By Thomas Rozanov
I first experienced the value of political freedom in the 2004 Orange Revolution protests in Kyiv, Ukraine. I was only seven years old then, yet I quickly caught inspiration for the rapidly evolving ‘PORA’ and ‘Tak!’ movements and the revolution. Next, fast-forward ten years, and I was driven by the 2014 Euromaidan movement.
2014 Ukrainian Euromaidan protests
Reuters/Gleb Garanich
By Thomas Rozanov
What George Orwell once fantasized in his novel ‘1984,’ is an actual threat today. Individuals are confronted with surveillance that interferes with private lives, and human rights. Big Brother tyranny is set into practice with modern widespread technology. “Telescreens” used by Oceania’s ruling party to constantly surveil citizens and prevent conspiracies and “thoughtcrimes” are now being replaced with unlawful access to online accounts, phone surveillance, cyberattacks, and hacking.
What once seemed like a dystopian plot, is now a reality. I suspect this dimension will play out more in the future, as individuals are becoming more technologically integrated and dependent. We should be warned to not only protect our physical human rights, but also the privacy of our virtual spaces and communication via technology. I draw attention to recent cases of unlawful surveillance and cyberattacks by governments targeting individuals in Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, and Belarus. SEE THE REST OF THIS POST
By Ella Shen
A few weeks ago, Amnesty International, along with other international organizations, has expressed heavy concern over the possibility of danger, including torture amongst other human rights violations, to journalist Khudoberdi Nurmatov (also known as Ali Feruz), if forcibly returned to Uzbekistan. SEE THE REST OF THIS POST
Russian security forces attempt to block the way of Crimean Tatars crossing a checkpoint in May 2014. REUTERS/STRINGER
By Viachaslau “Slava” Bortnik
Amnesty International recently released a public statement raising the worsening human rights situation in Crimea marking three years under Russian rule since the Peninsula’s unlawful annexation in March 2014.
Despite Amnesty’s call for human rights in last year’s briefing ‘Crimea in the dark: the silencing of dissent’, Russian and Crimean de facto authorities continue to intensify their persecution of political activists, dissenting voices, and ethnic Crimean Tatars. SEE THE REST OF THIS POST
In the last few months, the tiny pacific island nation of Nauru has exploded back onto the international news circuit. This time, it isn’t for the lucrative strip mining of fossilized bird droppings, it’s news of the Australian Government using the island as a detention center for intercepted refugees and asylum seekers attempting to reach Australia and New Zealand by boat. SEE THE REST OF THIS POST
( NOEL CELIS/AFP/Getty Images)
By T. Kumar, International Advocacy Director, Amnesty International USA
Media reports indicate that in the Philippines number of people killed by the police could be as high as 400 to 800 in the last few weeks. These cold blooded murders are committed by the police and vigilantes by the active encouragement and support of the President Duterte and his “shoot to kill” directive. In essence President Duterte has become the “Cheer Leader” for these killings.
Villagers shout slogans as they protest against a copper mine project, in Monywa northern Myanmar (Soe Than WIN/AFP/Getty Images)
By Larry Dohrs and Simon Billenness, Business and Human Rights Group, Amnesty International USA
For many people around the world, their most direct contact with the United States is through the operations of American corporations. So it is in our interest that these companies respect human rights, generating good will towards the United States and its people. SEE THE REST OF THIS POST
US President Barack Obama speaks on US – India relations during a townhall event at Siri Fort Auditorium in New Delhi (SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)
By T. Kumar, International Advocacy Director for Amnesty International USA
As President Obama is about to host Indian Prime Minister Modi on June 7th to discuss series of issues, one issue is not going to be on the table. The case in point is the summons served by an Indian court to a US based multinational company for the deaths of thousands as a result of a poisonous gas leak in Bhopal in India over thirty years ago. SEE THE REST OF THIS POST
Today, May 17, Amnesty International celebrates International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia. This IDAHOT, Amnesty International condemns the ongoing discrimination, violence, and denial of fundamental human rights faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people around the world. SEE THE REST OF THIS POST
Last fall, I told you about “Silenced Shadows” – a poetry competition that Amnesty was launching in Sri Lanka on the theme of enforced disappearances. Sri Lanka has experienced at least 80,000 cases of enforced disappearances over the past 30 years. The vast majority are still unaccounted for and the perpetrators remain unpunished. The agony of the families of the disappeared – not knowing whether their loved ones are alive or dead, or what condition they’re in if they are still alive – continues unabated to this day. SEE THE REST OF THIS POST