Oral statement at Item 6 Consideration of UPR reports: Sri Lanka at the 53rd session of the UN Human Rights Council from 19 June to 14 July 2023.

On 1 June, Members of Parliament, Mthandeni Dube and Mduduzi Bacede Mabuza – who have been held for almost two years in arbitrary detention – were found guilty of terrorism, sedition and murder. The two were arrested on 25 July 2021 and are facing over 20 years in jail for representing their...

LGBTI people in Türkiye are facing a brazen and deepening crackdown this Pride season, Amnesty International said today, on the eve of Istanbul Pride and Izmir Pride marches, which are due to go ahead on Sunday despite expected attempts to ban them. Discriminatory language by politicians, including...

Hundreds of Cubans remain imprisoned for participating in island-wide protests on 11 July 2021. The Cuban judiciary, which is not independent of the government, routinely rubberstamps politically motivated accusations without regard for fair trial guarantees. Among those unjustly convicted are...

The United States and Indian governments must address the grave human rights issues in both countries during Prime Minister Modi’s meeting with President Biden in Washington DC, said Amnesty International ahead of the state visit this week. “Prime Minister Modi has presided over a period of rapid...

An oral statement on Item 2: Interactive Dialogue with the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in Israel, delivered during UN Human Rights Council, 53d session.

Ahead of a parliamentary vote on amendments to law to further restrict freedom of association including the work of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Kyrgyzstan, Heather McGill, Amnesty International’s Central Asia Researcher, said: “These amendments pose a very significant threat to civil...

As the consequences of the Kakhovka dam destruction continue to unfold, the occupying Russian forces have been endangering lives in flood-afflicted areas following the destruction of the dam, while upstream water shortages and an upheaval  of livelihoods point to an impending ecological and...

Responding to the European Parliament’s decision to ban invasive mass surveillance technologies in its Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act), Mher Hakobyan, Advocacy Advisor on AI Regulation said:  “We welcome the European Parliament’s decision to adopt a ban on abusive mass surveillance technology...

The European Parliament must use a plenary vote cementing its final position on the European Union’s Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act) to ban racist and discriminatory profiling systems that target migrants and other marginalized groups, Amnesty International said today, ahead of the vote on 14...

The Senegalese authorities must immediately carry out an independent and transparent investigation into the deaths of at least 23 people, including three children, during the violent demonstrations of 1 and 2 June 2023, and shed light on the presence of armed civilian personnel operating alongside...

Responding to the news that the Senate has passed on 7 June 2023 the Criminal Law Codification and Reform Amendment Bill 2022, commonly referred to as the “Patriotic Bill”, which criminalizes “wilfully injuring the sovereignty and national interest of Zimbabwe”, Flavia Mwangovya, Amnesty...