People across the world are currently facing an unprecedented global health emergency due to the outbreak of COVID-19.  Technology can and should play an important role during this effort to save lives, including by spreading public health messages and increasing access to health care. However, in the name of combatting the disease, some governments are rushing to expand their use of surveillance technologies to track individuals and even entire populations.

Just over four years since the National League for Democracy (NLD)-led government came to power, human rights defenders and activists continue to be arrested, prosecuted, and imprisoned for peacefully exercising their human rights. This briefing profiles 16 recent cases of such politically motivated arrests, prosecutions, and imprisonment in Myanmar. As the current administration comes towards the end of its term and the country gears up for general elections in late 2020, it is vital that the authorities take the opportunity to close the door on politically motivated arrest and imprisonment.

The Malaysian authorities should ensure that the 202 Rohingya people found adrift off the country’s coast are spared the risk of mass infection in detention facilities, said Amnesty International Malaysia today.

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.  

The way governments decide to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic will impact the human rights of millions of people.

All governments and other actors involved in and affected by the COVID-19 outbreak must ensure that international human rights law and standards are at the centre of all responses to COVID-19, in order to best protect public health and support people who are most at risk of adverse impacts. This paper (1) examines the human rights concerns and challenges that often emerge as states respond to epidemics – with specific reference to state responses to COVID-19 – across different phases of the response, and (2) summarizes states’ human rights obligations and the key human rights laws, standards and principles that must be reflected in these responses.

In times of coronavirus and social distancing, many of us are staying at home. Here are some free things you can do from home to empower yourself to develop skills that promote equality and respect in your community and worldwide. Why not use your time wisely?

To fully appreciate conversations on China’s social media platforms, merely knowing Chinese is not enough. To evade the most extensive internet censorship system in the world, netizens have no option but to create their own vocabulary to discuss “sensitive issues”. This language keeps evolving as the government constantly adds new topics and terms that are prohibited.

Amnesty International will participate in the demonstrations on 8th March alongside women’s movements fighting for the protection and ongoing promotion of their rights

The investigation of more than 20 peaceful protesters after they held two demonstrations in Malaysia over the weekend is an alarming sign of the new government’s attitude towards human rights, Amnesty International said today.

The outbreak of the coronavirus (2019-nCov) that started in the Chinese city of Wuhan (Hubei province) in late 2019 has been declared a global health emergency by the World Health Organization (WHO).

A wave of youth-led protests across Asia is defying escalating repression and a continent-wide crackdown on freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, Amnesty International said today as it published its annual report on human rights in the region.