Media advisories

Released 00.01 14 February 2017

The EU-Turkey refugee deal has left thousands of refugees and migrants in squalid and dangerous living conditions, and must not be replicated with other countries, Amnesty International said today ahead of the deal’s one year anniversary.

The deal aimed at returning asylum-seekers back to Turkey on the premise that Turkey is safe for them, has left thousands exposed to squalid and unsafe conditions on Greek islands. In the new briefing “A Blueprint for Despair” Amnesty International also documented unlawful returns of asylum-seekers to Turkey in a flagrant breach of their rights under international law.

“The EU-Turkey deal has been a disaster for the thousands who have been left stranded in a dangerous, desperate and seemingly endless limbo on the Greek islands,” said Gauri van Gulik, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for Europe.

On Thursday 26 January the UK High Court will rule on whether two Niger Delta communities whose environment and livelihoods were destroyed by oil spills can have their claims against Shell heard in the UK. The case could set a precedent for holding other UK-based multinationals to account for abuses committed overseas.

“This ruling will have wide-ranging implications for corporations based in the UK that abuse human rights abroad. If the court rules that the communities cannot have their case heard in the UK it would effectively be a green light for UK multinationals to profit from human rights abuses and environmental destruction around the world,” said Audrey Gaughran, Director of Global Issues at Amnesty International.

Two separate legal actions have been brought against Shell on behalf of more than 42,000 people from the Ogale and Bille communities in Nigeria’s Rivers State, who live with appalling pollution caused by oil spills.

Spokespeople available

The High Court in Kenya will on Monday 7 November hear a petition filed by two civil society organizations challenging the government’s decision to close down Dadaab refugee camp and disband the Department of Refugee Affairs (DRA).

Amnesty International is participating in the proceedings as an interested party and has filed submissions on Kenya’s obligations under international law to ensure the rights of asylum seekers and refugees.

The petition, filed by the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights and Kituo Cha Sheria, seeks to have the government’s closure decisions declared unconstitutional.

“The closure of Dadaab would be a disaster for the tens of thousands of refugees still living there who have nowhere else to go. Their repatriation back to Somalia is not voluntary - they are being forced to return when the conditions that forced them to flee in the first place have not improved,” said Michelle Kagari, deputy director of Amnesty International’s East Africa regional office.

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
MEDIA ADVISORY

CANADA: Rampant resource development in northeast BC puts Indigenous women and girls at HEIGHTENED risk of VIOLENCE

Vancouver – On November 3, Amnesty International will launch a new report at a press conference in Vancouver documenting how unchecked resource development and government policy failures have put Indigenous women and girls at increased risk of violence and human rights violations in northeast British Colombia, Canada.

The report, Out of Sight, Out of Mind, demonstrates how resource development has eroded the land base that provides the foundation for First Nations and Métis health and wellness in the region, while influxes of transient workers have driven up local prices and strained the social fabric. Increased rates of violent crime and diminished access to social services have placed Indigenous women and girls at increased risk of harm, while denying them the protections and support they need.

Geneva, Switzerland – Amnesty International spokespeople are available for interview from Geneva, where Canada will be under review by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) on October 24th. This is the first review by the UN body since 2008, when the Committee outlined numerous shortcomings in Canada’s progress toward the elimination of discrimination against women and girls. 

Amnesty International made a formal submission to the CEDAW as part of Canada’s review process. It finds that Canada is not doing enough to protect the human rights and safety of women and girls, especially First Nations, Metis, Inuit and migrant and refugee women and girls. Amnesty International is particularly concerned that many past recommendations from the Committee remain unimplemented.

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As the Prime Minister begins his first trip to China, the Canadian Coalition on Human Rights in China is releasing an Open Letter, documenting serious human rights concerns and laying out recommendations for human rights reforms in China.  The Coalition has also urged the Prime Minister to press for freedom for thirteen prisoners.

The Prime Minister’s first trip to China comes at a critical time.  There has been a clampdown on human rights lawyers and activists and intensified measures to curtail freedoms of expression, association and assembly.  These are indications of a deteriorating climate for human rights protection in the country.   

Event:             Press Conference

Speakers:      Sonam Chokey, National Director, Students for a Free Tibet Canada

                     Gloria Fung, Director, Canada-Hong Kong Link