Malawi: Killing spree of people with albinism fuelled by ritual practices and policing failures

A surge in killings of people with albinism, whose body parts are used in ritual practices, has exposed a systematic failure of policing in Malawi and left this vulnerable group living in fear. The report, “We are not animals to be hunted or sold”: Violence and discrimination against people with albinism in Malawi”, exposes how …

Malaysia: One year on, no justice for ‘boat crisis’ survivors

Hundreds of refugees who survived the 2015 boat crisis in South East Asia have been locked up in poor conditions in Malaysia ever since, Amnesty International said, following a visit to the country to investigate the fate of people one year on. Rohingya refugees are being kept in indefinite detention Failure to properly investigate criminal …

New global survey shows world’s citizens want stronger global action to welcome refugees

A new global survey commissioned by Amnesty International shows that 80% of people would welcome refugees fleeing danger into their own countries. The Refugees Welcome Index, based on a global survey of more than 27,000 people and carried out by strategy consultancy GlobeScan, ranks 27 countries across all continents based on people’s willingness to let …

Syria: UN Security Council must step up pressure to end attacks on hospitals

The UN Security Council should impose targeted sanctions on all those carrying out deliberate attacks on hospitals and other war crimes, as Amnesty International releases harrowing testimony revealing how hundreds of civilians, including children, have been killed by intensified Syrian government air strikes since 21 April. Deliberate attacks The organisation interviewed doctors and activists in …

Death sentences and executions in 2015

2015 saw a rise in the number of people executed – at least 1,634 – the highest recorded by Amnesty International since 1989. Glimmers of hope Countries used various methods to kill: hanging, shooting, lethal injection, beheading. They did this with cold efficiency, driving the number of executions up by more than half, compared to …

Amnesty International Annual Reports

Our latest Amnesty International Annual Report 2020/21: The State of The World’s Human Rights highlights how the global pandemic crisis impacted everyone, but also threw into stark relief, and sometimes aggravated, existing inequalities and patterns of abuse.  The global system of governance strained at the seams, exacerbated by powerful governments’ attacks on multilateral institutions. However, by …

Iraq: Evidence of deliberate mass destruction in Peshmerga-controlled Arab villages

Peshmerga forces from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and Kurdish militias in northern Iraq have bulldozed, blown up and burned down thousands of homes in an apparent effort to uproot Arab communities in revenge for their perceived support for the so-called Islamic State (IS). Displacement of civilians Our new report, Banished and dispossessed: Forced displacement …

Don Dale teenagers hooded, transferred to adult prison

A report by the Northern Territory (NT) Children’s Commissioner reveals shocking treatment of juveniles at Don Dale Youth Detention Centre. The report comes after NT Correctional Services staff were found to have used tear gas on kids following an attempted escape on 21 August 2014. Confinement The recent report shows six Indigenous children were in …