Kategorie: Humans

Amnesty International and 34 other organizations released a joint letter welcoming the publication of the agreement between the Brazilian government and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) on hosting the COP30 climate conference in Belem, Brazil, between 10-21 November 2025.

“Civil society’s efforts to achieve transparency in host country agreements that are signed before the major UN climate conference have paid off with the publication of the COP30 agreement on the UNFCCC website.  We are pleased to see that several recommendations from civil society from previous years have been implemented, and we urge the UNFCCC to ensure that these are carried over in future host country agreements,” Amnesty International’s Climate Justice Policy Advisor, Ann Harrison, said.

“It’s commendable that the COP30 host country agreement includes a commitment to uphold the human rights of all participants and to ensure that all aspects of the meetings are planned and organized in an inclusive and non-discriminatory manner.

“However, the agreement includes no explicit guarantee by Brazil to respect, protect and fulfil the rights to freedom of expression and of peaceful assembly outside the Blue Zone for people, whether Brazilian nationals or not, who wish to express their views, including on COP30.”  

Amnesty International is also concerned that provisions on sponsorship appear to have been weakened, potentially enabling fossil fuel and other companies whose activities undermine the goals of the UNFCCC and Paris Agreement to exert undue influence on the presidency. All sponsorships and partnerships for COP30 should be made public immediately.

The UNFCCC Secretariat must urgently put in place an accountability framework, including a conflict-of-interest policy, to be reflected in future host country agreements.

Amnesty International is also calling on authorities to address accommodation prices in Belém, which remain unaffordable for many civil society, observer organizations and Indigenous Peoples representatives, putting their participation at risk, despite the affordability clause (Article 7) in the COP30 agreement.

Civil society’s efforts to achieve transparency in host country agreements that are signed before the major UN climate conference have paid off with the publication of the COP30 agreement on the UNFCCC website.

Ann Harrison, Amnesty International’s Climate Justice Policy Advisor

Background:

The COP Host Country Agreement (HCA) is a legal accord between the UNFCCC and host country authorities that sets out the terms for organizing the conference, including any immunities and privileges applicable beyond national laws. It is normally finalized months before the COP. Civil society has long demanded an opportunity to comment on the draft and that the HCA is made public immediately after its signing so it can be scrutinized to assess the extent to which civic space at COP is protected.

Previously, Amnesty International has documented the lack of transparency around HCAs and shortcomings in human rights protections. The COP29 agreement was never officially made public. The joint letter on the COP30 agreement was signed by 35 organizations and can be found here.

The post Publishing the COP30 host country agreement with Brazil is a positive step for transparency appeared first on Amnesty International.

By Sarah Brooks, China Director at Amnesty International

Thirty years after the landmark Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, adopted at the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995, promised to advance women’s rights and empowerment worldwide, governments are once again gathering in Beijing to mark the special anniversary. 

For China, the U.N. summit on October 13-14 is the final, triumphant act of a yearlong show of force from its diplomatic and media mouthpieces seeking to center its “historic achievements in women’s development” and position China as a global model for women’s rights protection. 

Yet as officials trumpet their “30 years of progress” to assembled dignitaries, the voices of the country’s own feminists will be conspicuously absent.

That’s because many are in prison, while others face threats and harassment intended to keep them silent – whether they still live in China, or have had to flee abroad. 

China’s self-congratulatory narrative on women’s rights has been pushed not just at home, but also abroad: from the halls of the United Nations to the pages of local embassies and media markets in, for example, South Africa, Tanzania, Liberia, Ghana and Grenada. Last month, state-run press even published two compilations of Xi Jinping’s speeches in English for the explicit purpose of “help[ing] international readers gain a deeper understanding of Xi’s views” on women’s rights and much more ahead of the U.N. meeting in Beijing. 

But far from partaking in a glorious march toward gender equality, many of the Chinese women we have spoken to see their roles in society increasingly constrained, with support for conservative “family values” rising and women’s choices sidelined in the face of a pro-economic growth, pro-natalist push.

Read the full article on The Diplomat

The post A UN conference can’t hide China’s discomfort with women’s rights appeared first on Amnesty International.

Reacting to the news that Venezuelan democracy activist and opposition leader, María Corina Machado, has been awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize, Erika Guevara-Rosas, Senior Director for Research, Advocacy, Policy and Campaigns at Amnesty International said:

“This is an important recognition to María Corina Machado, but also to the people of Venezuela who, for years, have endured repression and persecution for daring to think differently and challenging authorities over human rights violations. Even when she was first banned from participating in the elections, and then forced into hiding, she refused to be silenced and continued speaking up against the government.     

“For all the Venezuelans who have been considered opponents, dissidents, or critics because of their belief in human rights, this award should mark a turning point in history, especially for prisoners of conscience and all those currently facing the cruelty and arbitrariness from the Venezuelan authorities with despair. 

“Every year, millions of people –including children- across Venezuela are repressed by authorities and forced into exile. Thousands are victims of arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, torture, and other ill-treatment, as well as countless human rights violations and crimes under international law.  

“Today’s award must be a celebration of the resistance and resilience of those fighting peacefully for justice and human rights, from communities, unions, parties, and movements in the exercise of political rights, demanding change, at great personal risk, proving that humanity has the power to win.  

“We hope that this award and its global recognition will generate renewed attention on the human rights crisis in Venezuela and will help boost the international community’s will and support needed by the international justice mechanisms, such as the International Criminal Court, to ensure justice for victims in Venezuela.” 

Today’s award must be a celebration of the resistance and resilience of those fighting peacefully for justice and human rights, from communities, unions, parties, and movements in the exercise of political rights, demanding change, at great personal risk, proving that humanity has the power to win.  

Erika Guevara-Rosas, Senior Director at Amnesty International

The post Global: Nobel Peace Prize honours María Corina Machado and the pro-democracy movement in Venezuela  appeared first on Amnesty International.

Amnesty International warns that the state of exception extended by the government and reforms to the penal system have undermined the rule of law in El Salvador.

This is due to the consolidation of a repressive apparatus that, instead of impartially delivering justice, is used as a weapon to criminalize human rights defenders and to silence critical voices, exposing them to a prison regime that threatens their personal integrity and their lives.

More than three years after it began, the state of exception, which has already been extended 42 consecutive times, has established a model that gives the appearance of legality to mass detention without evidence, the suspension of judicial guarantees and the imposition of disproportionate terms of administrative detention.

At the same time, legal reforms in criminal matters and criminal procedure have introduced measures such as the concealment of judges’ identity, automatic application of pretrial detention and tougher punishments for children and adolescents. These reforms have been observed by regional and universal human rights bodies, who found that they contravene international standards.

“Instead of impartially delivering justice, the criminal justice system in El Salvador has become a weapon to punish dissent and stifle civic space. Defending human rights or protesting peacefully can cost you your freedom today”, said Ana Piquer, Americas Director at Amnesty International.

Instead of impartially delivering justice, the criminal justice system in El Salvador has become a weapon to punish dissent and stifle civic space.  

Ana Piquer, Americas Director at Amnesty International.

The right to defend rights under attack

Amnesty International has documented how the authorities have made use of broad and ambiguous criminal classifications such as “illegal groups” or “terrorist organizations”, to criminalize community leaders, trade unionists and defenders of the territory and the environment. For their part, local organizations have identified more than 70 cases of this type in which people have been victims of arbitrary detentions, deprived of their liberty and subjected to judicial processes without the guarantees of the rule of law.

Faced with intensifying persecution and criminalization of human rights defenders in July 2025, Amnesty International declared Ruth López, Alejandro Henríquez and José Ángel Pérez prisoners of conscience, determining that they were imprisoned exclusively for their work defending human rights and for peacefully exercising their freedom of expression.

Although neither the original decree of the state of exception nor its extensions envisage its application to people accused of common crimes, in these three cases the organization was able to verify how the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the judicial authorities applied the deadlines and suspension of procedural guarantees, despite the fact that the charges against them are not related to the actions of gangs.

Ruth, Alejandro and José Ángel were all subjected to the extension of administrative detention up to 15 days, and the imposition of pretrial detention without sufficient grounds or effective judicial review. Recently, the court hearing the case of Alejandro and José Ángel, who are being prosecuted for the crimes of resistance and public disorder, decided to extend the investigation phase for an additional three months, without there being, in principle, any new elements to be investigated. This decision violates the right to be tried within a reasonable time and supports the claim that in El Salvador pretrial detention has ceased to be an exceptional measure and become an early punishment, regardless of the crime for which the person is being prosecuted.

In Ruth’s case, arbitrary changes to the crimes being alleged was also verified, as well as the total secrecy of the process. The cases of other criminalized defenders and dissident voices documented by local organizations show similar irregularities.

Prisons as spaces for punishment and torture

The prison situation in El Salvador continues to be alarming: prolonged solitary confinement, extreme overcrowding, lack of timely medical care and the risk of torture characterize the prison system. This impacts not only the criminalized people, but also their families. The case of constitutional lawyer Enrique Anaya shows the dangers that a person faces when the system deliberately limits their right to an effective technical defense, aggravating risks even to their health{. His condition has deteriorated in detention. Fidel Zavala, spokesman for UNIDECH, faces a real risk of being subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, in a prison environment characterized by opacity, impunity and the absence of external controls.

“Prolonged solitary confinement and inhumane detention conditions are part of a deliberate strategy to instill fear and break both detainees and the communities they represent. The impact is devastating: self-censorship, reduced activities and an increasingly suffocated civic space”, added Ana Piquer.

Prolonged solitary confinement and inhumane detention conditions are part of a deliberate strategy to instill fear and break both detainees and the communities they represent.  

Ana Piquer, Americas Director at Amnesty International.

On 23 September 2025, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) granted precautionary measures to Ruth López and Enrique Anaya, warning that the prolonged solitary confinement and indefinite detention to which they are subjected put their lives, health and integrity at serious risk. The organization demanded that the Salvadoran State immediately cease the isolation and guarantee detention conditions in accordance with international standards.

Amnesty International calls on the Salvadoran authorities to immediately and unconditionally release all persons detained solely for peacefully exercising their human rights. It also urges the authorities to fully and immediately comply with the precautionary measures issued by the IACHR in favor of Ruth López and Enrique Anaya.

Finally, it urgently calls on the international community to intensify its scrutiny of the Salvadoran authorities, in order to curb the misuse of the justice system as a repressive tool.

The post El Salvador: Criminal system used as a weapon to punish human rights defenders   appeared first on Amnesty International.

Reacting to the news that Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of a ceasefire deal, which reportedly includes the immediate opening of five crossings to allow humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, the rapid release of all living Israeli and other nationals held hostage in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, and the partial withdrawal of the Israeli military from the occupied Gaza Strip, Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General, said:  

“For more than 2 million Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip who have faced two years of agonizing suffering, relentless bombardment and systematic starvation amidst Israel’s ongoing genocide, for those held hostage by Palestinian armed groups, and for those arbitrarily detained by Israel, a deal that could a put a stop to the horrors of the past two years is cruelly overdue. However, it will not erase all they have endured. Many will now be watching closely for proof that this is not just another brief respite. 

“A temporary pause or reduction in the scale of attacks and allowing a trickle of humanitarian aid into Gaza is not enough. There must be a full cessation of hostilities and a total lifting of the blockade. Israel must allow the unhindered flow of basic supplies, including food, medicine, fuel and reconstruction material, into all parts of the occupied Gaza Strip, as well as the restoration of essential services, to ensure the survival of a population reeling from starvation, repeated waves of mass forced displacement and a campaign of annihilation. This should be coupled with the withdrawal of the Israeli military from Gaza, and urgent action to rebuild and repair critical infrastructure across the Gaza Strip.  

“All Palestinians who have been internally displaced—most of them multiple times—must be able to return to their land without Israel dictating who can and cannot return. 

“Hamas and other armed groups must release the hostages to finally end the ordeal they have suffered for two years. Israel must release all arbitrarily detained Palestinians, including those held without charge or trial as administrative detainees or unlawful combatants, particularly healthcare workers unjustly detained for caring for their patients.  

After two years of shameful double standards and vetoes that strangled the UN Security Council as a livestreamed genocide is broadcast to the world, it is time to seize the opportunity to end this horror, mend what can be mended and salvage what is left of our shared humanity.

Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General

“For any lasting ceasefire agreement to succeed it must be firmly rooted in respect for human rights and international law and must include an immediate stop to Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, as well as concrete steps to end its unlawful occupation of all of the Occupied Palestinian Territory and to dismantle the system of apartheid. 

“The current plan—the so-called ‘Trump peace plan’—falls woefully short in this. It fails to demand justice and reparations for victims of atrocity crimes or accountability for perpetrators. Stopping the cycle of suffering and atrocities requires an end to longstanding impunity at the heart of recurring violations in Israel and the OPT. States must uphold their obligations under international law to bring to justice those responsible for war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide.  

“Israel’s plans to impose a ‘security perimeter’ (buffer zone) on Gaza’s most fertile lands would further entrench apartheid and occupation and compound injustice. Any scheme to outsource the occupation of Gaza without ensuring freedom of movement with the rest of the occupied territory will only deepen the territorial fragmentation that underpins Israel’s system of apartheid. In the same vein, any measures altering the geography and demographic composition of other parts of the occupied territory, namely the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, must be immediately reversed.  

“The proposed plan fails to ensure that Palestinians fully and meaningfully participate in all decisions about the future of the OPT, its governance, and the exercise of their rights. A plan that repeats the mistakes and failures of past initiatives that ignored human rights and the root causes of injustice will fail to secure a just and sustainable future for all those living in Israel and the OPT.  

“After two years of shameful double standards and vetoes that strangled the UN Security Council as a livestreamed genocide is broadcast to the world, it is time to seize the opportunity to end this horror, mend what can be mended and salvage what is left of our shared humanity.”  

The post Israel/OPT: Ceasefire must be a pathway to ending Israel’s unlawful occupation, apartheid and genocide   appeared first on Amnesty International.