Saving lives, changing laws and protecting human rights – Amnesty International and its supporters have been busy racking up the wins this year…

Human rights under the UDHR, as for my country, clearly haven’t been used in practice. Although Thailand is one of the countries that drafted the UDHR after the Second World War, the people in the country still experience major human rights violations from the moment we enter school as children; school still spanks students, and they are forced to cut their hair in the military style. 

The decision by a Turkish court to overturn baseless convictions of Amnesty International Türkiye’s Honorary Chair and three other human rights defenders is a huge relief, yet also highlights the politically motivated nature of the prosecutions, Amnesty International said today. 

The horrific misuse of tear gas by security forces during brutal crackdowns on protests in Iran, Peru and Sri Lanka last year are among many new incidents detailed in Amnesty International’s updated Tear Gas: An Investigation.

4 June, 1989 is etched into history as the day the Chinese authorities ruthlessly stamped out peaceful protest.

In response to news on 17 May 2023 of the fatal shooting of Bounsuan Kitiyano, a 56-year-old Lao human rights defender and a refugee recognized the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), in a border town in northeastern Thailand, we, the ten undersigned organizations, urge the government of Thailand to independently, effectively and promptly investigate this incident and ensure effective remedy to the victim’s family and loved ones.  We also call on the Lao and Thai governments, together with diplomatic communities in Laos and Thailand and UN bodies, to address human rights violations faced by Lao human rights defenders who have sought asylum in Thailand.

Recorded executions in 2022 reached the highest figure in five years, as the Middle East and North Africa’s most notorious executioners carried out killing sprees, Amnesty International said today as it released its annual review of the death penalty.

Ahead of Thailand’s general election on 14 May, Chanatip Tatiyakaroonwong, Amnesty International’s Thailand Researcher, said: 

*Amnesty has updated this statement from an earlier version as it has not been able to independently verify whether Jack was killed in the attack 

As the escalation in violence between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) spreads throughout Sudan, civilians in Darfur continue to suffer due to the country’s authorities failure to provide security, and their inability to deliver justice and accountability for war crimes and other violations 20 years after the Darfur conflict began, Amnesty International said today.

Drawing attention to a number of human rights issues that she engaged with during her first official visit to Thailand, Agnes Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General, said:

Today marks the second anniversary since ASEAN agreed on the Five Point Consensus in response to the military coup in Myanmar. The Myanmar military has ignored calls from the international community to stop the violence. Moreover, since the coup, the Myanmar military has committed war crimes and possible crimes against humanity. ASEAN leaders must step up and address the situation in Myanmar without further delay. Amnesty International has assessed ASEAN’s five points consensus using concrete evidence as examples where relevant, and highlights its failures.