We all need safety from violence and terrorism, but no government should sacrifice people’s human rights in the name of national security.
Unfortunately, in the United States and beyond, that’s exactly what’s happening – and Amnesty International is helping stop it.
On multiple fronts, the United States government is violating human rights in the name of national security, often in violation of both U.S. law and international law.
Amnesty International helps expose and end national security policies that violate human rights. We’ve secured fair treatment for people in individual cases, we’ve helped force the government to release information about its activities, and we’ve played a key role in helping end practices that abuse human rights.
Number of people detained at Guantanamo in September 2022
Number of people deported under the NSEERS program, without being convicted of any crimes, before it was dismantled
Number of protests Amnesty International USA held in the weeks after President Trump issued his first Muslim Ban.
In 2002, Shaker Aamer, a U.K. resident and father of four, was one of the first people sent to the notorious makeshift prison the U.S. started at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, after the September 11, 2001, attacks. Shaker was born in Saudi Arabia; he studied in Georgia and Maryland, and he worked as a translator for the U.S. Army during the Gulf War.
Shaker always maintained his innocence. He said he was subjected to torture for years. He was cleared for transfer out of Guantánamo in 2007, indicating that authorities had no plans to charge him – but he was not released.
Amnesty International campaigned aggressively for Shaker’s release for more than a decade – mobilizing thousands of people to write letters, directly advocating with the U.S. and U.K. governments, and working closely with his family and attorneys. Finally, in October 2015, Shaker was flown to the U.K. and freed. He had been imprisoned for 13 years without being charged with a crime.
Ahead of the 21st anniversary of the attack on the United States on September 11, 2001, Daphne Eviatar, the director of the Security With Human Rights program at Amnesty International USA said:
In response to today’s announcement from the U.S. Department of Defense on its new policy on civilian harm prevention and response, Daphne Eviatar, Security with Human Rights Director at Amnesty International USA, said:
Russian air strikes on an apartment block and beach resort hotel in the coastal town of Serhiivka in southern Ukraine killed at least 21 civilians, Amnesty International said today following a new on-the-ground investigation.
A Russian air strike that reportedly killed 47 civilians in the Ukrainian city of Chernihiv may constitute a war crime, Amnesty International said today following an investigation into the attack.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a manifest violation of the United Nations Charter and an act of aggression that is a crime under international law, said Amnesty International as it called for all those involved in this crime to be held accountable for those violations. Their personal, individual, and collective liability should be invoked for that, and for all the many crimes that have characterized their invasion of Ukraine thus far.
A preschool in north-eastern Ukraine was hit on the morning of February 25 with widely-banned cluster munitions while civilians took shelter inside, killing three of them, including a child, and wounding another child, Amnesty International said today. The attack appears to have been carried out by Russian forces, which were operating nearby, and which have a shameful record of using cluster munitions in populated areas.
The military prison at Guantánamo Bay continues to facilitate grave violations of human rights by the U.S. Government. Ahead of the 20th anniversary of the military prison’s opening on January 11, 2001, Daphne Eviatar, Director of the Security with Human Rights Program at Amnesty International USA, said: “This is an anniversary that should never have been reached. Since the Bush administration, there has been agreement among national security experts and across the political spectrum that the Guantánamo prison – a notorious site of torture and unjustifiable indefinite detention – should be closed.
The Taliban, United States military, and Afghan security forces were all responsible for attacks that resulted in extensive civilian suffering before the country’s government collapsed earlier this year, Amnesty International said in a new report today.
The Honorable Christopher Miller Acting Secretary Department of Defense 1000 Defense Pentagon Washington, DC 20301-1000 RE:Amnesty International USA calls for halt to domestic deployments of military forces in …
AIUSA Statement on The Impact of Eroding Human Rights in Sub-Saharan Africa on Democratic Practices 093020 Human Rights are essential for accountability, transparency and respect for the rule of law, …