AIUSA Appoints New Executive Director Margaret Huang

rk5stc0wI’m delighted to share the news that Amnesty International USA’s Board of Directors has appointed Margaret Huang as the organization’s Executive Director, effective immediately.

As you know, Margaret has played a key leadership role at AIUSA for the last several years, and she has worked in partnership with the Board, members, and staff to strengthen the organization in order to protect people’s human rights – no matter who they are or where they are. Over the last couple of years, donations and membership in AIUSA have increased, as supporters nationwide have been galvanized by our campaigns and advocacy work on key human rights issues. Margaret’s leadership has been central in bringing this stability and growth. SEE THE REST OF THIS POST

‘Time for Change’ on Refugees

A Syrian refugee girl sits in a classroom at a Lebanese public school where only Syrian students attend classes. Education for refugee children is a pressing global issue that needs long-term solutions. United Nations conventions have fallen short of meeting the needs of displaced populations, even the most vulnerable ones. AP/Hussein Malla, File

A Syrian refugee girl sits in a classroom at a Lebanese public school where only Syrian students attend classes. Education for refugee children is a pressing global issue that needs long-term solutions. United Nations conventions have fallen short of meeting the needs of displaced populations, even the most vulnerable ones. AP/Hussein Malla, File

The world faces an unprecedented humanitarian crisis. On the 65th anniversary of the United Nations refugee convention being adopted, there are now 65 million displaced people globally, the highest number since World War II. Around one-third of that number are refugees; at least half of those are children. Yet the only attempt to find an international solution to this most urgent of problems is now being gutted and delayed.

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3 Ways Saudi Arabia Is Abusing Human Rights – and How They’re Getting Away With It

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Amnesty International is calling for Saudi Arabia to be suspended from the UN Human Rights Council – here’s why.

1. Crackdown on activists

Saudi Arabia has continued a sweeping crackdown on human rights activists. All of the country’s prominent and independent human rights defenders have been imprisoned, threatened into silence or have fled the country. More and more have been sentenced to years in prison under the country’s 2014 counter-terror law. Among the many people imprisoned is Raif Badawi’s lawyer, Waleed Abu al-Khair. Scores more were jailed under the law after unfair trials in 2015 and 2016, including human rights defenders Dr Abdulkareem al-Khoder, Dr Abdulrahman al-Hamid, Issa al-Hamid and Abdulaziz al-Shubaily, all founding members of the now disbanded independent Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA). SEE THE REST OF THIS POST

The Path to 2 Million @Amnesty Followers

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@Amnesty is now over 2 million followers strong. Together, we’ve changed lives and freed prisoners. As with the Amnesty movement of the past 55 years, we’ve gotten here by individual after individual standing up and shining a light, inspiring others to stand with them.

Thanks to social media, the world we live in is getting smaller and smaller – and the more interconnected we are, the harder it will be for human rights violations to go unnoticed. SEE THE REST OF THIS POST

If We Fail Our Environment, We Fail to Protect Our Human Rights

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“If we fail our environment, we fail to protect our human rights.” -Ban Ki-moon

Human rights, dignity, livelihood, health and wellbeing are directly correlated with the health of the environment. We have seen time and time again that corporate actions often have devastating effects on the human rights of individuals around the world. From the Bhopal chemical disaster to the oil spills in the Niger Delta, failures to protect our environment impact the lives of millions and have ongoing and devastating consequences for future generations. SEE THE REST OF THIS POST

Trapped in Europe’s New Refugee Camp: Greece

Refugees - Lesvos / Athens - March 2016

Among the olive groves on some of Greece’s beautiful islands there are barbed wire fences.

At least 6,000 asylum-seekers have been locked up here since a new European Union (EU) plan kicked in on 20 March. Some have already been deported back to Turkey, while many more anxiously await the same fate.

But they aren’t the only ones trapped in Greece. Another 46,000 people are stuck in often filthy, overcrowded sites across the mainland. They’re in limbo because they arrived after Greece’s northern border was shut in early March, and before the EU-Turkey deportation deal came into force. SEE THE REST OF THIS POST

Myanmar: Student Activist, Phyoe Phyoe Aung, Finally Free

Family members welcome student protest leaders Nandar Sitt Aung (L) and Phyo Phyo Aung (R) as they arrives for a hearing at her trial in Tharrawaddy town, Bago Region in Myanmar on April 8, 2016. Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi on April 7, vowed to press for the release of political prisoners and student activists, hinting that a mass amnesty may be imminent as her government seeks to stamp its mark on power in the former junta-run nation. / AFP / YE AUNG THU        (Photo credit should read YE AUNG THU/AFP/Getty Images)

Phyoe Phyoe Aung (right) outside court, 8 April 2016. Credit: YE AUNG THU/AFP/Getty Images

Phyoe Phyoe Aung, who was detained in Myanmar after helping to organize largely peaceful student protests, has finally been released more than one year on.

Amnesty supporters across the world wrote more than 394,000 letters, emails, tweets and more for Phyoe Phyoe Aung during Write for Rights, our global letter-writing marathon. SEE THE REST OF THIS POST

365 Days of War in Yemen

Diplaced people who fled their homes after start of aerial bombardments by Saudi Arabia-led coalition now in IDPs camp in Khamir (Amran governorate) .

One year ago today, an international coalition led by Saudi Arabia launched air strikes against the Huthi armed group in Yemen sparking a full-blown armed conflict.

Over the following year, the conflict has spread and fighting has engulfed the entire country. Horrific human rights abuses, as well as war crimes, are being committed throughout the country causing unbearable suffering for civilians. SEE THE REST OF THIS POST