arrested at his home in Colobane on 31 May. He is being held at the national gendarmerie in Colobane. moustapha Diop, another FRAPP member, was arrested on 1 June as he tried to check on the detainees and was taken into custody at the Foire gendarmerie. 

Cases of excessive use of force resulting in the deaths of 14 people in March 2021, two people in June 2022, and at least two people in May 2023 including a police officer, have thus far gone unpunished.

The post Senegal: The authorities must immediately halt the police violence and restore social media appeared first on Amnesty International.

“As governor of Xinjiang, Erkin Tuniyaz will have a leading role and be intimately aware of the Chinese government’s massive and systematic abuses targeting Uyghurs, Kazakhs and other Muslim communities living in the region. These include torture, persecution and mass imprisonment, which the UN, Amnesty International and others have found may constitute crimes against humanity.

“A visit to Europe, where he will reportedly meet officials from the UK government, the EU and EU member states, will undoubtedly be used for propaganda purposes by the authorities in Beijing who have repeatedly attempted to hide or whitewash the ongoing grave crimes under international law and other human rights violations they have committed in Xinjiang.

“Questions need to be asked about the purpose of his visit. If officials choose to meet him, they cannot allow themselves to be complicit in this blatant piece of Chinese propaganda.

“They must be outspoken and publicly hold the Chinese authorities to account over the crimes against humanity being committed in Xinjiang. Dismantling the cruel system of discrimination and persecution of ethnic minorities must be the main concern of any state invited to receive Erkin Tuniyaz.

“Officials must demand information about the well-being and whereabouts of the many people who have been detained or gone missing without a trace and call for the release of everybody arbitrarily detained.

“As a starting point, judicial authorities in European states should launch their own investigations into whether Erkin Tuniyaz has responsibility for crimes under international law, including torture, or other serious human rights violations that would warrant a prosecution.”

Background

Since 2017, there has been extensive documentation of China’s crackdown against Uyghurs, Kazakhs and other predominantly Muslim ethnic minorities in Xinjiang, carried out under the guise of fighting terrorism. In 2021, a comprehensive  report by Amnesty International demonstrated that the systematic state-organized mass imprisonment, torture and persecution perpetrated by Chinese authorities amounted to crimes against humanity. In August 2022 the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights released a report finding that crimes against humanity may have occurred in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

Amnesty International’s Free Xinjiang Detainees campaign has, to date, profiled 126 individuals who are among the perhaps one million or more people in arbitrary detention in internment camps and prisons in Xinjiang.  

The post China: European states must investigate potential involvement in crimes against humanity by visiting Xinjiang governor appeared first on Amnesty International.

Small business leaders in France and Germany want alternatives to Facebook and Google’s dominant tracking-based advertising, new research commissioned by Amnesty International and Global Witness has shown.

Ahead of a key EU vote this week aimed at imposing stricter rules on tracking-based digital advertising, a poll of leaders of small and medium-sized businesses in the two countries revealed 75% believed tracking-based advertising undermines peoples’ privacy and other human rights.

A total of 69% of business owners surveyed said that while they were uncomfortable with Facebook and Google’s influence, they felt they had no option but to advertise with them due to their dominance of the industry.

The constant and invasive monitoring of our lives to target people with ads is unacceptable

Claudia Prettner, Legal and Policy Adviser at Amnesty Tech

The survey results, from a poll of more than 600 people conducted by YouGov, come ahead of this week’s plenary vote by the European Parliament on the Digital Services Act, with MEPs considering stricter rules for tracking-based advertising. 

“The constant and invasive monitoring of our lives to target people with ads is unacceptable, annihilates our right to privacy, and fuels discrimination,” said Claudia Prettner, Legal and Policy Adviser at Amnesty Tech.

“These results show that business owners are extremely uncomfortable with the approach to tracking-based advertising that their customers currently experience.

“This week’s plenary vote on the Digital Services Act represents a vital opportunity for MEPs to stand up for human rights, and to take action to address advertising practices that rely on intrusive surveillance.” 

Alternative solutions now needed

Ahead of this week’s vote, Facebook and other industry leaders have emphasized their belief that targeted advertising is necessary for the survival of European small and mid-sized enterprises.

But the survey showed that 79% of respondents felt that large online platforms – such as Facebook and Google – should face increased regulation of how they use personal data to target users while advertising online.

The survey also showed that business owners believed their customers were not comfortable being targeted with online ads based on their race or ethnicity (62%), their sexual orientation (66%), information about their health (67%), their religious views (65%), their political views (65%), or personal events in their life (62%).

“It’s been part of Facebook and Google’s lobbying playbook to use small business’ reliance on their services as a fig leaf to justify their invasive profiling and targeting of users for advertising,” said Nienke Palstra, Senior Campaigner on Digital Threats to Democracy at Global Witness.

“In fact, our polling shows small business leaders in France and Germany are deeply wary of their ad tech practices – but don’t see an alternative. Given the overwhelming support from small business to regulate ad tech giants, there is every reason for MEPs to go further in the Digital Services Act and protect individuals from surveillance advertising.”

The latest findings support previous Global Witness polling conducted in February 2021 that investigated French and German social media users’ attitudes to targeted advertising. Those results showed overwhelmingly that people were deeply uncomfortable about the ways they are targeted by advertisers every day, from being categorized by income and religious views to life events such as pregnancy, bereavement, or illness.

The post France/Germany: Small businesses want EU to get tough on Google and Facebook’s invasive advertising – new research appeared first on Amnesty International.

On August 3, 2014, the IS launched an offensive against the Sinjar region of northern Iraq and carried out large-scale massacres against the civilian population. This involved mass killings, sexual violence, torture and enslavement. Over 5,000 people were killed and over 400,000 people were displaced from their homes. To date, more than 2,800 Yazidi women and children are still held captive by the IS or remain missing.

The defendant Taha Al J. was convicted of genocide for purchasing a Yazidi woman and her five-year-old daughter as slaves in 2015. The Higher Regional Court in Frankfurt held that Taha Al J. – as a member of IS – intended to eliminate the religious minority of the Yazidis by purchasing the two Yazidi women and enslaving them. The defendant punished the Yazidi girl by cuffing her to a window in the scorching heat, unprotected from the sun and letting her die in front of her mother. Taha Al J. was therefore found guilty of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.  

“Today’s historic verdict confirms for the first time in a courtroom that the acts of the Islamic State against the Yazidi religious community in northern Iraq amount to the crime of genocide. Survivors who participated in the case underlined in harrowing detail the systematic nature of the targeted extermination of Yazidis in Iraq,” Meike Olszak, Expert in International Criminal law at Amnesty International in Germany.

“Seven years after the genocide, it was time to move forward in the fight against impunity for crimes against Yazidis and bring justice to the victims!” said Pari Ibrahim, a Yazidi activist, “But the verdict can only be a beginning, further proceedings must follow in order to bring to light the truth about the serious crimes against my religious community”.

The trial was remarkable in several respects. It is also the first trial based on the principle of universal jurisdiction addressing crimes under international law that were committed abroad, by a perpetrator who is not a German citizen and who was only extradited to Germany on the basis of an international arrest warrant.

“The process in Frankfurt is an important step. But further trials are needed, particularly into gender-based violence such as mass rapes, forced marriages and other forms of sexualized violence”, said Alexander Schwarz, Amnesty International Germany, International Law Expert.

The trial of Taha Al J. in Frankfurt began in April 2020. The German International Criminal Law coordination group was monitoring the proceedings before the Higher Regional Court in Frankfurt from the very beginning.

The post Germany/Iraq: World’s first judgment on crime of genocide against the Yazidis appeared first on Amnesty International.

“Pledging to provide one billion doses is a drop in the ocean and wouldn’t come close to covering the population of India, let alone vaccinating the world’s population. It is nowhere near enough and fails to address the root issues at play. Not only is it unambitious but smacks of self-interest, particularly considering data suggests G7 countries will have three billion spare doses surplus to requirement by the end of the year.

“This agreement shows that instead of facing up to their international obligations by waiving intellectual property rules for vaccines, tests and treatments, and sharing life-saving technology, G7 leaders have opted for more of the same paltry half measures and insufficient gestures, despite their promise to vaccinate the world by 2022.

“These leaders must climb out of the pockets of Big Pharma, push self-interest aside and genuinely commit to ensuring everyone has access to vaccines, no matter where they live. The only way to achieve this is through the immediate suspension of intellectual property rules and to ensure the transfer of vaccine knowledge and technology to all qualified vaccine manufacturers in the world.”

“The People’s Vaccine Alliance – a coalition of organizations including Amnesty International, Health Justice Initiative, Oxfam, Stop AIDS Campaign and UNAIDS – has calculated that if current trends continue, it will take the world’s poorest countries until 2078 to vaccinate their populations. Meanwhile G7 countries are on track to vaccinate their populations by January 2022.”

Background:

The G7 (Group of Seven) is an organization made up of the world’s seven largest advanced economies. They are Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the United States.

The WHO Director General has called for a massive global effort to vaccinate at least 10% of the population of all countries by September, and at least 30% by the end of the year. To reach these targets, wealthy countries must release an additional 250 million doses by September, of which 100 million doses are needed in June and July.

The post G7: Pledge to share one billion vaccine doses with poorer countries is a drop in the ocean appeared first on Amnesty International.

The climate crisis does not respect borders and our laws and policies must reflect this

Ashfaq Khalfan, Amnesty International's Law and Policy Director.

The Court will decide on whether it agrees to proceed with the case filed not only against Portugal, where the applicants live, but also 32 other countries – which comprise of EU members as well as Norway, Russia, Turkey, Switzerland, UK and Ukraine.

“The climate crisis does not respect borders and our laws and policies must reflect this. To ensure justice for people most affected by heatwaves, drought and forest fires – particularly children – states must be required to tackle climate change and its impacts at home and abroad,” said Ashfaq Khalfan, Amnesty’s Law and Policy Director.

“Governments can no longer act as if people outside their borders do not matter when they design their climate policies.”

The crowdfunded case, Duarte Agostinho and others v. Portugal and others, in which the group is intervening, has been brought by six youth from Portugal who are accusing 33 European countries of violating their human rights, including their right to life, by not taking adequate steps to limit greenhouse gas emissions.

To ensure justice for people most affected by heatwaves, drought and forest fires states must be required to tackle climate change and its impacts at home and abroad

Amnesty International

“Those affected by climate change should be allowed to make claims against governments other than their own. If governments are only required to act on the rights of people living within their borders, it is easier for them to ignore the impacts on people in the most affected countries and be more lethargic in their work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions” said Professor Mark Gibney, of the University of North Carolina Asheville.

If allowed to proceed, the case could set an important precedent, clearing the way for other climate lawsuits based on human rights arguments.

“This case is also important to ensure governments are required to design climate policy in a way that recognises the particular climate risks to children and take the ambitious climate protection measures needed to protect their rights,” said Gamze Erdem Türkelli, of the University of Antwerp. 

For more information contact Ashfaq Khalfan, Twitter: @ashfaqkhalfan

Gamze Erdem Türkelli, Twitter: @GamzeErdmTrklli

Amnesty International press office: Twitter @StefSimanowitz

For more details about the intervention, see:https://www.etoconsortium.org/en/news/news/first-climate-change-case-at-the-european-court-of-human-rights-justice-must-not-stop-at-borders-182/ . The submission is available here.

For more information on the case, see http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng?i=001-206535 and https://youth4climatejustice.org/the-case/.

BACKGROUND

The six applicants in this case, Cláudia Agostinho (21), Catarina Mota (20), Martim Agostinho (17), Sofia Oliveira (15), André Oliveira (12) and Mariana Agostinho (8), are suing the 27 European Union member states, as well as the UK, Switzerland, Norway, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine for failing to make deep and urgent emissions cuts to safeguard their future.

The group intervening today as a third party in the case is made up of members of the Extraterritorial Obligations Consortium which advocates for rights beyond borders.

It includes: Amnesty International; the Center for Legal and Social Studies (CELS); the Center for Transnational Environmental Accountability (CTEA); the Economic and Social Rights Centre (Hakijamii); FIAN International; the Great Lakes Initiative for Human Rights and Development (GLIHD); the University of Antwerp Law and Development Research Group; Prof. Dr. Mark Gibney; Dr. Gamze Erdem Turkelli; Dr. Sara Seck; Prof. Dr. Sigrun Skogly; Dr. Nicolas Carrillo-Santarelli; Prof. Dr. Jernej Letnar Cernic; Tom Mulisa; Dr. Nicholas Orago; Prof. Dr. Wouter Vandenhole; and Jingjing Zhang

The post Europe: “Climate justice must not stop at borders” human rights organizations tell ECHR in landmark case appeared first on Amnesty International.

It is outrageous that these rich nations who have already hoarded most of the world’s vaccine supply are preventing others from producing more of this life-saving medicine.

Netsanet Belay, Research and Advocacy Director, Amnesty International

“The leaders of G7 nations are shooting themselves in the foot by failing to ensure the equal distribution of coronavirus vaccines globally,” said Netsanet Belay, Research and Advocacy Director at Amnesty International.

“Giving money to COVAX, though welcome, is not enough. And suggestions like sharing a paltry five percent of their vaccine supplies with poor countries are just insultingly small.

“The promise of “building back better” rings hollow when G7 nations are the major culprits in blocking a proposal at the World Trade Organisation to suspend intellectual property rights during the pandemic, which would make it easier for other countries and companies to manufacture vaccines.

“Nor has any G7 country pressed vaccine producers, whom they have funded with vast sums of public money, to share their knowledge and technology through the World Health Organization and therefore allow more vaccines to be produced.

“It is outrageous that these rich nations who have already hoarded most of the world’s vaccine supply are preventing others from producing more of this life-saving medicine.”

The G7 nations, including the European Union, have bought up over half the world’s vaccine supply, despite representing just 13% of the world’s population, and have enough doses on order to vaccinate their populations almost three times over. To date, half the world’s vaccine doses have been administered in these countries, while 130 countries have yet to administer a single shot.

“This is an abject moral failure and will ultimately come to harm G7 countries,” said Netsanet Belay.

“As long as the virus continues to spread and mutate elsewhere, no one is safe until we are all safe. We are calling on G7 leaders to recognize the unique position they are in to change the course of this pandemic and do everything in their power to remove the roadblocks to scaling up global vaccine production.”

BACKGROUND

G7 countries including the EU have bought up over half (51%) of the world’s vaccine supply, despite representing just 13% of the world’s population.

Over half (52%) of the world’s vaccine doses have been administered in these countries, while over 130 countries have not yet administered a single dose. 

G7 countries have provided funds to international initiatives such as COVAX that aim to provide vaccines to 20% of people in low-income countries but have blocked other measures that would enable more vaccines to be produced.

Below is a breakdown of distribution and position of each G7 member.

• Canada – has secured enough doses to vaccinate its population 5 times over. It has not endorsed C-TAP’s solidarity call to action and is blocking progress towards adoption of the temporary TRIPS waiver proposal at the WTO.
• France, Germany and Italy are members of the EU, which have secured enough doses to vaccinate the EU population more than 2 times over. None has endorsed C-TAP’s Solidarity call to action and the EU is opposing the temporary TRIPS waiver proposal at the WTO.
• Japan – has secured enough doses to vaccinate its population 1.2 times over. It has not endorsed C-TAP’s Solidarity call to action and is opposing the temporary TRIPS waiver proposal at the WTO.
• United Kingdom – has secured enough doses to vaccinate its population more than 4 times over. It has not endorsed C-TAP’s Solidarity call to action and is opposing the temporary TRIPS waiver proposal at the WTO.
• United States – has secured enough doses to vaccinate its population more than 3 times over. It has not endorsed C-TAP’s Solidarity call to action and is opposing the temporary TRIPS waiver proposal at the WTO.

See here for more information about C-TAP, a World Health Organization-run pool for voluntary licences for COVID-19 products, which would enable other manufacturers to produce them, and its Solidarity call to realize equitable global access to COVID-19 health technologies through pooling of knowledge, intellectual property and data.

See here for more information about the TRIPS waiver proposal at the WTO.

All figures are based on analysis of data collected by Duke University, and include both confirmed purchases and optional agreements to expand existing deals.

The post G7 leaders are shooting themselves in the foot by failing to tackle global vaccine access appeared first on Amnesty International.

People’s rights are being violated by governments in Europe and Central Asia, who are cracking down on protests and seeking to erode the independence of the judiciary to avoid accountability, Amnesty International said today as it published its annual review of human rights in the region.

The organization praised those brave people who took to the streets to defend their own and others’ rights but warned that governments continue to perpetrate human rights violations with impunity across the region.

In 2019, people in Europe and Central Asia were threatened, intimidated, prosecuted, subjected to excessive use of force by police, and suffered discrimination. However, the grassroots mobilization of courageous people who dared to stand up and hold states accountable provides a ray of hope for the future,

Marie Struthers, Europe Director at Amnesty International

Independence of the judiciary under threat

In Poland, the independence of the judiciary – essential for ensuring fair trials and upholding human rights – was threatened as the ruling party took bolder steps to control judges and courts.

Judges and prosecutors found themselves at risk of disciplinary proceedings for speaking out in defence of the judiciary and risked becoming victims of human rights violations themselves. Many were subjected to smear campaigns on state and social media.

Concerns also mounted about the independence of the judiciary in Hungary, Romania and Turkey. Judges in Hungary came under attack from multiple directions as the government continued its attempts to undermine the independence of the judiciary. In May, the European Commission warned Romania that it should address issues including interference with judicial independence by the executive, or potentially face having some of the member state’s rights suspended for persistent breach of the EU’s founding values. In Turkey, a judicial reform package was passed by Parliament. The reforms failed to address the extreme political pressure on the judiciary or to end unfair and politically motivated prosecutions and convictions.

Freedom of peaceful assembly

Independent courts were vitally needed in 2019 to safeguard individual freedoms as state overreach came to the fore, with restrictions on protests in France, Poland and Turkey as well as prosecution of protesters in many more.

Major protests took place in numerous countries across Europe including France, Austria, Poland, Romania, the Czech Republic and Hungary, with people protesting against austerity measures and corruption, and in defence of social justice and the independence of the judiciary. Protests and strikes urging governments to take measures against climate change became a regular occurrence in major European cities. 

Many states repressed the demonstrations through measures that breached the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and expression. In France, Austria and Spain, hundreds of people were injured by the police during protests. Police resorted to excessive force in France, and violently disrupted peaceful gatherings in Turkey where blanket bans on gatherings were often used to deny the right to freedom of peaceful assembly. States frequently failed to hold their security forces accountable for violence perpetrated during the protests.

Some judges adjudicating in cases relating to protests were harassed or demoted by the Polish authorities.

In Moscow, and other Russian cities, the largest numbers of peaceful protesters seen in many years stood up against the authorities’ refusal to allow opposition candidates to take part in the city elections. The resultant crackdown led to criminal convictions for two dozen participants, simply for exercising their right to protest.

“The reprisals against participants of mass protests in Moscow kick-started an unprecedented solidarity campaign that signals the further awakening of human rights awareness and people power in Russia,” said Marie Struthers.

Migration

European states continued to avoid accountability for human rights violations resulting from their migration policies by “outsourcing” border control to countries with questionable human rights records. In 2019, migration policies continued to prioritise the protection of borders over the protection of human lives. Despite the deteriorating security situation there, European countries continued cooperating with Libya to contain migrants and asylum-seekers in the country.

In November, the Italian government extended its agreement with Libya on migration for a further three years, despite continuing evidence pointing to systematic human rights violations including torture in Libya’s detention centres.

Reports of grave human rights violations against asylum-seekers and refugees, and their continued denial of access to protection, failed to deter the EU from partnering with Turkey to curb migration via the 2016 EU-Turkey Deal. Ahead of Turkey’s incursion into north-eastern Syria in October, Amnesty International conducted dozens of interviews which suggested hundreds of Syrians were likely forcibly deported from Turkey between May and September, under the guise of “voluntary returns”. The deal is also causing unprecedented overcrowding of the camps in the Aegean islands, where tens of thousands of people live in destitute conditions.

Human rights defenders under attack

Civil society, journalists and others responsible for holding governments to account faced pressure in 2019.

“Human rights defenders, journalists, NGOs and other people campaigning for a fairer and more just society were all at the sharp end of government crackdowns in 2019,” said Marie Struthers.

Their work to hold authorities to account, will only be more vital during the COVID-19 crisis and in its aftermath. The humanity and solidarity they show towards the most marginalized members of our societies are needed now more than ever, and will continue to be essential during the post-COVID-19 recovery.

Marie Struthers

For more information or to arrange an interview, contact Amnesty International press office on press@amnesty.org +32 2 548 27 73 or +32 483 680 812

The post Europe: Mass protests provide hope as rights and judicial independence eroded appeared first on Amnesty International.

Lawsuits, protests and other actions are planned in several European ports to oppose this week’s return of the Bahri Yanbu, a Saudi Arabian state-owned cargo ship that has previously ferried tens of millions of dollars’ worth of arms to fuel the war in Yemen, Amnesty International said today.
Fresh off a trans-Atlantic voyage after stopping in the USA and Canada last month, the cargo ship is due to visit five European ports beginning on 2 February, before continuing its onward voyage to Saudi Arabia. These include Bremerhaven (Germany); Antwerp (Belgium); Tilbury Docks (UK); Cherbourg (France), and Genoa (Italy).

“On a similar voyage in May 2019, protests and lawsuits blocked some of the arms destined for Yemen from being loaded on the Bahri Yanbu. Even so, tens of millions of dollars’ worth of military aircraft parts and other arms slipped through. Multiple states failed miserably to live up to their international obligations to halt arms transfers for use in war crimes and serious human rights violations,” said Patrick Wilcken, Amnesty International’s Arms Control and Human Rights Researcher.

On a similar voyage in May 2019, protests and lawsuits blocked some of the arms destined for Yemen from being loaded on the Bahri Yanbu. Even so, tens of millions of dollars’ worth of military aircraft parts and other arms slipped through. Multiple states failed miserably to live up to their international obligations.

Patrick Wilcken, Amnesty International’s Arms Control and Human Rights Researcher

“Now, the political will of governments to respect their legal obligations is again being put to the test. Activists and port workers are on high alert as the Bahri Yanbu threatens to flout international law yet again in the name of lucrative arms deals that have been fuelling unlawful killing of civilians and a dire humanitarian catastrophe in Yemen.”

The new round of opposition to the Bahri Yanbu’s current voyage includes:

• Belgium: three NGOs filed a court case seeking an injunction against the government authorizing arms transfers to Saudi Arabia.
• France: Amnesty International France volunteers plan to protest in Cherbourg port.
• Italy: A dockworkers’ strike is planned in Genoa, where trade unions have repeatedly voiced their opposition to loading “hot cargo” that is destined for use in the war in Yemen. Amnesty International Italy volunteers also plan to protest in the port.

In December, Amnesty International Spain and partner NGOs in the national Control Arms campaign protested the arrival of the Bahri Yanbu’s sister ship, the Bahri Abha, in Sagunto, near Valencia. The Spanish government told Amnesty International Spain that the ship loaded containers destined for the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, but would not disclose their contents.
Given the secrecy surrounding the Bahri Yanbu’s contents, Amnesty International lacks specific evidence indicating that it is currently carrying arms to Saudi Arabia. However, the circumstances of the current voyage, and the ship’s deplorable record, raise a real risk that this is the case, and that states are again failing to live up to their legal obligations to stop illegal weapons transfers.

According to bills of lading data analysed by Amnesty International, since the war in Yemen began in 2015, the Bahri Yanbu has transferred close to US$360 million worth of military and dual-use equipment on 10 voyages from the USA to Saudi Arabia before the current trip.

Data now available shows that on its previous voyage visiting multiple European ports in May 2019, the Bahri Yanbu was carrying US$47 million worth of US-manufactured military components and equipment, much of it linked to military aircraft. Containers of arms were also loaded in Belgium and Spain, and howitzer cannon were due to be loaded in France until NGOs took legal action to halt the arms transfer. Amnesty International also received credible reports that the ship had Canadian light armoured vehicles (LAVs) on board at the time.

Belgium, Canada, France, Italy, Germany, Spain and the UK are all states parties to the global Arms Trade Treaty. Although the USA is a signatory, the Trump administration has stated it does not intend to follow the treaty’s obligations. The treaty prohibits international arms transfers that would be used to commit war crimes, such as attacks directed against civilians. The EU Common Position on Arms Exports also prohibits EU member states from allowing arms transfers in such situations.

The Saudi Arabian and Emirati-led Coalition’s air and ground war in Yemen has killed and injured thousands of civilians, including in attacks that violated international humanitarian law – some probable war crimes. The conflict has been characterized by a range of other serious crimes under international law, including enforced disappearance and torture at a network of black sites.

Data visualization mapping out the Bahri Yanbu’s current voyage:

The post Saudi Arabian arms ship Bahri Yanbu faces growing opposition in European ports appeared first on Amnesty International.

Mesut Ozil’s social media post about the political situation in Xinjiang has prompted an angry response from the Chinese authorities. The Arsenal footballer’s accusation that China is persecuting the predominantly Muslim Uyghur minority has been dismissed by Beijing as “fake news”. Meanwhile, a Gunners match was pulled from the state TV schedule and Chinese football fans have reportedly burned Arsenal shirts in protest at the player’s comments.

Amnesty International has extensively documented the situation in Xinjiang over the past several years. We have interviewed more than 400 people outside of China whose relatives in Xinjiang are still missing, as well as individuals who said they were tortured while in detention camps there. We also collected satellite photos of the camps and analysed official Chinese documents that detail the mass-internment programme. This is what is really happening:

1 Mass internment camps
An estimated one million predominantly Muslim people, such as Uyghurs and Kazakhs, have been held in internment camps in Xinjiang, northwest China. The government has repeatedly denied the existence of the camps – describing them instead as voluntary “transformation-through-education” centres. But those sent there have no right to challenge the decision.

2 Harsh conditions
Kairat Samarkan was among those sent to a detention camp in October 2017, after he returned to Xinjiang from Kazakhstan. He told Amnesty he was hooded, made to wear shackles on his arms and legs and forced to stand in a fixed position for 12 hours when first detained. He said detainees are also forced to sing political songs and chant “Long live Xi Jinping” (the Chinese president) before meals or face harsh punishment.

3 Detainees driven to the brink
The authorities decide when detainees have been “transformed”. Those who resist or fail to show enough progress face punishments ranging from verbal abuse to food deprivation, solitary confinement and beatings. There have been reports of deaths inside the facilities, including suicides of those unable to bear the mistreatment.

4 Information blackout
The Chinese authorities have invited Mesut Ozil to come to Xinjiang and “have a look” at the situation for himself. This is a trap: the government has organized dozens of Potemkin-style propaganda tours for unwitting foreigners while preventing independent UN experts from visiting the region, harassing foreign journalists and instructing local officials to keep the mass detention programme secret.

5 China’s ‘anti-terror’ argument
The Chinese government has justified its extreme measures as necessary to prevent religious “extremism” and what they claim are “terrorist activities”. Their stance on Xinjiang’s ethnic minorities has hardened since a series of violent incidents in the capital Urumqi in 2009 and the knife attacks at Kunming railway station in southwest China in 2014. This hardly justifies the arbitrary detention of hundreds of thousands of people. In fact, UN experts concluded last month that China’s policies in Xinjiang were actually likely to “worsen any security risk”.

6 Arrested for growing a beard The persecution of Xinjiang’s Muslims has intensified since a regulation passed in 2017 meant people could be labelled “extremist” for reasons such as refusing to watch public TV programmes or having an “abnormal” beard. Wearing a veil or headscarf, regular prayer, fasting or avoidance of alcohol can also be considered “extremist” under the regulation.

7 Surveillance state
Everyone in Xinjiang is at risk of being detained. The region is blanketed with facial-recognition surveillance cameras, backed by the use of artificial intelligence and mass DNA collection. Ubiquitous security checks are a part of daily life, with the authorities searching mobile phones for suspicious content.

People might also come under suspicion through routine monitoring of messages sent on social media apps such as WeChat. Syrlas Kalimkhan said he installed WhatsApp on his father’s phone and tested it by texting, “Hi, Dad.” Later, the police asked his father why he had WhatsApp on his phone. He was later sent to a “re-education camp”.

8 Relatives scared to speak out Most of the detainees’ families have been kept in the dark about their fate, while those who speak out risk being detained themselves. To avoid arousing such suspicion, Uyghurs, Kazakhs and others inside Xinjiang have been cutting ties with friends and family living outside China. They warn acquaintances not to call and delete outside contacts from social media applications.

9 A dark echo of the past
The camps are places of brainwashing, torture and punishment that hark back to the darkest hours of the Mao era, when anyone suspected of not being loyal enough to the state or the Chinese Communist Party could end up in China’s notorious labour camps. Muslim ethnic minority groups in Xinjiang are living in permanent fear for themselves and their detained relatives.

10 An important stand
While Arsenal have been criticized for not speaking out in support of Ozil, companies do not technically have a responsibility to denounce human rights violations. They only have to ensure they do not cause, contribute to or profit from such abuses.

Yet China’s attempts to impose its powerful censorship abroad must be resisted. Ozil has taken an important stand in speaking out in support of those facing brutal persecution in Xinjiang – and his intervention has raised global awareness of one of the gravest human rights crises of our time. Arsenal are entitled to remain silent, but Ozil’s right to freedom of expression must be preserved.

A version of this article was originally published by The Independent

The post Mesut Ozil’s Uyghur post: 10 things you need to know about China’s Xinjiang crisis appeared first on Amnesty International.

This is a wake-up call to world leaders that they must take far more decisive action to tackle the climate emergency or risk betraying younger generations further.

Kumi Naidoo

Climate change is one of the most important issues facing the world, according to a major new survey of young people published by Amnesty International today to mark Human Rights Day.

With the findings published as governments meet in Spain for the UN Climate Change Conference, the organization warns that world leaders’ failure to address the climate change crisis has left them out of step with young people.

“In this year when young people mobilised in huge numbers for the climate, it can be no surprise that many of those surveyed saw it as one of the most important issues facing the world,” said Kumi Naidoo, Secretary General of Amnesty International. 

“For young people the climate crisis is one of the defining challenges of their age. This is a wake-up call to world leaders that they must take far more decisive action to tackle the climate emergency or risk betraying younger generations further.”

Ipsos MORI, on behalf of Amnesty International, questioned more than 10,000 people aged 18-25-year olds—also known as Generation Z—in 22 countries for the “Future of humanity” survey.

They were asked for their opinions on the current state of human rights in their country and the world, which issues they feel are most important and who they feel is responsible for addressing human rights abuses.

Respondents were asked to pick up to five issues from a list of 23 major issues facing the world. In total, 41% of respondents said climate change was one of the most important issues facing the world, making it the most commonly cited globally, followed by 36% who chose pollution and 31% who selected terrorism.

As we mark Human Rights Day, we need to recognise that the climate crisis will arguably be the defining issue for younger generations.

Kumi Naidoo

Global warming was also most commonly cited as one of the most important environmental issues facing the world (57%), out of 10 environmental issues such as ocean pollution, air pollution and deforestation.

“As we mark Human Rights Day, we need to recognise that the climate crisis will arguably be the defining issue for younger generations. The right to a healthy environment, including a safe climate, is essential for the enjoyment of so many other rights. It is a right that young people today have been forced to take the lead in asserting,” said Kumi Naidoo.

Generation Z “living inside a failed system”

The climate crisis, pollution, corruption and poor living standards are all windows on an alarming truth about how the powerful have exploited their power for selfish and often short-term gain.

Kumi Naidoo

However, the survey’s findings extend well beyond the climate crisis, reflecting the everyday struggles and concerns facing Generation Z in their own countries.

At a national level corruption was most commonly cited as one of the most important issues (36%), followed by economic instability (26%), pollution (26%), income inequality (25%), climate change (22%) and violence against women (21%).

“This generation lives in a world of widening inequality, economic instability and austerity where vast numbers of people have been left behind,” said Kumi Naidoo.

“Faced with all this, the message from young people is clear. We are living inside a failed system. The climate crisis, pollution, corruption and poor living standards are all windows on an alarming truth about how the powerful have exploited their power for selfish and often short-term gain.”

The survey’s findings come at a time of widespread mass protests around the world, from Algeria to Chile, Hong Kong, Iran, Lebanon, and Sudan. Many of these movements have been largely led by young people and students, who have angrily called out corruption, inequality, and abuse of power and faced violent repression for doing so.

“Amnesty International believes that young people want to see systemic transformations. They want a reckoning with the climate emergency, with the abuse of power. They want to see a completely different future blossoming instead of the wreckage that we are heading towards,” said Kumi Naidoo.

Call for system change built on human rights

If the events of 2019 teach us anything, it is that younger generations deserve a seat at the table when it comes to decisions about them.

Kumi Naidoo

Alongside climate change, a clear majority of young people value human rights in general and want to see their governments take most responsibility to protect them, according to the findings of the “Future of humanity” survey.

The majority of survey respondents agreed that:

• the protection of human rights is fundamental to the future of the countries tested (73% agree vs 11% disagree);
• governments should take the wellbeing of their citizens more seriously than economic growth (63% agree vs 13% disagree); and
• human rights must be protected, even if it has a negative impact on the economy (60% agree vs 15% disagree).

The findings also revealed an unequivocal belief among many young people across every country surveyed that governments should take most responsibility for ensuring human rights are upheld, with 73% of respondents in total picking governments over individuals (15%), businesses (6%) and charities (4%).

Coupled with the results that show that most young people believe voting in elections is an effective method for initiating human rights change, over and above going on strike or attending a protest, the results were not all bad news for leaders who are “willing to listen”.   

“If the leaders of the world are willing to listen carefully, they will notice that Generation Z are not asking for small tweaks. Young people are looking for fundamental changes in the way the world works. If leaders fail to take that seriously, they risk betraying a generation,” said Kumi Naidoo.  

“If the events of 2019 teach us anything, it is that younger generations deserve a seat at the table when it comes to decisions about them. Unless the voices of those on the frontlines are part of the discussion on how we tackle the challenges facing humanity, the crises we are witnessing in the world will only get worse.

“Above all, governments must begin the new decade with meaningful action to address the climate emergency, reduce inequality and put in place genuine reforms to end abuses of power. We need systemic changes, built on human-rights, to the economic and political systems that have brought us to the brink.”

The post Climate change ranks highest as vital issue of our time – Generation Z survey appeared first on Amnesty International.

Nearly 10,000 people were polled on their attitudes to online privacy and Big Tech across nine countries:  Brazil, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Norway, South Africa and the USA.

“The poll results are stark and consistent – a clear majority of people are worried about the power Big Tech has over their lives. People are hankering for governments to do more to regulate these corporate giants,” said Tanya O’Carroll, Director of Amnesty Tech.

“The results are a damning indictment of how Big Tech companies harvest and use our personal data.   People want to see an end to tech companies trampling over our right to privacy.”

Respondents who are worried about the collection of their personal data are most concerned with the violation of their right to privacy (62%), with a majority (59%) also worried about the loss of control over their data.

The poll results are stark and consistent – a clear majority of people are worried about the power Big Tech has over their lives.

Tanya O’Carroll, Director of Amnesty Tech.

Of those who said they are worried, more than half (51%) are concerned that data about their online activity might reveal a lot about them; while almost a third (32%) fear their data could be used by state authorities to target them.

The central business model underpinning the internet today – using data to create detailed profiles of people for the purpose of selling targeted advertising – is seen as a major problem by nearly eight in ten people (77%).

When asked to explain why, six in ten said (59%) it was an invasion of privacy. More than half (53%) are concerned people could be unfairly influenced with political advertising without their knowledge. Nearly half (48%) also felt that advertisers would target people when they are at their most vulnerable.

In the USA, where next year’s Presidential race is well underway, three in four (75%) Americans said it is a problem that tech companies create and sell access to detailed personal profiles. Six in ten (61%), of those who said it was a problem, were concerned people could be unfairly influenced by political advertising.

“Scandals like Cambridge Analytica’s illicit harvesting of millions of people’s personal data have seriously damaged public trust in tech companies,” said Tanya O’Carroll.

 “Governments need to take action on the manipulation of targeted online political advertising. Our poll shows that people simply don’t trust Big Tech to determine the terms of political debate.” 

Sebastien Thibault/agoodson.com

Almost half of those polled (49%) are more cautious about how they share their personal information online. Over a third (37%) avoid certain search terms or web pages because they are concerned about tracking, while the same percentage of people (37%) elected not to use a platform because of data privacy concerns. This shows that online corporate surveillance is having a chilling on people’s ability to access the digital world. Nearly a third (32%) use tools to limit online tracking.

The results of the poll reinforce Amnesty’s analysis that the core business-model of Facebook and Google poses a systemic threat to human rights. Last month, Amnesty International released an in-depth report showing how the surveillance-based business model of the two tech giants is incompatible with every element of the right to privacy. This includes freedom from intrusion into our private lives, the right to control information about ourselves, and the right to a space in which we can freely express our identities. It also showed how the business model poses a threat to a range of other rights including freedom of opinion expression and assembly, freedom of thought, and the right to equality and non-discrimination.

Amnesty International is calling on governments to overhaul the surveillance-based business model and protect people from corporate human rights abuses. As a first step, governments must enact and enforce laws that prevent companies from making access to their services conditional on individuals “consenting” to the collection, processing or sharing of their personal data for marketing or advertising.

The post New poll reveals 7 in 10 people want governments to regulate Big Tech over personal data fears appeared first on Amnesty International.