news

Older refugees are both the most at risk from the pandemic and the least included in the humanitarian response Dangerous lack of access to even basic information Mistakes made during general humanitarian response efforts for Rohingya refugees are being repeated

Older Rohingya refugees in overcrowded camps in Bangladesh are being left behind in the humanitarian response to COVID-19, which could have devastating consequences given the high risks older people everywhere face from this deadly pandemic, Amnesty International said today.

More than 100 civil society groups sign joint statement setting out conditions that must be met before the use of surveillance technology to fight pandemic

With governments across the world rapidly expanding the use of digital surveillance in an attempt to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, Amnesty International and other leading NGOs have set out strict conditions that must be met to safeguard human rights and prevent surveillance overreach. 

More than 100 civil society groups joined Amnesty in signing the statement, including Access Now, Human Rights Watch and Privacy International.

“Technology can play an important role in the global effort to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, however, this does not give governments carte blanche to expand digital surveillance. The recent past has shown governments are reluctant to relinquish temporary surveillance powers. We must not sleepwalk into a permanent expanded surveillance state now,” said Rasha Abdul Rahim, Deputy Director of Amnesty Tech.

Amnesty International has published recommendations today for states in Europe urging them to ensure that their responses to COVID-19 are in line with their international and regional human rights obligations.

Europe at a Crossroads sets out clear guidance on what governments should and should not do in response to the ongoing pandemic. These include ensuring people’s right to health, guaranteeing the rights to housing, water and sanitation, and ensuring protection for the most vulnerable in society.

“Restrictions on some of our most basic human rights are spreading across Europe almost as fast as the virus itself. Whilst many of these are necessary to protect public health, history will not judge kindly those that use the pandemic as a pretext for discrimination, repression or censorship,” said Marie Struthers, Europe Director at Amnesty International. 

Civilian casualties continue to mount from the US military’s secret air war in Somalia, with no justice or reparation for the victims of possible violations of international humanitarian law, Amnesty International warned as it released details of two more deadly air strikes so far this year.

US Africa Command (AFRICOM) has conducted hundreds of air strikes in the decade-long fight against the armed group Al-Shabaab, but has only admitted to killing civilians in a single strike that took place exactly two years ago today. This lone admission was prompted by Amnesty International’s research and advocacy. 

“The evidence is stacking up and it’s pretty damning. Not only does AFRICOM utterly fail at its mission to report civilian casualties in Somalia, but it doesn’t seem to care about the fate of the numerous families it has completely torn apart,” said Deprose Muchena, Amnesty International’s Director for East and Southern Africa.

Toronto, March 30, 2020 — Canada’s decision to shut the border to refugee claimants puts those individuals in danger, is out of step with public health measures designed to curb the spread of COVID-19, and runs counter to our international legal obligations. From moral, public health and legal perspectives, closing the border to refugee claimants is wrong.

On March 19, 2020, in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Government of Canada announced new border entry restrictions that preserved the right to seek refugee protection while also protecting public health through non-discriminatory screening and self-isolation measures. Then, on March 20, the government abandoned this sensible and humane approach, and announced a new decision made with the US government to shut the border almost entirely to people seeking refugee protection in Canada when entering from the US.

The Colombian state must not use measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic as a pretext to weaken or withdraw protection for human rights defenders and social leaders, Amnesty International said today.

“Colombia is one of the world’s most lethal countries for human rights defenders and social leaders and, in the context of COVID-19, they now face even greater risks. Due to the restrictions imposed to contain the pandemic, state protection measures have been weakened, they can no longer keep moving from one location to another for their safety, and their attackers know that public security forces are focusing on issues related to the pandemic,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International.

“The Colombian authorities cannot let human rights defenders suffer attacks and threats. The state must maintain its protection schemes and must generate collective protection strategies for communities at risk, while implementing preventive measures to contain COVID-19.”

Ahead of an extraordinary virtual meeting of the G20 group which is scheduled to take place on Thursday, Amnesty International called on leaders to coordinate responses to help the most at-risk groups and people cope with the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The response to this pandemic must be based on cooperation and sharing of resources, because national strategies will not be enough on their own. Not only is helping the most marginalized the right thing to do, inadequate healthcare in any part of the world is a risk to us all. The rapid spread of COVID-19 has shown how connected we all are,” said Netsanet Belay, Research and Advocacy Director at Amnesty International.

“On Thursday G20 leaders need to produce a concrete and coordinated plan for mobilizing resources to help people in the global south. They have a lot of financial measures at their disposal and they must consider them all. We will beat this virus together, for everyone, or not at all.”

Background