Kategorie: Humans

Responding to the European Commission’s so-called “digital omnibus” proposals, which will dismantle the bloc’s protections against digital threats, Damini Satija, Programme Director at Amnesty Tech, said: 

“The EU’s ongoing deregulatory push will lead to a weakening of people’s rights and expose them to digital oppression. It will open the door to unlawful surveillance, discriminatory profiling in welfare and policing, strip people of their right to have control of their personal data and object to automated decisions, and the spread of harmful content online. It will also make it harder to detect and challenge decisions made by automated systems on who gets social benefits, jobs, and educational opportunities, while further exacerbating climate harms fuelled by policies that prioritize the tech industry. 

“Years of hard work by civil society, trade unions, and human rights defenders has gone into ensuring that the EU’s digital rulebook protects people against digital threats and unfair AI systems, while safeguarding their data and holding governments and corporations accountable for misusing technologies. These measures are essential for a digitally safe society.  

“Some of these hard-won laws have yet to even come into effect, but the EU is already seeking to shift the balance of power from individual protections to corporate impunity, conceding to the profit-centric motives of tech behemoths who often operate at the cost of our rights.  

Years of hard work by civil society, trade unions, and human rights defenders has gone into ensuring that the EU’s digital rulebook protects people against digital threats and unfair AI systems, while safeguarding their data and holding governments and corporations accountable for misusing technologies. These measures are essential for a digitally safe society.  

Damini Satija, Programme Director, Amnesty Tech

“If the EU truly wants to support the smooth implementation of digital laws, including the AI Act, the GDPR, and other vital protections, it should strengthen existing safeguards and ensure that laws are meaningfully enforced – not dismantle the frameworks that currently hold companies to account and allow progress towards a rights-respecting tech future.” 

Background 

The digital omnibus is part of a wider deregulatory push by the EU, which civil society has raised alarm over.  

The post EU: Digital omnibus proposals will tear apart accountability on digital rights  appeared first on Amnesty International.

*Names changed to protect identities 

Kenyan authorities systematically deployed technology-facilitated violence as part of a coordinated and sustained campaign to suppress Generation Z-led protests between June 2024 and July 2025 against corruption and the introduction of new tax legislation, a new Amnesty International report shows. 

The report, “This fear, everyone is feeling it”: Tech-facilitated violence against young activists in Kenya, shows how government and allied groups are increasingly weaponizing digital platforms to stifle protests as part of broader repressive measures designed to shut down digitally-organized dissent.  

“Our analysis of online activity throughout several waves of protests in 2024 and 2025 and the interviews we’ve conducted with young human rights defenders, clearly demonstrate widespread and coordinated tactics on digital platforms to silence and suppress protests by young activists, including through online threats, intimidating comments, abusive language, smearing, and targeted disinformation,    

Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General

“Our research also proves that these campaigns are driven by state-sponsored trolls, individuals and a network of people paid to promote and amplify pro-government messages with the aim of reaching Kenya’s top daily trends on X.”  

Between June and July 2024, Generation Z – young people aged under 28 – led the #RejectFinanceBill protests opposing proposed taxes on essential goods and services. Between June 2024 and July 2025, young people also organized protests on and off-line demanding an end to femicide and corruption.  

Major demonstrations took place across 44 of Kenya’s 47 counties including Nairobi, Mombasa, and Kisumu. Social media played a major role in the organization of protests and amplification of protest voices.  

Kenyan authorities responded with online intimidation, threats, incitement to hatred, and surveillance interfering with rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. Online harassment and smear campaigns became core state tools to undermine the credibility and reach of government critics. Some of these tactics facilitated and were later used to justify arrests, enforced disappearances and killings of notable protest organizers.  

Amnesty International estimates that, across both sets of protests, excessive use of force by security agencies resulted in at least 128 deaths, 3,000 arrests and over 83 enforced disappearances. 

Targeting human rights defenders  

Of the 31 human rights defenders (HRD) interviewed, nine reported receiving violent threats via direct and public messages on X, TikTok, Facebook and WhatsApp during the 2024 protests. 

“I had people coming into my inbox and telling me, ‘You will die and leave your kids. We will come and attack you,” said Mariam*, a 27-year-old Mombasa-based HRD who was forcibly disappeared by police for two nights in 2024. 

Another HRD, Joseph, * received a direct message on X reading: “We are coming for you.”  

The research shows coordinated campaigns against young HRDs through state-supported trolling, and the spreading and amplification of hatred towards them.  

“They want to maintain their social media image, and that means anytime you post something about a certain ministry or individual, they always send what we call the 527 bloggers. These are government paid bloggers whose job is to abuse you, to say very dehumanizing, demeaning things,” said Joshua, a student leader who survived enforced disappearance. 

Much of the online violence is delivered through public posts and comments organized to cause harm. X (formerly Twitter) is central to pro-government networks spreading disinformation and smear campaigns. The networks mass-posted identical messages repeatedly to hijack X’s algorithm and maximize visibility of government sponsored messages. 

Hanifa Adan, a prominent Kenyan journalist and HRD of Somali descent was described in social media posts, as a “foreigner,” a “fool” and “a Somali terrorist.”    

“Having strangers say things about you every single day, being targeted every single day, it’s hard. It took away the spark, the joy. It took away who I was,” she told Amnesty International. 

Coordinated online attacks 

In April 2025, suspected state-supported trolls used the #ToxicActivists campaign to target Hanifa Adan after she gave an interview for BBC’s “Blood Parliament” documentary, which investigated the shooting of several protesters on 25 June 2024 and the alleged Kenyan military involvement.  

Organized trolls posted Islamophobic imagery and repeated posts to discredit her and other prominent Kenyan activists as financially driven and corrupt.  

These campaigns also illustrate X’s failure to adequately address organized threatening campaigns, which are against its own policy. 

“The chilling effects of such harassment and incitement to violence goes far beyond their immediate targets. It must be stopped before it silences critical voices, undermines civil liberties and fosters a culture of fear irreconcilable with our constitutional freedoms,  

Irungu Houghton, Amnesty Kenya Executive Director.

Young women who participated in the Gen Z protests and the #EndFemicideKE campaign reported misogynistic comments, body shaming, threats, doxxing and AI-generated pornographic images produced to shame, threaten and silence them.  

“We are being forced to shut up, it’s an attack on our voice, on our bodies,” said Sarah*. 

False and harmful narratives spread against HRDs included claims that survivors of enforced disappearances had staged their own abductions. 

Paid campaigns, disinformation and manipulating the algorithm  

John*, runs paid coordinated campaigns on X for political and commercial clients. He told Amnesty International that he’s part of a network of around 20 people paid between 25,000 to 50,000 KES (approximately USD $190-390) per day to promote and amplify pro-government messages with the aim of reaching Kenya’s top daily trends on X.  

“Most of the things you see trending in Kenya, I’m among the people doing that,   

John*. 

During large protests, his network created counter-campaigns and hashtags in real time to drown out trending protest hashtags. For example, the popular protest hashtag #RutoMustGo was countered with #RutoMustGoOn.  

In response to Amnesty’s findings, Kenya’s Interior Cabinet Secretary, Kipchumba Murkomen, said, “The Government of Kenya does not sanction harassment, or violence against any citizen. All security agencies are required to operate strictly within the constitution, the National Police Service Act, and all applicable laws and any officer implicated in unlawful conduct bears individual responsibility and is subject to investigation and sanction in accordance with the law.” 

However, Amnesty research indicates otherwise. The failure of both state authorities and corporate actors to investigate credible claims of unlawful tech-facilitated surveillance undermines human rights by fostering widespread chilling effect on the right to expression and peaceful assembly. 

HRDs interviewed by Amnesty International believe that state surveillance was supported by Safaricom, one of Kenya’s biggest telecommunications companies, allowing clandestine police units to track activists involved in the protests. Evidence points to many of them being subsequently forcibly disappeared.  

In response to the allegations, Safaricom said it “only shares customer data through lawful means and for lawful purposes. Our client confirms that their systems are not designed to track the live location of any subscriber, and such functionality does not exist within their operational architecture.”  

Amnesty International also approached X, other Kenyan authorities and key individuals named in this report but did not receive a response. 

Amnesty International calls on the Kenyan government to stop tech-facilitated state violence against peaceful protesters and civil society organizations, troll campaigns and smear narratives that vilify critics as “paid activists” or “foreign agents.” 

Kenyan authorities must also launch an investigation into enforced disappearances, unlawful killings and the reports of unlawful surveillance during the “Gen Z protests.” Victims of unlawful use of force and family members of those killed must be adequately compensated.  

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We are excited to introduce the Human Rights Education (HRE) Network Advisory Group (NAG), a new collective of HRE practitioners from across Amnesty International who will be working together to strengthen our global HRE network and support HRE as a core capacity within our movement. This group brings together diverse experiences, local knowledge, and creative methodologies to help shape the future of HRE across the organisation. Its role is to support the Global HRE Network by offering ideas, insights, and practical suggestions that reflect the richness of our global community. After initially meeting online, members of the HRE NAG recently gathered in Nairobi, Kenya, for an important strategic moment to:

• Build relationships in a face-to-face environment.
• Share experiences of HRE implementation across all regions.
• Define the role of the Advisory Group moving forward.
• Plan key actions to help strengthen connections and capacity across the HRE Network.

For most attendees, this amazing opportunity meant a lot of travel (Alonso from Chile won ‘Most Hours/Days in Transit!’). For others, it also meant enormous amounts of preparation, both in the months leading up to the event and on the ground in the Nairobi office itself…but it was worth it! Numerous deep-dive sessions were run with and by participants to explore the untapped potential of our HRE Network and brainstorm how best to support its ongoing evolution.

Here are the top 3 takeaways of this unique intensive:

1. HRE is more vital than ever

As we currently witness a normalization of authoritarian practices and narratives around the world, Human Rights Education plays an increasingly critical role in empowering activists with the knowledge, skills, and confidence they need to recognize and challenge such practices. Which makes this opportunity to revitalize Amnesty’s global network of HRE practitioners especially timely…and exciting! So, make sure you contribute your own insights and ideas to the future of our Network by completing the survey coming soon.

2. Quality time is a game-changer

Meeting ‘in real life’ was the highlight for everybody in Nairobi, which is why building stronger connections across the entire HRE Network, and particularly within geographical regions, forms a big part of the long-term vision. Online interactions like webinars are incredibly helpful (and practical!), and the commitment is always to make as many of these as possible, but it’s also true that something special happens when colleagues have the chance to work together in more sustained and meaningful ways. As a network of diverse people having a wide range of experiences in our far-flung corners of the earth we are one thing (i.e. near strangers with HRE in common); but as a group of people who have laughed, listened and learned with one another on a deeper level we are quite another (i.e. unified collaborators with all sorts of things in common!).

3. There is no such thing as a ‘silly question’

It turns out everybody has felt self-conscious about their level of knowledge or experience in an HRE space at one time or another, and this can limit all our learning. As the bonds of our HRE Network strengthen, increased camaraderie will help everyone to feel safe in speaking up – but, in the meantime, this is a very friendly reminder: we’re all feeling the same way in the same boat!

Meet the Members

Let’s get to know the members of the HRE Network Advisory Group, each bringing their own unique experience and energy to this collective effort. Their mandate runs for 18 months, during which they’ll be actively contributing to key processes and supporting the wider network.

What Next?

The Advisory Group is now working to turn these insights into action. You’ll soon receive a short survey to share your own experiences, needs, and ideas for the future of the HRE Network. Your input will help shape how we support capacity building, resource sharing, and collaboration going forward.

Gratitude

So many people went above and beyond to make the Kenya workshop such a resounding success, but special thanks go to Kate Moriarty, Ruth Zaldibar Garcia, Emily Maranga, Philcollins Omondi, and the entire Amnesty Kenya community. Finally, our sincere gratitude also goes to Sophia Scherer and the extraordinary team of four interpreters who worked tirelessly throughout to translate participants’ every word. The level of selflessness, skill, and patience was exemplary!

Let’s keep building a strong, inclusive, and impactful HRE Network together!!!

The post Strengthening Human Rights Education Together: Meet the HRE Network Advisory Group appeared first on Amnesty International.

Responding to the news of the conditional royal pardon granted on 5 November 2025 to former member of parliament, Mthandeni Dube, resulting in his supervised release, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa, Vongai Chikwanda, said:

“Mthandeni Dube’s release may bring relief to his family, but justice remains incomplete while his human rights are restricted by sweeping conditions and Bacede Mabuza who was arrested together with Dube, is still in prison. Both Mthandeni Dube and Bacede Mabuza should never have been imprisoned in the first place solely the peaceful exercise of their human rights. The Eswatini authorities must immediately and unconditionally release Bacede Mabuza and quash both MPs’ unfair convictions.

Mthandeni Dube’s release may bring relief to his family, but justice remains incomplete while his human rights are restricted by sweeping conditions

Vongai Chikwanda, Deputy Regional Director, Amnesty International, ESARO

“Mthandeni Dube’s release is subject to far-reaching limitations on his human rights, including prohibitions on political activity, public speaking and media engagement, as well as restrictions on travel and residence. These conditions, imposed under the supervision of His Majesty’s Correctional Services, unduly restrict human rights and effectively extend punishment beyond the prison walls.

The continued criminalization of Mthandeni Dube and Bacede Mabuza underscores Eswatini’s ongoing crackdown on peaceful dissent.

Vongai Chikwanda

“The continued criminalization of Mthandeni Dube and Bacede Mabuza underscores Eswatini’s ongoing crackdown on peaceful dissent. Eswatini authorities must take immediate and effective steps to protect civic space ensure and uphold the human rights of everyone including to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.”

Background

MPs Bacede Mabuza and Mthandeni Dube were arrested on 25 July 2021 after supporting calls for constitutional and democratic reform in Eswatini. On 31 July 2024, they were sentenced to 85 years and 58 years respectively under the Suppression of Terrorism Act (2008) and Sedition and Subversive Activities Act (1938). On 25 July 2025, Amnesty International designated both men as prisoners of conscience.

On 5 November 2025, His Majesty’s Correctional Services announced Dube’s conditional royal pardon, imposing strict limitations on his political engagement, public communication and movement. Bacede Mabuza remains in prison, serving an 85-year sentence imposed under repressive laws after proceedings that failed to meet international fair trial standards.

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Migrant workers who travelled to Saudi Arabia to work on the Riyadh Metro project were forced to pay exorbitant recruitment fees, worked in dangerous heat and earned pitiful wages during a decade of serious abuse, Amnesty International revealed in a new report today.

The report, “Nobody wants to work in these situations”: A decade of exploitation on the Riyadh Metro project, documents labour abuses on one of Saudi Arabia’s flagship infrastructure projects. Promoted as the “backbone” of Riyadh’s public transport system, the newly-opened metro was built by leading international and Saudi firms under government direction and is slated for further expansion. However, many of the workers Amnesty International interviewed were charged illegal fees to secure work and then endured long, arduous hours in sometimes unsafe conditions for minimal, discriminatory pay.

“The Riyadh Metro is hailed as the backbone of the capital’s transport system, yet beneath its sleek exterior lies a decade of abuses enabled by a labour system that sacrifices migrant workers’ human rights. Already burdened with exorbitant recruitment fees, these workers endured punishing hours for meagre wages,” said Marta Schaaf, Programme Director for Climate, Economic Social Justice and Corporate Accountability at Amnesty International.

“Their hardships were compounded by exposure to extreme heat in a country where temperatures are soaring thanks to human-induced climate change. That such abuses persisted for years across multiple companies on a flagship infrastructure project exposes a glaring failure by the government to enforce protections and dismantle a system that leaves workers at high risk of exploitation.”

Exploited even before they left home

Amnesty International spoke to 38 men from Bangladesh, India and Nepal who were employed by a range of foreign and Saudi companies – including main contractors, subcontractors and labour suppliers – constructing the Riyadh Metro system between 2014 and 2025. For nearly all, the abuse started before they left home, when they were asked to pay between USD 700 and USD 3,500 in recruitment fees and associated costs to agents in their home countries, forcing many into serious debt and exacerbating their exposure to further abuse.

These payments often far exceeded the limits set by origin country governments and were demanded of the men despite Saudi law prohibiting worker-borne recruitment fees.

Suman, from Nepal, was forced to sell his wife’s family’s savings in gold to afford the exorbitant fees for a job paying a basic salary of just USD 266 each month:  

“I paid 100,000 rupees (USD 700) to the manpower agent. But during the preparatory work – travel, medical tests, and other paperwork – I spent a total of 200,000 rupees (USD 1,400). I didn’t have money with me at that time… I borrowed some gold from my wife’s parents, sold it, and got some cash… As the price of gold increased, I paid [back] almost double for that. It took me six months to pay off the loans.”

A catalogue of abuses in Saudi Arabia

Once in Saudi Arabia, many workers were paid less than USD 2 per hour, while others earned barely half of that in their roles as labourers, cleaners and office assistants on the Riyadh Metro project. Virtually all worked 60+ hour weeks. While most of the workers said they were not directly forced to work overtime, their basic salaries were so low, they felt they had no other option. The government’s failure to set a universal living wage entrenches low pay among migrant workers – most of whom are racialized – denying many a decent standard of living.

“Due to the inflation in Nepal, this salary is too little to pay for household expenses. It vanishes as I pay for my children’s education and other household expenses. But what could I do? I have to manage,” Nabin told Amnesty International.

When I work in the extreme heat, I feel like I’m in hell…I think – How did I end up here? Did I commit anything wrong so that God is punishing me?

Indra, migrant worker, Nepal

The long hours workers spent on the Riyadh Metro project were often intensified by the unrelenting heat, with some describing the situation as like being “in hell”. With temperatures often remaining at least 40°C for more than eight hours each day during the summer months, the government’s ban on outdoor working in the direct sun from midday to 3pm proved a totally inadequate protection for workers. And temperatures are set to rise, as Saudi Arabia faces increasingly frequent and intensifying heat, a trend expected to worsen with global human-induced climate change.

“When I work in the extreme heat, I feel like I’m in hell…I think – How did I end up here? Did I commit anything wrong so that God is punishing me?” said Indra, from Nepal. “Nobody wants to work in these situations by their choice. But what can I do? I didn’t have a job in Nepal. I came here to support my family. So, I must be ready to suffer.”

Janak, from India, said he faced pressure by more senior staff at the subcontractor he worked for, to work in the extreme heat.

“The foremen and engineers would force us to work overtime even in hot temperatures. We would say, ‘We can’t. It’s extremely hot.’ But they would say, ‘keep working’… What can poor people do? We have to work. We have to do a difficult job.”

Many workers also reported facing other abuses, such as passport confiscation, overcrowded and unsanitary living conditions, poor-quality food, and discriminatory treatment based on job rank.

Systematic reforms and heightened human rights diligence urgently needed

The experiences of these men underscore not only the Saudi government’s failings but also the high-risk environment in which companies – including large multinationals – operate in when they decide to do business in Saudi Arabia’s construction sector, which depends heavily on a vast subcontracting network.

Indeed, despite limited reforms, the kafala system persists in practice. Combined with weak enforcement of labour protections – including inspections that focus more on compliance with Saudization targets and the legality of migrant workers’ employment status than on safeguarding their rights – and the recent reduction of penalties for abusive labour practices, this creates a permissive climate for exploitation. This context demands that companies proactively undertake heightened human rights due diligence to prevent any human rights harms. Such efforts are severely constrained in Saudi Arabia, where human rights are systematically repressed, and freedom of expression and association are effectively non-existent. If companies are unable or unwilling to assess and address any risks, they should consider not undertaking the activity.

For companies operating in or entering Saudi Arabia, these findings should serve as a clear warning: comprehensive human rights due diligence is not optional.

Marta Schaaf, Amnesty International’s Programme Director for Climate, Economic Social Justice and Corporate Accountability

“As Saudi Arabia pushes ahead with high-profile giga-projects, including the 2034 World Cup, the authorities must completely dismantle the kafala sponsorship system and rigorously enforce labour laws in line with global human rights standards. Strengthening safeguards and ensuring accountability for the millions of migrant workers who make these ventures possible is the only way to ensure they are no longer treated as disposable,” said Marta Schaaf.

“For companies operating in or entering Saudi Arabia, these findings should serve as a clear warning: comprehensive human rights due diligence is not optional. Without robust processes in place early on and an adequate plan to address any human rights concerns, businesses risk being directly linked or contributing to systematic labour abuses.

“Finally, countries of origin, including Bangladesh, India, and Nepal, must take responsibility for protecting their nationals by monitoring, investigating, and sanctioning the illegal conduct of recruitment agencies. Without proper accountability across all countries involved, the cycle of abuse will persist.”

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