Missing Guests – The U.S. Africa Summit

June 30, 2014 at 9:01 PM

Swaziland’s King Mswati III is one of nearly 40 heads of state on the guest list for President Obama’s U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit (Photo Credit: Stephane de Sakutkin/AFP/Getty Images).

Johanna Lee contributed to this post.

Starting August 4, the Obama Administration will host a mini replica of an African Union (AU) summit. As many as 40 heads of state from the continent will be on hand for the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, a conference that will look at ways to boost trade and investment in the continent, tap into Africa’s burgeoning youth population, and promote good governance.

The idea for such a summit is laudable, considering the critical issues that will be discussed – issues that will continue to be key challenges for both Africa and U.S. policy towards the continent and as part of addressing the chronic need to raise educate the public about the realities of the different countries that make up Africa, unknown success stories and it’s untapped economic potential.

Unfortunately, unless a major change is made, the summit risks simply becoming an AU heads of state road trip with a photo-op at the end to confirm that they visited Washington before returning home.

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How We Can Stop Gun Violence and Save Lives

By Steven Hawkins

June 26, 2014 at 6:17 PM

Even though we live in a country whose firearm homicide rate is 20 times higher than the combined rates of 22 countries with comparable wealth and population size, we haven’t conducted extensive research as to why this is the case (Photo Credit: David McNew/Getty Images).

This past week, Amnesty International USA observed the Global Week of Action Against Gun Violence, along with our fellow NGOs in the International Action Network on Small Arms.

The majority of human rights abuses documented by Amnesty International are linked to guns. We’ve long recognized that their widespread availability creates a climate of fear and intensifies violence – involving countless numbers of people who have been tortured, killed, injured, raped and forced to flee from their homes.

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Boko Haram: Now What?

By Adotei Akwei

June 12, 2014 at 9:35 AM

Women hold banners during a march of Nigeria women and mothers of the kidnapped girls of Chibok, calling for their freedom (Photo Credit: Philip Ojisua/AFP/Getty Images).

Johanna Lee contributed to this post.

In mid-April, Islamist armed group Boko Haram abducted 276 schoolgirls aged 15-18 from the village of Chibok in northeast Nigeria. The abductions triggered outrage, protests and a social media campaign criticizing the response of the Nigerian authorities and demanding a major effort to secure the freedom of the girls.

Yet, almost two months later, little, if any, progress has been made in freeing the kidnapped girls and the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan and his security forces have failed to communicate a plan or even convince the families of the girls that they are doing all that they can to get the girls released.

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The Chibok Abductions: This is Not an Episode of the A-Team

By Adotei Akwei

May 16, 2014 at 4:51 PM

All lawful efforts must be made to locate the kidnapped girls and secure their safe release and the perpetrators of the attack must be brought to justice in an impartial court of law.

Sounds simple enough. But unlike the plot of an episode of an action drama, the reality on the ground is much more complex.

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This Mother’s Day, What More Can be Done to Help End Violence Against Women and Girls Globally?

By Cristina Finch

May 9, 2014 at 1:40 PM

The International Violence Against Women Act introduced yesterday in the Senate would make legislation ending violence against women a diplomatic and foreign assistance priority for the U.S. government (Photo Credit: Sarah K. Eddy).

The eyes of the world are currently focused on Nigeria and the efforts to free the nearly 300 schoolgirls currently held captive by Boko Haram. The abduction of these girls is yet another deeply disturbing example of the ways in which violence against girls and women affects every aspect of their lives, in this case, their right to education.

Even as we work to #BringBackOurGirls in Nigeria, we continue to press for a permanent solution to end violence against women and girls globally.

Yesterday, the U.S. Senate took an action that would help.

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What Can Be Done for the Girls of Chibok?

By Guest Writer

May 7, 2014 at 2:38 PM

This piece originally appeared in Al Jazeera English’s Opinion Section under the name: “Nigeria: A Serious Test of Stability.”

By Salil Shetty, Amnesty International Secretary General

As Nigeria takes centre stage hosting the World Economic Forum on Africa, events in recent weeks have tarnished its image as a country that has come of age.

In April, as Africa’s most populous nation assumed the presidency of the United Nations Security Council and chairmanship of the African Union’s Peace and Security Council, news came that Nigeria had also outstripped South Africa to become the continent’s largest economy.

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Nigeria: Bring Back Our Girls!

By Adotei Akwei

May 2, 2014 at 11:06 AM

Nigerians attend a demonstration to demand government to rescue schoolgirls abducted by suspected Boko Haram militants two weeks ago (Photo Credit: Mohammed Elshamy/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images).

On April 14, 234 school girls between the ages of 16 and 18 were abducted from the Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok in Northern Nigeria by the Islamist armed group Boko Haram.

Boko Haram, which is opposed to any form of western education, has waged a brutal insurgency destabilizing different states in the northern part of the country at various points since 2009 with bombs, attacks on schools and the killings of thousands of individuals. Amnesty estimates that 2,300 people have died as a result of the armed conflict since 2010, with 1,500 being killed between January and March of 2014 alone.

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Let’s Be Clear – Israel’s Long-Running Settlement Policy Constitutes a War Crime

By Edith Garwood

August 14, 2013 at 3:25 PM

An ‘Israeli only’ by-pass road that links Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, sitting below an Israeli settlement outside of Jerusalem (Photo Credit: Edith Garwood).

ALL Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) are illegal.
Israel’s long-running policy of settling civilians in occupied territory amounts to a war crime.[1]

This needs to be clearly said now, without ambiguity. The United States government, as sponsor of the current ‘peace talks’ between Israel and Palestinians, must uphold rule of law and human rights. Despite the fact that the U.S. has historically taken the same position as the international community that Israeli settlements within the OPT are illegal, they have chosen to prevaricate in recent years, using words like ‘unhelpful’ or ‘illegitimate’ to describe settlement building by Israel.

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Swarms of Brazilians Protest Corrupt Policies

By Guest Writer

June 21, 2013 at 12:16 PM

Students shout slogans while a trash can burns during a protest of what is now called the ‘Tropical Spring’ against corruption and price hikes, at National Congress in Brasilia, on June 20, 2013. Brazilians took to the streets again on a new day of mass nationwide protests, demanding better public services and bemoaning massive spending to stage the World Cup (Photo Credit: Evaristo SA/AFP/Getty Images).

By Francisco Ciampolini, Brazilian Country Specialist

The last time Brazilians took to the streets to the degree they have in the last few days was 20 years ago, when the nation demanded (and obtained) the impeachment of President Fernando Collor. Back then, the country’s citizens were outraged because of the president’s corrupt practices; today, people are reacting to their deep frustration with inflation, unjust policy and corruption.

At the beginning of this week, Sao Paulo police were called into action after thousands of Brazilians launched a protest against a 20-cent increase on bus, metro and train fairs. Initially, it seemed to be a localized case of indignation for the country’s over-stretched public transportation system.

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‘You May Say That We are DREAMers…’

By Tanuka Loha

November 7, 2012 at 7:37 PM

‘You may say that we are DREAMers…’ But, as the vote on Question 4 of the Maryland ballot demonstrated, we are definitely not the only ones! You helped successfully defend the Maryland DREAM Act last night as Marylanders voted 58% to 42% in favor of the act.

The Maryland DREAM Act is legislation that would afford students from Maryland, who have been state high school students, and whose parents file state taxes, the opportunity to pay in-state tuition rates for their higher education. (For more information regarding the Maryland DREAM Act, check out our Maryland DREAM Act one-pager and our infographic.

This is an important victory for the students and families who will be affected, for DREAMers across the country and for human rights supporters fighting for immigrants’ rights and the right to education. It’s important for another reason too. Ballot referendums are a critical barometer of public opinion, and an indication of how ready U.S citizens and residents are ready for political change on the issue in question. The results in Maryland are pretty clear – voters strongly support common sense measures that recognize the contributions that our talented young people, regardless of immigration status, are making to the nation.

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Human Rights Now Blog

Tag Archives: the right to education

Boko Haram: Now What?

This Mother’s Day, What More Can be Done to Help End Violence Against Women and Girls Globally?

What Can Be Done for the Girls of Chibok?

‘You May Say That We are DREAMers…’