In some countries, there is a marked lack of will to tackle homophobia and transphobia. © Amnesty International / Rachel Banfield It’s outrageous that in 2014 authorities around the world are failing to legislate against or investigate homophobic and transphobic hate crimes. Even more...

International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia: Why LGBTI Prides are about human rights Today is the International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO) (17 May). This year’s IDAHO will focus on freedom of expression, ‘encouraging everyone to help make the world a “Free Expression...

Some 245 men are reported to have died with 80 injured after an explosion at a coal mine in Soma, west Turkey. © Ahmet Sik/Getty Images This was a tragedy that should have been avoided. The long history of deaths in mines in Turkey raises chilling questions over workers’ safety. The fact...

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC STATEMENT EU leaders must urgently act to stop the increasing death toll in the Mediterranean Sea (Brussels, 13 May 2014) Amnesty International is deeply concerned by the latest tragedy and loss of migrants’ and refugees’ lives off the coast of Lampedusa,...

On 20 March, Amnesty International and activists created a sandy beach on the shores of the European institutions to highlight the human rights violations taking place against asylum-seekers, refugees and migrants at our borders, but away from the public eye. More than a hundred people took part in...

Stop Torture Campaign Press Conference, London, 12th May 2014. © Amnesty International Torture is not just alive and well – it is flourishing in many parts of the world. As more governments seek to justify torture in the name of national security, the steady progress made in this field...

12/05/2014 – Amnesty International fears that the Serbian authorities will ban the 2014 Pride. The 2011, 2012 and 2013 Pride marches were cancelled, after the Serbian authorities had claimed that the police did not have the capacity to ensure adequate security conditions in the face of...

12/05/2014 – Journalists and media workers from across Pakistan told Amnesty International their experiences of harassment, abduction, torture and attempts on their lives by state intelligence officers, members of political parties and armed groups like the Taliban.

09/05/2014 – Ahead of the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) on Monday 12 May, Amnesty International calls on you to ensure that, in line with previous FAC decisions, all transfers of equipment that can be used for “internal repression” will remain suspended to Egypt and Ukraine until the relevant...

A caged activist at a protest in Vienna symbolizes the many prisoners of conscience still detained in Azerbaijan, May 2014. © Amnesty International By Amnesty International’s campaigner on South Caucasus, Levan Asatiani On Tuesday, when Ministers from across Europe gathered in Vienna to hand the...

Photo: Amnesty International activists in Vienna protest human rights abuses in Azerbaijan as it prepares to chair the Council of Europe. © Amnesty International Those in power continue to show an absolute disregard for any dissenting voices in Azerbaijan. The international community including...

06/05/2014 – Amnesty International’s report “Behind bars: Silencing dissent in Azerbaijan” records human rights violations in Azerbaijan and particularly an increased clampdown on freedom of expression, assembly, and association following the 9 October 2013 elections. The...