Schlagwort: Amnesty International

Responding to the decision by Israel’s Military Advocate General to drop charges against five Israeli soldiers accused of abusing and sexually assaulting a Palestinian detainee at Israel’s notorious Sde Teiman military prison, Amnesty International’s Senior Director for Research Advocacy and Policy, Erika Guevara Rosas said:

“This decision marks yet another unconscionable chapter in the Israeli legal system’s long-standing history of granting impunity to perpetrators of grave crimes against Palestinians. This, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s welcoming of the decision, illustrate the Israeli system’s “unwillingness or inability” to prosecute crimes under international law, stressing the urgent need for international justice as the only remaining avenue for Palestinians.

This decision marks yet another unconscionable chapter in the Israeli legal system’s long-standing history of granting impunity to perpetrators of grave crimes against Palestinians.

Erika Guevara Rosas

Since the start of Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip, and despite overwhelming evidence of widespread torture and abuse, including sexual violence, against Palestinians in Israeli detention centres, only one Israeli soldier has been so far sentenced over torturing a Palestinian detainee. At least 98 Palestinians are known to have died in Israeli custody since October 2023, with Israeli authorities failing to hold any independent, transparent, and impartial investigation into any of these cases, while continuing to block independent monitors, including the ICRC, from visiting Palestinian detainees.  

“Amidst rising regional tensions, the world cannot look the other way while Palestinians continue to be denied even a semblance of justice. State parties to the Rome Statute must do all that in their power to support ICC investigation of ongoing crimes in Palestine and Israel.”

According to Israel NGO HaMoked there are currently 9,446 Palestinians held in custody in Israeli prisons. Amnesty International has previously documented how Palestinians detained at Sde Teiman have been held incommunicado and subjected to torture and other ill-treatment.

Updated on 14 March: The original article published incorrectly referred to Palestinian detainees rather than a single Palestinian detainee

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Kazakhstan’s proposed new Constitution represents an alarming rollback of human rights protections and the rule of law and a blatant attempt to concentrate presidential power, Amnesty International said ahead of a referendum on the sweeping changes scheduled for 15 March.

“The project of the new Constitution of Kazakhstan reflects what we have been witnessing over the last years – the erosion of international human rights standards and fundamental principle of the law in the country,” Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, said.

The draft Constitution, which was prepared without inclusive public consultations or meaningful input from independent civil society, would permit greater restrictions on human rights including the rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly, based on overly broad and vague concepts of “constitutional order” and “public morality.”

It also defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman, further enshrining discrimination against LGBTI people, whose rights have already been severely curtailed by a law banning so-called propaganda of “non-traditional sexual relations” enacted in December 2025.

“By including in the draft Constitution undue restrictions on the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, association, and the right to protection from discrimination, Kazakhstan is joining an accelerating rollback on international human rights standards and the rule of law that we have documented throughout Central Asia and the wider region,” Marie Struthers said.

By including in the draft Constitution undue restrictions on the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, association, and the right to protection from discrimination, Kazakhstan is joining an accelerating rollback on international human rights standards and the rule of law that we have documented throughout Central Asia and the wider region

Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia

“The draft Constitution places human rights within the framework of broad and vague concepts such as the “idea of a Just Kazakhstan,” the principle of “Law and Order,” and “promotion of the idea of a responsible, creative patriotism.”

“Kazakhstan authorities must immediately revoke or remove the repressive provisions and ensure the draft Constitution contains human rights guarantees that are entirely consistent and compatible with the country’s international human rights obligations.”

As one human rights defender from Kazakhstan put it, “Law becomes a substitute for rights, and Order – for freedoms”.”

Primacy of national law

The Constitution would no longer contain the provision that international treaties to which Kazakhstan is a state party take precedence over national laws which are inconsistent with the country’s international human rights obligations. Instead, as has been the case in Russia since 2020, the draft Constitution grants the Constitutional Court the authority to overrule the implementation of decisions by international human rights bodies which “do not comply with the Constitution,” thereby undermining the country’s international human rights obligations. Kazakhstan may not invoke the provisions of its internal law as justification for its failure to perform its treaty obligations.

In what appears to be a bid to tighten control over civil society, the draft Constitution would require NGOs to ensure that all information on financial transactions relating to foreign sources of their funding and all related assets is “open and accessible.”

“Although framed as a transparency measure, in practice such provisions are only too reminiscent of repressive ‘foreign agents’ or ‘foreign influence’ legislation likely to be used to impede NGOs’ work, replicating harmful examples from Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Georgia and elsewhere,” said Marie Struthers.

Although framed as a transparency measure, in practice such provisions are only too reminiscent of repressive ‘foreign agents’ or ‘foreign influence’ legislation likely to be used to impede NGOs’ work, replicating harmful examples from Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Georgia and elsewhere

Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia

Background

The draft Constitution was hastily drafted by a state appointed commission. The authorities have clamped down on criticism of the proposed changes, stifling any legitimate debate by detaining journalists, lawyers and bloggers and blocking social media accounts. 

The draft Constitution further consolidates presidential power while undermining the principles of separation of powers and checks and balances and diminishing the role of Parliament, which will become unicameral and renamed the Kurultai.

It also grants the President the authority to appoint the heads of the Supreme Court, the Central Electoral Commission, the Supreme Audit Chamber, the State Security Service, the National Bank and the Human Rights Commissioner, without parliamentary approval. In addition, the President would appoint the Chairperson of the Constitutional Court and, together with the Kurultai, confirm 10 of the Court’s 11 judges.

Article 27 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (1969) provides that, “A party may not invoke the provisions of its internal law as justification for its failure to perform a treaty.” Kazakhstan acceded to the Convention on January 5, 1994.

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For years, Seán Binder’s life was turned upside down because he believed people’s pulses should be checked before their passports. In January, he was finally acquitted of charges relating to his humanitarian work helping migrants and refugees at sea. Here, he shares his story and his concerns over a new piece of EU legislation that threatens vital humanitarian work in future. 

My ordeal started at about 2am one morning in February 2018, when I was arrested by the Greek police. People were fleeing conflicts at home and coming to Europe seeking safety in unseaworthy boats and I was helping the Emergency Response Center International to conduct search and rescue activities.

I was detained without understanding what exactly was happening; we were provided neither a lawyer nor an interpreter. After two nights, we were released “pending further investigation.” We continued to do search and rescue. After all, we had done nothing wrong. In fact, we continued to cooperate with the very authorities that had arrested us.

Then, in August 2018, six months after our initial arrest, my colleague and I were detained again. This time, we were charged with serious crimes, including forgery, the illegal use of radio frequencies, espionage, money laundering, being members of a criminal organization, and facilitating illegal entry.

The severity of the charges meant that my colleagues and I were detained in pre-trial prison. By the time we were released, 106 days later, our case had become at high-profile example of the criminalization of humanitarianism in Europe. Human rights organizations described it as the “criminalization of saving lives.” At trial, the first prosecution witness described the case in precisely those terms.  That assessment proved decisive.

Finally, on 15 January this year, I was acquitted. The prosecutor at trial stated there was no evidence of criminality, and the panel of judges unanimously agreed that my 23 co-defendants and I were motivated by, and engaged in, legal humanitarianism.

Whilst I am delighted not to be returning to prison, it has taken far too long for this absurd prosecution to collapse. In the interim, the damage has already been done. EU states’ authorities have obstructed civilian rescue efforts, and over 32,000 lives have been lost at Europe’s borders since 2014.  

Meanwhile, dozens of humanitarians across Europe face similar prosecutions, obstruction, intimidation and harassment. Sadly, my case was not the exception but part of a wider pattern of states criminalizing humanitarian work.

My colleagues and I have spent years and vast resources proving what should never have been in doubt: saving lives is a legal obligation, not a crime. Humanitarian work should be encouraged and protected in countries that claim to respect human rights.

The current effort to reform EU anti-smuggling legislation, the so-called “Facilitators Package” offers an opportunity to address some of the issues that have led to our baseless prosecution.

However, the proposed revisions to the legislation might inadvertently increase the risk of criminalizing rescue workers – meaning future prosecutions will still be possible and may not end in acquittals like mine. They will also impact migrants, people of migrant origin and racialized people who all too often suffer from these policies.

As Amnesty International has highlighted, the proposal’s broad and vague provisions risk perpetuating the criminalization of refugees, migrants and human rights defenders. Any reform should clarify explicitly and in a binding manner that acts of humanitarian assistance or solidarity should be exempted from prosecution or punishment. Migrants who may have been smuggled themselves, or people assisting their family members should also be protected from criminal liability.

Through this reform, the EU has an opportunity to align with the EU Charter, UN Conventions and Smuggling Protocols, and treaties on maritime search and rescue, and to explicitly protect the right to life, the right to seek asylum, and the duty to render assistance.

As it stands, the proposal tries to expand the avenues to pursue humanitarian workers by introducing the crime of “public instigation” of irregular migration. This vague new provision could be misconstrued to harm refugees and migrants, advocates and activists protesting unjust migration laws or professionals providing legal information or assistance.

I have seen how people fleeing persecution and poverty may have no option but to board unseaworthy boats. How in the absence of safe routes those crowded aboard cling to the sides of dinghies. How in the dead of night, in choppy waters, even children are without life vests. Criminalizing humanitarians or a passenger who takes the helm of a dinghy abandoned by the smuggler does nothing to stop that.

Prosecutors should focus on exploitation and violence, including by authorities summarily force people across land or sea borders.

Last year, the European Court of Human Rights found “serious evidence” of systematic pushbacks in Greece. Evidence of similar practices has been mounting across European borders. Without border monitoring, this already opaque crime becomes ever more obscure.

Finally, trafficking, another cross-border crime, is arguably exacerbated by EU policy. A UN report published in 2018 found that asylum seekers in Libya face “unlawful killings, torture, arbitrary detention, gang rape, slavery, forced labour and extortion,” with apparent complicity by State actors. Nevertheless, the EU has for years financed the so-called Libyan Coast Guard.

Whether in the Facilitators Package or in its wider border policies, the EU must respect the rule of law and human rights.

The way to stop people taking dangerous journeys is providing safe and legal pathways for protection, commensurate in scale with the need for protection, and channels for regular migration for those seeking a better life. By denying safe routes, the EU pushes people into the arms and boats of smugglers and traffickers.

All the while, EU laws and narratives on stopping smugglers continue being used to criminalize migrants and people doing what they can to save lives or offer assistance. Unless the reform of the Facilitators package takes serious steps to uphold the duty to rescue and defend humanitarians, people will continue to risk jail for doing what is normal, human behaviour: helping others at risk.

Watch Seán as he discusses his case, his reflections and hopes for the future.

Listen to Séan’s full story in the first season of Amnesty’s podcast ‘On the Side of Humanity’.

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Four more men removed by the United States arrived in Eswatini on 11 March and are being detained in the Matsapha Correctional Complex, a maximum-security prison located some 2 kms from the country’s international airport. 

According to information received by Amnesty International, the men – two Somali nationals, one Tanzanian national and one Sudanese national – arrived at around 11PM on a flight originating from Phoenix, Arizona. 

The authorities in Eswatini must immediately disclose the legal basis for these detentions, guarantee regular and confidential access to lawyers and families, and guarantee due process to ensure that no one is held arbitrarily. 

Vongai Chikwanda, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for East and Southern Africa

“This latest unlawful transfer makes clear that the United States is continuing to send people to Eswatini under a secretive third-country removal arrangement, and that Eswatini is continuing to hold them in unlawful detention without transparency or adequate legal safeguards,” Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for East and Southern Africa, Vongai Chikwanda, said. 

“People with no known ties to Eswatini are transferred there and arbitrarily detained while their fate is decided behind closed doors. The authorities in Eswatini must immediately disclose the legal basis for these detentions, guarantee regular and confidential access to lawyers and families, and guarantee due process to ensure that no one is held arbitrarily.” 

Both Eswatini and the United States must end this deeply abusive practice.

Vongai Chikwanda

In July 2025, the US removed a first group of five people to Eswatini where they were kept in arbitrary detention. This was followed by the removal of a further 10 individuals from the US to the Southern African country in October 2025. None were known to have ties with Eswatini, where human rights under the absolute monarchy continues to be curtailed. 

“No one should be removed to a country where they face a real risk of unlawful detention, onward refoulement or other serious human rights violations. Both Eswatini and the United States must end this deeply abusive practice,” Vongai Chikwanda said. 

Background

Under a Memorandum of Understanding signed on 14 May 2025 and published in the United States following a Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) request, the government of Eswatini agreed to accept up to 160 third country national removed from the United States, in exchange for $5.1 million USD “to build its border and migration management capacity”.  

According to media reports, three men previously deported from the United States to Eswatini have filed a complaint before the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, alleging that their prolonged detention is unlawful.  

The post Eswatini: Arrival of four more men under US unlawful removal deal  appeared first on Amnesty International.

Pascale Solages is the co-founder and General Coordinator of Nègès Mawon, a feminist organization in Haiti founded in 2015. Since then, the organization provides access to health services and care for survivors of gender-based and sexual violence, and promotes feminist activism through art, education for girls, and advocacy. 

Haiti is currently experiencing an unprecedented social, political, and humanitarian crisis. Violence escalated in 2021 following the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, after which criminal groups seized control in Port-au-Prince, the country’s capital. Since then, several efforts have been made to restore peace in the country, but they have not been as successful as hoped. 

This interview is part of a series of blogs highlighting the extraordinary work of Haitian activists and organizations who are making a difference, especially in the lives of communities affected by violence in Haiti. 

Pascale, what motivated you to get involved in this work? 

I have been a member of feminist organizations since 2008; I was 19 years old at the time. I began engaging with feminist groups such as Foundation Toya. In 2015, I decided to create my own organization because I wanted to do things differently. I wanted to create a feminist festival, it was the first time a feminist organization in Haiti was using art in this way. I also wanted to build a structure to support this vision. 

My feminist engagement is also a response to my own experiences. I witnessed gender-based violence in my family from a young age. I grew up with images of my father beating my mother. I was also a victim of sexual violence when I was eight years old. I did not understand what was happening to me, and it was an extremely lonely journey. I had no one to talk to and no one to explain what was happening. 

It took me years to find people who helped me understand and heal from that trauma. I wanted to create the space I needed as a young girl, for other women and girls who were also survivors of sexual violence. So, the mix of my own experience as a Haitian girl and woman, with the beautiful work I did with other feminists across the country, and all the women I learned from throughout this journey, inspired me to create Nègès Mawon. 

How has the current crisis affected women and girls in Haiti? 

Haiti is facing a political, economic, social, and security crisis. In the first half of 2025 alone, more than 1,000 people were killed and over 1.2 million displaced. My own family has been displaced, as have many members of our staff. 

Gangs controlling territories are using sexual violence as a weapon of control. Women and girls have reduced access to education, healthcare, leadership spaces, and even safe public spaces. Their right to dream of a future where they can be free and safe is under attack. 

Women and girls are the first victims of this crisis. They all need and deserve security as citizens. Civil society and feminist organizations do not have sufficient resources to meet the scale of need. We do not have enough time, funding, personnel, or energy to support everyone who deserves help. 

How has the organization’s mission evolved over time, especially considering the recent crisis in Haiti? 

We chose the name, Nègès Mawon, that reflects our vision as Black women and Haitian women, and that carries deep meaning connected to our national history. Haiti is the first Black Republic and it is a country founded on the principles of freedom and humanity for everyone.  

Nègès Mawon symbolizes resistance. It reminds us of enslaved people who fled the colonies, fought oppression, and claimed their freedom while also helping others to be free. Thousands of women fought for this nation, even if their names do not appear in history books. We are fighting against that invisibility, against colonial legacies, and against ongoing foreign control. 

Today, we fight for everything that challenges Haitian women: freedom, humanity, and well-being. We draw inspiration from Black feminism and African feminist movements to restore our dignity and defend our lives. 

What kind of support do you provide to girls and women?  

Much of our work focuses on supporting survivors of sexual violence. We have a network of nurses, midwives, and doctors who provide medical care; lawyers who provide legal support; therapists who offer psychological services; and we provide economic assistance to survivors of all forms of violence, especially sexual violence. Our safe house offers women and girls a secure place to stay, heal, rebuild their lives, and access opportunities that promote economic autonomy. 

We also support girls who cannot attend school by covering school-related expenses and offering workshops and sexual education programs. Additionally, through our abortion legalization program, we help women access safe and legal abortion services. This is critical, as unsafe abortion is one of the leading causes of maternal mortality in Haiti, particularly among girls who become pregnant after rape. 

What do you wish more people around the world understood about Haitian organizations? 

We are working and fighting every single day to survive, to remain free, and to help others be free. Haitian women are victims of what is happening in the country, but we are also agents of change, building the community and the country we want to see. 

There is a narrative that Haitians cannot govern themselves, cannot build their country, cannot contribute to global conversations. We want to change that narrative. Haitian women are both Haitian citizens and global citizens. We have the right to occupy spaces where decisions are made about our future. 

Haiti is not only violence, corruption, and bad governance. It is beautiful people and a wonderful country that has, for centuries, contributed to other nations’ freedom. Women were part of that history, do not forget that. We will continue to speak and fight, even when it is difficult. We are leaders contributing to the global struggle for women’s rights, resisting fascism, sexism, and racism everywhere. 

Could you share a story that keeps you going? 

We have been supporting a woman, who is now part of our programme. A few months ago, she was living alone in a displacement camp where she was raped and became pregnant. She experienced severe complications and came to our office because she had nowhere else to go. 

Our staff accompanied her to the hospital. She had preeclampsia and needed emergency care. Staff stayed with her for two nights because she had no family support. Finally, she gave birth to a beautiful girl and she’s safe now. 

We covered all medical expenses, and she is staying in our safe house. That woman with her baby, their life, their future, reminds us why we continue. Even if we help one woman, one girl at a time, it matters and it is worthy. 

What message would you give to the Haitian government? 

Do your job. Millions of people, women and girls are suffering. Thousands are dying. People are losing hope, their strength to fight, the bright future for girls and boys in this country. 

We are doing our part as civil society, but we cannot replace the state. The government has resources and authority. it must act with accountability and responsibility. 

What message would you like to share with the international community? 

We ask our partners and the international community to continue providing financial support, but also to stand with us in advocacy and education efforts. 

Give space for local organizations to speak for themselves, to advocate for their communities, and to represent the people they serve. Our voices matter. Respect our sovereignty, our expertise, and our right to speak for ourselves. Listen to the people. Listen to local organizations and activists. 

As a Haitian feminist, it is deeply important to me that the world keeps its attention on Haiti. We know there are crises everywhere. We have sisters suffering in Palestine, Afghanistan, Sudan, Congo, and beyond. We stand in solidarity with them. But we also ask: do not forget Haiti. Include Haitian women when decisions are made about funding and policies. The crisis is happening now, and we need support now. 

Which are your hopes for the future? 

For Haitian women and girls, I hope for something simple: the right to exist.

The right to live without wondering whether they will survive the next 24 hours. The right to experience safety, joy, dignity, and that they can recognize their value as human beings. 

I hope one day we will live in a country where we do not have to fight for our lives every second. 

DEMAND PROTECTION FOR HAITI´S CHILDREN

DEMAND PROTECTION

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