Tag Archives: refugees and asylum

What You Need to Know About the U.S.-Mexico Border Crisis

July 28, 2014 at 2:20 PM
Salvadorian immigrant Stefany Marjorie, 8, holds her doll Rodrigo while going home on July 24, 2014 in Mission, Texas. Tens of thousands of immigrant families and unaccompanied minors from Central America have crossed illegally into the United States this year, causing a humanitarian crisis. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

Salvadorian immigrant Stefany Marjorie, 8, holds her doll Rodrigo in Mission, Texas. Tens of thousands of immigrant families and unaccompanied minors from Central America have crossed illegally into the United States this year, causing a humanitarian crisis (Photo Credit: John Moore/Getty Images)

Amnesty International welcomes the positive step of President Obama’s recent meeting with his counterparts from Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala regarding the increasing number of children fleeing violence in those countries – with or without their parents.

It is extremely troubling, however, that President Obama continues to assert that his government will return the overwhelming majority of these children to the extreme violence that has driven them to make the dangerous journey to the United States. SEE THE REST OF THIS POST

War Crimes Committed in the Battle for Mosul

July 1, 2014 at 8:00 AM
Iraqis forced to flee fighting in Mosul seek shelter in camps for internally displaced people. (Photo credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Iraqis forced to flee fighting in Mosul seek shelter in camps for internally displaced people (Photo Credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images).

By Donatella Rovera, Senior Crisis Response Adviser at Amnesty International from Mosul, Iraq

Long lines of cars full of terrified families jammed the road as I left Mosul on June 25. The mass exodus is testament to the affect on civilians since fighters from the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) took control of the city.

As we headed east towards Erbil, militants from ISIS were indiscriminately shelling Hamdanyah, home to some of Iraq’s religious and ethnic minorities.

All sides are committing war crimes in the raging battle for control of Iraqi territory and resources.

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Families Torn Apart in the Name of Security

June 20, 2014 at 11:02 AM
On World Refugee Day, we’re highlighting just some of the stories of millions of refugees around the world (Photo Credit: Reinnier Kaze/AFP/Getty Images).

On World Refugee Day, we’re highlighting just some of the stories of millions of refugees around the world (Photo Credit: Reinnier Kaze/AFP/Getty Images).

This piece was originally published by Daily Nation. To watch and read the testimonies of other refugees torn away from their families during Usalama Watch, visit www.tamuka.org and follow #1FamilyKenya on social media.

By Muthoni Wanyeki, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East Africa.

Last month, 18-year-old Ayaan suddenly found herself at the head of her household. Her mother and father had been arrested in Nairobi as part of the counter-terrorism operation dubbed ‘Usalama Watch.’

They were detained in Kasarani stadium before being forcibly relocated to Kakuma refugee camp over 500 miles away, leaving Ayaan alone to look after her seven brothers and sisters – all under the age of 10.

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HAPPENING NOW: Horrific Violence and U.N. Peacekeepers Are Nowhere to Be Found

March 8, 2014 at 11:00 AM
Want to learn more about the crisis in the Central African Republic? Check out this story map created by Angela Chang, Amnesty USA's Crisis Prevention & Response Advocate.

Want to learn more about the crisis in the Central African Republic? Check out this story map created by Angela Chang, Amnesty USA’s Crisis Prevention & Response Advocate.

By Natalia Taylor Bowdoin, Amnesty USA’s Central African Republic Country Specialist

It’s a miracle she survived.

Amnesty’s crisis team met an 11-year-old Muslim girl in the Central African Republic this month. She was the lone survivor of a horrific assault on the village of Bouguere – in a country where sectarian violence has spiraled out of control.

Amnesty came to this region to investigate reports of mass killings and forced evictions of Muslims. Throughout our travels, we found case after case of mayhem and death.

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The Quick Way You Can Take Action for Syrian Women Facing Gender Violence

December 3, 2013 at 12:52 PM

16_days_logo_englishTo get to the Za’atari refugee camp in Jordan, Syrian women and girls had to face a gauntlet of deadly violence including extortion, trafficking and abuse. Once in the camps, they expected to find safety.

What they found, according to Amnesty International researchers, was more danger and the threat of gender violence.

A majority of the 2.9 million Syrian refugees are women and children. Having fled violence, and often surviving a treacherous journey across the Syrian desert, these refugees sought safety and shelter in the camps. More than 120,000 of them made their way to the Za’atri camp, making it the largest refugee camp in Jordan.

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Does Monitoring Human Rights in Sudan Still Matter?

September 11, 2013 at 1:00 PM
Three displaced Sudanese women finding refuge under a tree (Photo Credit: Jean-Baptiste Gallopin for Amnesty International).

Three displaced Sudanese women finding refuge under a tree (Photo Credit: Jean-Baptiste Gallopin for Amnesty International).

By Khairunissa Dhala, Researcher on Sudan/South Sudan Team at Amnesty International

Does the human rights situation in Sudan still require a U.N.-mandated Independent Expert to monitor and report back on developments? That was among the issues to discussed as the 24th session of the U.N. Human Rights Council (HRC) opened this week in Geneva.

Given Sudan’s dire human rights situation – ongoing armed conflicts in three different states, restrictions on freedoms of expression, association and assembly, including arbitrary arrest and torture of human rights defenders and activists – it is hard to imagine that there is even a question on whether this is needed. But there is.

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Justice for Syrians in 6 Steps [INFOGRAPHIC]

September 10, 2013 at 8:25 AM

SYRIA INFO

Congress is debating whether to authorize the President to use force in response to allegations that Syria used chemical weapons against opponents of the government.

Although Amnesty International has not taken – and is not likely to take – a position on the appropriateness of armed intervention, we believe the debate in Congress is inadequate, as it does not address many of the pressing issues of the Syrian crisis.

Accordingly, we have identified several steps that should be taken in response to this crisis, no matter where one lands, for or against, the use of force. They are as follows:

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