Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: Amnesty International –

Responding to statements from Pakistani officials claiming that an airstrike that hit a drug rehabilitation centre in Kabul on 16 March was targeting an ammunition depot, Isabelle Lassee, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director, Research, said:  

“While the total death toll from this attack has yet to be independently verified, it’s clear that it resulted in a significant number of deaths and injuries to civilians, at least in the hundreds.  

“It’s well-documented that a large part of Camp Phoenix, a former NATO camp, had been operating as a drug rehabilitation facility since 2016. Pakistan’s military should have taken all feasible precautions to spare civilians and civilian objects before launching this strike. Any reasonable assessment and information gathering would have concluded that the camp had a high civilian presence. 

“Even if an ammunition depot was present inside the wider camp, the decision to attack should have been weighed against any excessive harm that it was likely to cause to civilians. The scale of death and destruction raises serious concerns about whether the Pakistani military conducted an adequate proportionality assessment and took all necessary steps to gather information about the intended target and minimize civilian harm. 

Pakistan’s military should have taken all feasible precautions to spare civilians and civilian objects before launching this strike.

Isabelle Lassee, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director, Research

“The Pakistani authorities must now explain what information they acted upon, and steps taken for verification. They must also carry out an independent, impartial and timely investigation into the circumstances of this strike and the resulting civilian casualties, with the results made public with a view to ensuring accountability. 

“Amnesty International calls on all parties to the conflict to strictly adhere to international humanitarian law and to take urgent measures to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, including hospitals and other healthcare facilities.”  

Background 

As part of “Operation Ghazab Lil Haq”, Pakistan carried out airstrikes on 16 March in Kabul and Nangarhar. The strikes hit a camp used as drug rehabilitation centre known as Omid, which was established in 2016 on the site of Camp Phoenix, a former US and NATO military base on the outskirts of Kabul. The rehabilitation centre and other complexes on the site are reported to have had capacity for around 2,000 people. According to the Taliban, the strike killed over 400 civilians and injured more than 200 others. These figures could not yet be verified. The United Nations has reported 143 deaths so far. 

Prior to this attack, UNAMA documented at least 76 civilian casualties in Afghanistan since the armed conflict with Pakistan began in February. Pakistani officials reported four civilian deaths on 15 March in Bajaur district and that a child was killed in North Waziristan by mortar shells allegedly fired from Afghanistan on 8 March. 

Source: Amnesty International –

Responding to the killings and injuries of dozens of healthcare workers and first responders in Lebanon since 2 March 2026, amid escalating attacks by the Israeli military and its allegations – without providing evidence – that ambulances and healthcare sites are being used for military activities and may be targeted, Kristine Beckerle, Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International, said:  

“Israel is deploying the same deadly playbook it used in 2024 in Lebanon to kill dozens of health workers and devastate healthcare services. Amnesty International’s past research highlighted how the Israeli military repeatedly carried out unlawful attacks on health facilities and health workers during the 2024 escalation and we called for these to be investigated as war crimes. The Israeli military has also repeatedly and unlawfully attacked health facilities and medical teams in Gaza, as part of a broader pattern of devastating essential services. There has yet to be any accountability or redress for those violations, and now we’re seeing healthcare workers once again killed and wounded.  

Throwing out accusations claiming that healthcare facilities and ambulances are being used for military purposes without providing any evidence does not justify treating hospitals, medical facilities or medical transport as battlefields or treating doctors and paramedics as targets.

Kristine Beckerle, Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International

“Healthcare workers are risking their lives to save others, and hospitals, other medical facilities and ambulances are specifically protected under international humanitarian law. Throwing out accusations claiming that healthcare facilities and ambulances are being used for military purposes without providing any evidence does not justify treating hospitals, medical facilities or medical transport as battlefields or treating doctors and paramedics as targets. Under international humanitarian law parties to a conflict must ensure to distinguish between military objectives and civilian objects.  

“Hospitals and medical transports only lose their protection if they are used for acts that are considered ‘harmful to the enemy,’ and even then, can only be targeted after a warning that gives sufficient time for the evacuation of patients and staff goes unheeded. In cases of doubt as to whether medical facilities are being used to contribute to military activity, they should be presumed not to be so used. An attack on a medical facility that has lost its protected status must adhere to the rules on precautions, distinction and proportionality and consider carefully the adverse effects that attacking medical facilities has on civilians, the sick and wounded.  

“Under international humanitarian law, civilians, including healthcare workers, do not lose their protected status simply based on an affiliation. As such, direct attacks on medical personnel and those working in civil defence merely on the basis that they are working for institutions associated with Hezbollah are strictly prohibited. Deliberately striking medics performing their humanitarian functions is a serious violation of international humanitarian law and could constitute a war crime. 

“All parties must uphold their legal obligation to protect civilians, medical personnel, patients and healthcare infrastructure at all times. The protection of healthcare is not optional — it is a binding rule of war.” 

Source: Greenpeace Statement –

Sydney, Thursday 19 March 2026 —  In response to escalating attacks on gas fields in the Middle East, including Israeli strikes on Iran’s giant South Pars gas field and Iranian retaliations on gas fields in Qatar and Saudi Arabia, the following lines can be attributed to Solaye Snider, Campaigner at Greenpeace Australia Pacific:

“The targeting of gas fields across the Middle East is a perilous escalation that reinforces just how vulnerable our fossil-fuelled world really is.

“Oil and gas have long been used as tools of power and coercion by authoritarian regimes. They cause climate chaos and environmental pollution and they drive conflict and war. The energy security of every nation still hooked on gas, including Australia, is under direct threat.

“For countries that are reliant on gas imports, like Sri Lanka, Pakistan and South Korea, this crisis is just getting started. It can take months to restart a gas export facility once it is shut down, meaning the shockwaves of these strikes will be felt for a long time to come.

“It is a gross and tragic injustice that while civilians are killed and lose their homes to this escalating violence, and families struggle with a tightening cost-of-living, gas giants like Woodside and Santos have seen their share prices surge on the prospect of windfall war profits. 

“We must break this cycle. Transitioning to local renewable energy is the way to protect Australian households from the inherent volatility of fossil fuels like gas.”

-ENDS-

Images available for download via the Greenpeace Media Library

Media contact: Lucy Keller on 0491 135 308 or [email protected]

Source: Amnesty International –

As journalist and human rights defender Irfan Mehraj marks three years in arbitrary detention tomorrow, we the undersigned civil society organizations call for his immediate and unconditional release. We continue to stand in solidarity with Irfan and his family. Our organisations also demand an end to the Indian government’s continued repression of human rights defenders and journalists in Jammu and Kashmir.

On 20 March 2023, Irfan Mehraj was detained by India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) under provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) on politically motivated and fabricated charges. According to the NIA, Irfan Mehraj was arrested for being ‘a close associate of Khurram Parvez’. Khurram Parvez is a HRD and the Program Coordinator of the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS), a leading civil society organisation in Jammu and Kashmir. Indian authorities continue to arbitrarily detain Khurram Parvez for over four years now on politically motivated and fabricated charges.

The ongoing detentions of Irfan Mehraj and Khurram Parvez highlight a broader pattern of persecution of human rights defenders and journalists in Jammu and Kashmir.

The authorities have used the UAPA – a draconian anti-terror law – and the repressive Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act (PSA), which permits long-term detention without trial, to criminalise and silence journalists and human rights defenders in Jammu and Kashmir. This has worsened since the unilateral abrogation of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood in August 2019.

In recent months, the police continued to harass and intimidate journalists from Indian-administered Kashmir for their reporting, including through summoning them for repeated police interrogations and demanding that journalists sign a bond undertaking that they will not do anything that would ‘disturb peace’.

The Indian government has continuously failed to respond to concerns regarding human rights violations in Kashmir raised by United Nations experts and international human rights organisations. India should respect its international human rights obligations and end its reprisal against human rights defenders and journalists, especially in Jammu and Kashmir. Other countries at the UN Human Rights Council should address these flagrant violations by a sitting member state.

Our organisations urge the Indian authorities to repeal repressive laws including the UAPA and the PSA and to create an enabling environment for civil society and the media to freely and independently operate in Jammu and Kashmir.

As India continues to work towards securing stronger multilateral and bilateral relations, we call on the international community to urge the Indian government to comply with its international human rights obligations, release Irfan Mehraj, Khurram Parvez and all other detained Kashmiri human rights defenders and end its repression in Jammu and Kashmir.

Signed by:

· Afghanistan Democracy and Development Organization

· ALTSEAN-Burma

· Amnesty International

· Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD)

· Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)

· CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation

· Civil Society and Human Rights Network (CSHRN)

· Committee to Project Journalists (CPJ)

· Community Self Reliance Centre

· Defence of Human Rights Pakistan

· Front Line Defenders

· Human Rights Commission of Pakistan

· Human Rights Foundation

· Human Rights Watch

· International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders

· International Service for Human Rights (ISHR)

· Kashmir Law & Justice Project

· Kazakhstan International Burau for Human Rights and Rule of Law

· KontraS (Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence)

· Korean House for International Solidarity

· Law & Society Trust

· League for the Defence of Human Rights in Iran (LDDHI)

· Madaripur Legal Aid Association (MLAA)

· Maldivian Democracy Network (MDN)

· Odhikar

· Public Association “Dignity”

· Redemption Pakistan

· Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU)

· Reporters Without Borders (RSF)

· Taiwan Association for Human Rights

· Think Centre, Singapore

· WOREC

· World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders

Source: Greenpeace Statement –

This is not the first time Kenyans have had to save Karura Forest, and that is exactly the problem. The government has backed off its plan to establish National Youth Service barracks inside the protected urban forest, following three weeks of community resistance, legal pressure, and public outcry that echoes battles stretching back to the 1990s, when Wangari Maathai bled for these trees. Greenpeace Africa welcomes the decision. But a retreat is not a resolution, and we will not mistake one for the other.

On 21 February, chainsaw operators entered Karura. Trees fell. Heavy machinery moved in. Structures went up. All of it happened inside a protected forest, without consultation with Friends of Karura Forest, without an Environmental Impact Assessment, and without a single agenda item at the Joint Management Committee meeting held just days before. This was not an administrative error. It was a governance failure: deliberate, documented, and part of a pattern.

A road was tarmacked inside Karura overnight. No consultation. Community co-managers went to court. The government backed down. Life moved on. Now trees have been cut and land has been cleared, and once again public pressure has forced a reversal that should never have been necessary. Kenyans should not have to save the same forest twice.

The government cannot simply walk away from this damage. Greenpeace Africa is calling for:

• A full, independent audit of the trees felled and land cleared. KFS claimed no trees were felled, only old stumps removed. Friends of Karura documented over an acre of cleared tree and shrub cover. Someone is not telling the truth. Kenyans deserve to know which version is on the record.
• A binding restoration plan for the affected area. The Karura Participatory Forest Management Plan already commits to removing the Rangers Village from inside the forest and returning that land to indigenous cover. Honor it. Now. Not eventually.
• Accountability for the governance failure. Friends of Karura holds a legal co-management mandate. They were not informed. They were not consulted. This was not an oversight. It was a pattern, and without consequences, it will repeat.
• A guarantee that what was stopped at Karura will not simply continue elsewhere. KFS has confirmed NYS barracks are being built in gazetted forests across the country, including at Ngong Hills. What the government halted under public scrutiny must not quietly proceed under silence somewhere else.

Kenya tells the world it is planting 15 billion trees. It cannot build that credibility with speeches while dismantling it in the forest at night. Climate leadership is not a summit declaration. It is the daily, unglamorous, legally-bound work of protecting what already exists, and ensuring that the communities who did that protecting are never again bypassed by the very institutions mandated to stand alongside them.

Today’s retreat is welcome. The real test begins now.

Greenpeace Africa calls on the Environment CS and KFS Chief Conservator of Forests to issue a full public statement on Karura, including a timeline for site restoration, a commitment to upholding the Joint Management Framework, and a guarantee that Environmental Impact Assessments and community consultation will precede any similar projects in gazetted forests across Kenya.

— ENDS —

For media inquiries:

Sherie Gakii, Communications and Storytelling Manager, Greenpeace Africa, [email protected]  |  +254702776749

Source: Amnesty International –

Responding to the arrest in Norway of humanitarian worker and founder of the NGO Aegean Boat Report, Tommy Olsen, who is being prosecuted in Greece alongside fellow human rights defender Panayote Dimitras, of the NGO Greek Helsinki Monitor, on charges related to their work defending the rights of refugees and migrants, Dinushika Dissanayake Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for Europe said:

“Tommy Olsen’s arrest in Norway is appalling and stems from an alarming escalation of Greece’s crackdown on human rights defenders. Based on information available to Amnesty International, Tommy Olsen and Panayote Dimitras are being prosecuted for their human rights work documenting serious human rights violations committed by the Greek authorities, including pushbacks at sea and land borders.   

“The charges against Olsen and Dimitras are not backed by evidence and are a misuse of anti-smuggling legislation. They should be dropped.  In the absence of any credible efforts from the Greek authorities to stop pushing back refugees and migrants and ensure accountability at its borders, Olsen and Dimitras’s work has proven vital in ensuring that these violations do not go unnoticed.

“It is no surprise that the Greek authorities are seeking Olsen’s extradition. These are the same authorities that pursued an unfounded prosecution against Seán Binder and 23 human rights defenders, leading to seven years of agonizing legal uncertainty. Greece should stop harassing people who report and document violations of refugee and migrants’ rights.

“The Norwegian authorities must immediately release Tommy Olsen and resist attempts by the Greek authorities to extradite him. If he is extradited to Greece, he is likely to be held in pre-trial detention for up to 18 months on baseless criminal charges. Accepting the Greek authorities’ request for extradition is tantamount to accepting that human rights work can be criminalized.” 

Background

Tommy Olsen, a Norwegian national, started Aegean Boat Report as a Facebook page in 2017 sharing information on new arrivals to Greece and cases of distress. It has been an NGO since 2018.

On 11 February, Olsen was informed by the Norwegian authorities of the European arrest warrant issued against him. The warrant follows an investigation opened by the Greek authorities in 2022 against Olsen and Dimitras, on charges including forming and joining a criminal organization, smuggling and facilitation of irregular entry and residence.

In 2020, Amnesty International documented how Greek authorities have misused smuggling charges against human rights defenders. Greek law is inconsistent with the international law definition of smuggling and does not sufficiently protect human rights defenders, rescue workers and others acting with humanitarian aims from punishment or prosecution.

Source: Amnesty International –

Austrian authorities’ responses to people expressing solidarity with Palestinians during Israel’s ongoing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza have resulted in a chilling effect on the right to freedom of expression, said Amnesty International in a new report. Their actions have also resulted in violations of the rights of freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.

‘Freedom of expression is highly selective’: Austria limits expressions of solidarity with Palestinians identifies multiple factors – including undue restrictions on expression, and fear caused by broad allegations of antisemitism against the backdrop of racism, including Islamophobia – that have combined to negatively impact the freedom of expression in Austria for Palestinian solidarity among activists, NGOs, academic institutions and beyond.

In Austria, as in other parts of Europe, there is a risk that antisemitism is being instrumentalized and politicized. 

_{^{Shoura Hashemi, Executive Director of Amnesty International Austria}}

“A significant chilling effect has taken hold and has seriously impacted people’s ability and willingness to express solidarity with the Palestinian people or criticize the actions of the Israeli government in Gaza,” said Shoura Hashemi, Executive Director of Amnesty International Austria.  

“In Austria, as in other parts of Europe, there is a risk that antisemitism is being instrumentalized and politicized. Equating criticism of the Israeli state with antisemitism can result in violations of freedom of expression and shrinking space for critical civil society, and also undermines efforts to combat genuine antisemitism.”     

The report, which included 19 interviews with activists, journalists, NGO representatives and academics, noted how many of these individuals and civil society organizations risked being branded “antisemitic” when they criticized Israel’s violations of international law.   

While anti-Muslim racism has been a long-standing concern in Austria, governmental sources and civil society organizations report that, after October 2023, racist incidents have increased across the country, particularly anti-Palestinian racism. An Austrian-Palestinian person described the shift after October 2023, saying: “There was a huge change with 7 October [2023]…I always have a sense that I have to justify myself when someone talks to me.” Despite recommendations by UN experts, Austria has not established a national action plan to combat racism, including anti-Muslim racism.

Crackdown on protest  

Since the start of Israel’s ongoing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, people in Austria who peacefully protested against the genocide have faced multiple challenges and serious restrictions on their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.   

For instance, the authorities have imposed unlawful restrictions on the right to peaceful assembly in connection with the widely used chant ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free’, and police authorities prohibited at least seven assemblies in Vienna on the grounds that this chant was likely to be used. Furthermore, the chant is subject to a non-public decree issued by the Ministry of Justice. According to the ministry, use of the chant is enough to warrant an initial suspicion of “approval of terrorist offences” and anyone using it could be liable for investigation. Although the chant is used by different groups and has various meanings, the National Strategy against Antisemitism equates the chant with the call to deny the existence of the State of Israel. 

Under international human rights law, any restrictions on the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly must comply with certain criteria, including be provided in a law that is accessible to the public and sufficiently clear and precise. Prohibitions of speech also require demonstrating that it reaches a high threshold and constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence against a target group. 

Over several years, there have been a number of non-binding resolutions passed by the Austrian National Council, as well as the city councils of Vienna and Graz, against the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, some of which have labelled it as antisemitic. However, the European Court of Human Rights has found that a call for a boycott is protected under the right to freedom of expression.   

Although not legally binding, these resolutions are supported by all political parties in parliament and are widely interpreted as authoritative guidance. By labelling BDS antisemitic, the resolutions have negatively impacted the right to freedom of expression, as activists and civil society organizations told Amnesty International that they fear court proceedings, smear campaigns or loss of state funding if they express their support for the BDS movement.    

The instrumentalization of the IHRA working definition of antisemitism  

The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance Working Definition of Antisemitism (IHRA WDA) is not consistent with international human rights law and has been used to restrict legitimate criticism of Israeli government violations of Palestinians’ rights.  

The IHRA WDA has been criticised by UN experts, academics and civil society groups, including Amnesty International, for not being consistent with international human rights law. Amongst other concerns, reliance on the IHRA WDA conflates legitimate criticism of Israel with antisemitism. This risks creating a chilling effect and suppressing freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. There is a danger that it also limits Austria’s policies and efforts to combat antisemitism within the country.  

Although the definition is not legally binding in Austria, it has a significant influence on policy and practice. It is, for example, the applicable understanding of antisemitism in several governmental documents, including policies to address antisemitism in the country. 

Seven of the people interviewed by Amnesty International, including Jewish activists, explicitly identified Austria’s adoption of the IHRA WDA as part of the reason why expressions of solidarity with Palestinians were limited.  

“The fight against antisemitism is essential and must be in line with international human rights law. Only then can there be a shared understanding of the problem, its causes, and effective measures to eliminate it. If not, we risk replacing discrimination against one group with discrimination against another, and fuelling hatred instead of addressing it,” said Shoura Hashemi.  

Shrinking space for expression of solidarity with Palestinians 

The report highlights a shrinking space for expression of solidarity with Palestinians among civil society organizations and academics. Two civil society organizations told Amnesty International that they feared losing state funding if they spoke out against human rights violations committed by Israeli authorities against Palestinians. There have also been several cases of politicians publicly questioning the eligibility of NGOs for state funding as a result of positions that they have taken.    

Equating criticism of the Israeli state with antisemitism can result in violations of freedom of expression.

_{^{Shoura Hashemi}}

“Austrian authorities must adopt a national action plan against racism and end the dissemination of the IHRA WDA through policies and practices.  The decree regulating the ‘From the river to the sea’ chant must be repealed and any restrictions on the right to freedom of expression must comply with international human rights law. Austrian authorities must respect and protect the right to advocate for BDS as legitimate forms of political expression,” said Shoura Hashemi.

Background 

In April 2023, Amnesty International was one of more than 100 organizations calling on the United Nations not to endorse or adopt the IHRA WDA.