Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: Amnesty International –

Amnesty International condemns the massacre that took place during the night of 23–24 August in Kenscoff, near Port-au-Prince. At least 47 people were killed and 22 injured, according to the United Nations, while dozens of people were reportedly abducted. Those attacked reportedly included people displaced by violence who had sought refuge in a church.

“Sadly, we are once again witnessing another massacre in Haiti. This is a reminder of the devastating human cost of the absence of effective policies to protect the population. We urge the Haitian authorities and the international community to redouble their efforts to protect people from the escalating violence by armed gangs. Anyone suspected of criminal responsibility for these killings, abductions and other serious human rights abuses must be identified and brought to justice in fair trials,” said Astrid Valencia, Deputy Regional Director for Research for the Americas at Amnesty International.

Sadly, we are once again witnessing another massacre in Haiti. This is a reminder of the devastating human cost of the absence of effective policies to protect the population.”

Astrid Valencia, Deputy Regional Director for Research for the Americas at Amnesty International.

“The reinforcements and security operations announced by the government must prioritize the protection of the population and of those who have been abducted, and must be carried out in full compliance with human rights,” reiterated Astrid Valencia, Deputy Regional Director for Research for the Americas at Amnesty International.

The reinforcements and security operations announced by the government must prioritize the protection of the population and of those who have been abducted, and must be carried out in full compliance with human rights.”

Astrid Valencia, Deputy Regional Director for Research for the Americas at Amnesty International.

“The abduction of people and threats to their lives further aggravate an already horrifying situation. Armed gangs must immediately and unconditionally release all those they have abducted and put an end to killings, abductions and other attacks against the population. The Haitian authorities must take all measures within their power, in full compliance with human rights, to protect the lives and physical integrity of those being held.

“The Haitian population has the right to live without the constant fear of being killed, abducted or forced to flee their homes. As we have repeatedly warned following other massacres, including those in Cité Soleil, Labodri and Petite-Rivière de l’Artibonite, there will continue to be a serious risk of further loss of life unless urgent and sustainable measures are taken to protect communities and break the cycle of violence and impunity. The international community must provide urgent and sustained support to the Haitian authorities so that they can fulfil their obligation to protect the population and ensure justice for these crimes,” concluded Astrid Valencia.

For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact [email protected] 

Source: Amnesty International –

Responding to reports that Meta has reached a settlement of approximately $18 billion, with 47 US states and committed to specific safety-oriented design changes on its social media apps over claims that its platforms caused harms to children, Amnesty International USA’s Deputy Director of Research, Justin Mazzola, said:  

“The settlement is a turning point not just for Meta, but all social media. Social media platforms must now change how they operate and fix their harmful features to protect children and young people.  

“For years, Amnesty International, civil society and harmed individuals have warned that major social media platforms have been designed to maximize engagement and profit, while failing to adequately protect children’s rights.    

“We welcome that Meta has proposed, in the settlement, to make changes to the design of its platforms, as we know addictive features of social media can drive harm to children online. But the changes stop short of a fully safe and rights-respecting platform. For instance, hyper personalized feeds, which Amnesty research has demonstrated can be extremely harmful for children, will remain switched on by default. 

Amnesty International USA’s Deputy Director of Research, Justin Mazzola

“Amnesty has been calling for platform design change for many years. Child safety must be built into platforms from the start, not added as an afterthought once harms are identified. This settlement agreement sends a clear message that social media companies cannot ignore children’s wellbeing and rights and that design changes are the necessary solution. Now, they must continue on this path, taking further steps to fully redesign their apps for child-safety and to respect the rights of all users.”  

Source: Amnesty International –

Following the symbolic delivery of more than 27,000 letters of solidarity to Cuban artist and activist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara in private event at El Espacio 23 in Miami, Amnesty International said: 

“Today, thousands of messages of solidarity finally reached Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara in person. Each letter is a reminder that, even when the Cuban authorities tried to silence and isolate him behind prison walls, people around the world continued to stand with him demanding his freedom. 

Luis Manuel should never have spent a single day in prison for his art, his activism, or for peacefully expressing his views. His freedom today does not erase nearly five years of injustice, nor the fact that he was forced into exile. The Cuban authorities must release all those imprisoned solely for exercising their human rights and guarantee that Luis Manuel can return to Cuba, if he so chooses, without surveillance, threats or reprisals,” said Astrid Valencia, Deputy Director of Research for the Americas at Amnesty International. 

Luis Manuel should never have spent a single day in prison for his art, his activism, or for peacefully expressing his views. His freedom today does not erase nearly five years of injustice, nor the fact that he was forced into exile. ”

Astrid Valencia, Deputy Director of Research for the Americas at Amnesty International. 

Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara is a Cuban artist and activist known for using his art to defend freedom of expression and challenge restrictions on artistic and civic space in Cuba. Designated as a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International, he was sentenced to five years in prison in June 2022 after being arbitrarily detained in July 2021.  After nearly five years unjustly deprived of his liberty, he was released in July 2026 and forced into exile. He is now living in Miami, where he continues his artistic work and advocacy at El Espacio 23. 

The event, hosted at El Espacio 23 in Miami, brought together Luis Manuel, Amnesty International and members of the Cuban artistic, activist and human rights community who have stood with him throughout the years. The gathering also highlighted the essential role of art and solidarity in resisting efforts to silence critical voices and preserving spaces where people can express themselves freely. 

“Bringing Luis Manuel and these thousands of letters together at El Espacio 23 is a reminder of what happens when a community refuses to let an artist’s voice disappear. Miami has always been a place where artists, ideas and people from across Latin America come together,” said Jorge M. Pérez, philanthropist, art collector, and founder of El Espacio 23. “The response to this campaign shows just how deeply his work has resonated beyond Cuba. We’re proud to have Luis Manuel here, where he can connect, share perspectives and be part of a community that believes in the power of art to create conversation and drive change.”  

Bringing Luis Manuel and these thousands of letters together at El Espacio 23 is a reminder of what happens when a community refuses to let an artist’s voice disappear.”  

Jorge M. Pérez, philanthropist, art collector, and founder of El Espacio 23.

The delivery of the letters marks a powerful moment for Luis Manuel and the thousands of people who mobilized for him, but the work is not over. Amnesty International will continue calling on the Cuban authorities to immediately and unconditionally release all those imprisoned solely for exercising their human rights and to end the repression and criminalization of artists, activists, journalists and others who peacefully express dissenting views. 

For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact [email protected] 

Source: Oxfam –

“Oxfam in Nepal is closely monitoring the situation and coordinating with relevant government and humanitarian organisations. Of the three districts currently impacted, Oxfam has an ongoing operational footprint in Dhading and an established mandate to work in Nuwakot and Rasuwa. Oxfam is in contact with partners and other humanitarian organisations to support the emerging needs assessment and understand potential response gaps.

“Given the sudden onset, constrained access and continuing downstream risk, Oxfam is assessing the evolving humanitarian situation and potential response options through established coordination mechanisms. Any response will be locally led through partners, and focus on emergency food, water, sanitation, hygiene and shelter. With particular support to highly vulnerable households.”   

 

Source: Amnesty International –

This week the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) delivered a landmark judgment in the case of prominent Turkish human rights defender, Osman Kavala. 

It denounced the bad faith of Türkiye’s authorities, and ruled that Kavala has been unlawfully imprisoned for almost nine years based on a politically motivated trial. Consequently, the court stated that his criminal conviction must be considered null and void and ordered his immediate release. Unfortunately, this may not happen. 

Türkiye has already defied two previous binding rulings from the court in his case. And despite pressure from governments, international institutions and campaigners – Amnesty International declared Kavala and his six co-defendants prisoners of conscience in 2022 – Turkish authorities have continued to flagrantly obstruct justice, with very little consequence. 

The case is emblematic of how the judiciary has been weaponized in the crackdown against real and perceived dissent. In what became known as the “Gezi Park trial”, Kavala was detained in 2017. Along with his co-defendants, he was first acquitted in February 2020. Soon after, the judges who acquitted them faced disciplinary proceedings. Instead of being released, Osman Kavala then faced new charges based on the same ‘evidence’. Despite the failure of prosecuting authorities to provide substance to the baseless charges laid against him, in April 2022 he was sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. At that point he had already been imprisoned for four and a half years. 

This part of a wider ongoing authoritarian crackdown which has seen concerted efforts to crush political opposition, silence dissent, and limit the space for civil society

Stefan Simanowitz, Amnesty International

Others facing politically motivated prosecutions are similarly languishing in prison. Selahattin Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ, former leaders of the People’s Democratic Party, are unlawfully deprived of their liberty despite ECtHR rulings ordering their immediate release. Taner Kılıç, Amnesty Türkiye’s Honorary Chair, was tried alongside İdil Eser, the organization’s former Türkiye director and nine other human rights defenders, known as the Istanbul 10, on baseless allegations of “membership of a terrorist organization”. Every single one was eventually acquitted but the chilling effect of their treatment is felt to this day. 

Their treatment is part of a wider ongoing authoritarian crackdown which has seen concerted efforts to crush political opposition, silence dissent, and severely limit the space for civil society to act. 

Last month, as Türkiye marked the tenth anniversary of the attempted coup, it was hard not to reflect on how the decade-long, roll back of rights has deeply impacted Turkish society, hollowing out key institutions, shutting down critical voices and spreading fear. 

While Türkiye’s state of emergency introduced in the wake of the coup attempt lasted two years, its lifting merely ushered in a new phase of repressive measures by the authorities in which many emergency provisions were integrated into ordinary law. A raft of repressive legislation has targeted civil society, with the independence of the judiciary compromised, domestic courts weaponized and binding international court decisions ignored, treaties abandoned and standards trampled on. 

As the mass arrests of hundreds of people in the days before last month’s NATO summit and the four-month long first hearing in the trial of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, and 413 other defendants, demonstrate, the assault on rights is unrelenting.  İmamoğlu faces a possible mind-boggling 2,352 years in prison if found guilty. 

The rights to freedom of peaceful assembly, association and expression have come under sustained attack through arbitrary restrictions and blanket bans, while law enforcement officials subject peaceful protesters to unlawful force, ill-treatment, and even alleged torture.  For two years after the coup attempt, Turkiye gained the ignominious title of the world’s biggest jailer of journalists. 

In March 2025, 45 members of Saturday Mothers/People – relatives of victims of enforced disappearances in the 1980s and 1990s – were acquitted in a criminal case brought against them for their 700th peaceful vigil in 2018. Restrictions on the group’s weekly vigils in Istanbul continue despite binding Constitutional Court rulings for them to be lifted.

The NATO summit in Ankara on 7/8 July was accompanied by a 13-day blanket ban on protests. More than 200 people including lawyers, academics and activists, were held in pretrial detention ahead of the summit. In March 2025, hundreds of young people were detained and criminalized for protesting the detention and subsequent remand in pretrial detention of Istanbul Mayor and opposition presidential candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu. 

Kavala’s case is a litmus test for the European system of human rights protection

Stefan Simanowitz, Amnesty International

More than ten years after the failed coup attempt and more than 13 years since the Gezi Park protests, the distance that Türkiye has travelled along the authoritarian path is starkly clear. This direction is reversable. But the Turkish authorities have made clear that they do not intend to shift their path. As a result, the European Convention system for human rights protection now faces a defining test. Despite the previous two ECtHR rulings, the Council of Europe has yet to take meaningful action to ensure Türkiye’s compliance with the court’s judgments by releasing Osman Kavala.  If Türkiye fails to implement the court’s third judgment the Council of Europe’s very purpose of upholding human rights would be dangerously undermined.

The Committee of Ministers (the Council of Europe’s decision-making body), charged with supervising execution and compliance with ECtHR judgments, has adopted various decisions calling for Kavala’s immediate release. In the face of such serious and continuous lack of compliance, the Council of Europe, including its Parliamentary Assembly and Secretary General, need to take every necessary measure and use all appropriate tools available to secure the implementation of these judgments to ensure that Osman Kavala and others who are detained for politically motivated reasons are finally released from prison. The Council of Europe and its member states must recognize and address the implications of Türkiye’s failure to implement these judgments, which threatens to seriously undermine the Convention system. 

Osman Kavala’s case is a litmus test for the European system of human rights protection. Populations and their governments and institutions must resist and help reverse the deteriorating rights situation in Türkiye.  

This article by Amnesty International’s Stefan Simanowitz, first appeared here in the EU Observer

Source: Amnesty International –

A counterterrorism law enacted in Kuwait in the wake of Iranian strikes on the Gulf, following the unlawful US-Israeli attacks on Iran, contains overly broad and vague provisions that threaten the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, association and movement, while significantly expanding the scope of the death penalty, Amnesty International said today. 

On 15 March 2026, the Emir of Kuwait issued Decree-Law No. 47 of 2026 on Combating Terrorism Crimes, which adopts an overly broad and vague definition of ‘terrorist’ acts. The counterterrorism law forms part of a sweeping package of legal and judicial measures introduced in March 2026 shortly after the Iran war began in the name of “countering terrorism”. Measures include the establishment of a specialized prosecution branch and specially designated courts for terrorism-related charges, as well as significantly expanding the scope of the death penalty for “terrorist acts.”  

National security must not be used as a justification to trample on rights and expand state powers, and responding to any legitimate threats must be pursued in a manner consistent with international law.

Mahmoud Shalaby, Amnesty International

“National security must not be used as a justification to trample on rights and expand state powers, and responding to any legitimate threats must be pursued in a manner consistent with international law. Kuwaiti authorities introduced counterterrorism legislation that expands the scope of the death penalty and permits punitive and arbitrary restrictions on freedom of movement and association for people who have not been convicted of a crime. The new law further grants authorities dangerous discretion to arrest, prosecute and sentence people for engaging in conduct that is protected under international human rights law, including expression and assembly,” said Mahmoud Shalaby, Regional Researcher at Amnesty International.

“While the introduction of these measures came during a crisis, amid Iranian retaliatory attacks on Kuwait, under international law, states may only derogate from certain obligations in extremely limited circumstances, after formal notification, and certain rights cannot be derogated from under any circumstances, including the right to life and the principle of legality. Kuwaiti authorities must urgently amend the new law to ensure that counterterrorism measures comply with their international human rights obligations. They should also immediately establish a moratorium on the use of the death penalty,” said Mahmoud Shalaby.

Amnesty International reviewed Decree-Law No. 47 of 2026 on Combating Terrorism Crimes, Law No. 106 of 2013 on Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism, Decree-Law No. 51 of 2026 on Designating Criminal Circuits to Hear Cases Concerning Crimes against External and Internal State Security and Terrorist Crimes, and the Kuwaiti Penal Code. The organisation also spoke to two individuals in relation to arrests under the new counterterrorism law, who requested anonymity given well-justified fears of reprisals, amid a wider crackdown on freedom of expression since the US-Israeli unlawful attacks on Iran on 28 February 2026 and Iran’s retaliatory attacks on Gulf states.  

Source: Greenpeace Statement –

SYDNEY, Wednesday 26 August 2026 — New 2026 Sustainability Reports released by supermarket giants Coles and Woolworths this week demonstrate the retailers are failing on their commitments to end deforestation in their supply chains.

Adele Chasson, Nature Policy Lead at Greenpeace Australia Pacific said:

“These so-called sustainability reports are revealing. Despite their public commitments in 2024 and 2025, neither Coles nor Woolworths have taken deforestation-linked beef off their shelves. Meanwhile, bulldozers continue to tear up forests and bushland, pushing wildlife closer to extinction and causing mass toxic runoff to flow into the Great Barrier Reef. Millions of native animals like koalas are losing their homes to beef pastures each year, while the big supermarkets put off action. 

“Australians would be shocked to know that beef on the shelves of our biggest supermarkets could be pushing threatened species to the brink of extinction. Collectively Coles and Woolworths have made more than $2 billion in profits in the last year, profiting from the destruction of wildlife and precious Australian nature. Coles and Woolworths owe it to shoppers to deliver on their promises and end deforestation in their supply chains now.

“As big beef buyers, Coles and Woolworths have an essential role to play in keeping Australia’s unique forests standing. They can help stop the Great Barrier Reef from being poisoned by runoff and protect iconic forest wildlife by taking deforestation off their shelves. It’s time these big companies put their money where their mouths are and follow through on their promise of sourcing and supplying deforestation-free beef.”

Source: Amnesty International –

The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights today delivered a landmark judgment in the case of Osman Kavala, the human rights defender and civil society leader unlawfully imprisoned in Türkiye since November 2017. The Court ruled that Kavala’s continued detention is unlawful and found that his rights to fair trial, freedom of expression and association have been violated. The Court also found that his aggravated life sentence amounts to inhuman and degrading treatment and that the Turkish authorities acted in bad faith by keeping him in detention unlawfully. The Court concluded that he was convicted for the ulterior purpose of punishing and silencing him, and to prevent his human rights work. The Court ordered his release at the earliest possible date and that his conviction be quashed. 

Human rights organisations Human Rights Watch, International Commission of Jurists, and the Turkey Litigation Support Project submitted a joint intervention to the Court on the core rights issues at stake in the case. Amnesty International declared Osman Kavala and his six co-defendants prisoners of conscience in June 2022. 

Today, the ECHR has comprehensively established that Osman Kavala‘s detention for is based on a politically motivated trial

Eve Geddie, Amnesty International

In what became known as the “Gezi Park trial”, Kavala was sentenced on April 25, 2022 to life in prison without parole for “attempting to overthrow the government” alongside co-defendants who received 18-year terms for “aiding the attempt to overthrow the government” during protests in 2013. The Turkish authorities should immediately release Osman Kavala and set aside his conviction in line with both Türkiye’s international legal obligations and the Turkish Constitution, the groups said.

“Today, in its latest ruling, the European Court of Human Rights has comprehensively established that Osman Kavala‘s detention for almost nine years is based on a politically motivated trial,” said Eve Geddie, Director of Amnesty International’s European Institutions Office.  

“Türkiye has defied two previous binding rulings from the Court in his case. This obstruction of justice must end. Türkiye’s authorities, including judicial and prosecutorial, must act to free Osman Kavala immediately and unconditionally.”  

In its latest judgment, the European Court examined the entirety of the Gezi proceedings – in which the prosecution falsely alleged that the 2013 peaceful protests in Istanbul’s Gezi Park were an attempt to overthrow the government. The Court assessed the indictment, the charges, the purported evidence, the trial, the appeals and the conviction against the European Convention on Human Rights’ fair trial guarantees. It found that the entire basis of Kavala’s deprivation of liberty and eventual conviction was ‘a flagrant denial of justice’. The Court also recognized the structural shortcomings which undermine the independence and impartiality of the judiciary in Türkiye and ordered measures be taken to remedy them. 

“Europe’s highest human rights court has confirmed beyond doubt that Kavala’s arrest, detention, prosecution and conviction as part of the Gezi trial was politically motivated and completely flawed from start to finish,” said Ayşe Bingöl Demir, Director, Turkey Litigation Support Project.

“The systemic failures that made possible the violations of his rights since his arrest in October 2017 have been exposed once again.”  

This is the third time the European Court has ruled on Kavala’s situation. In December 2019, the Court found that his detention violated his right to liberty and that it pursued the ulterior purpose of silencing him as a human rights defender. The Court ordered his immediate release. In July 2022, in its second ruling on the case, the Court found Türkiye in breach of its obligation to abide by the 2019 judgment.  

The European Convention system for human rights protection now faces a defining test, the groups said. Despite these rulings the Council of Europe has yet to take meaningful action to ensure Türkiye’s compliance with the Court’s judgments in the Kavala case.  

“Türkiye was among the first states to join the Council of Europe and to become party to the European Convention on Human Rights, thereby agreeing to uphold and protect the rights it enshrines and implement the binding judgments of its Court,” said Temur Shakirov, Director of Europe and Central Asia Programme, International Commission of Jurists.

“It must now honour those obligations, and the Council of Europe needs to act to ensure it does.”  

The Committee of Ministers (the Council of Europe’s decision-making body) is charged with supervising execution and compliance with the Court judgments. In the face of such serious and continuous lack of compliance, the Council of Europe, its Parliamentary Assembly and Secretary General also need to take every necessary measure and use all the appropriate tools available to secure the implementation of these judgments to ensure that Osman Kavala is finally released from prison. The Council of Europe and its member states should recognize the implications of Türkiye’s failure to implement these judgments which represents a serious threat to the effectiveness and credibility of the Convention system.   

Türkiye has defied two previous binding rulings from the Court in his case. This obstruction of justice must end

Eve Geddie, Amnesty International

Council of Europe member states must also keep the Kavala case at the top of their agenda concerning Türkiye and raise compliance with these judgments in clear and unambiguous terms with the Turkish authorities, including by articulating concrete demands for Osman Kavala’s immediate release. 

“Osman Kavala has been unlawfully imprisoned for nearly nine years,” said Aisling Reidy, senior legal adviser at Human Rights Watch.

“The European Court has now demanded his immediate release three times. It is vital that the Council of Europe and its member states act to ensure that the Court’s judgments are respected and that Osman Kavala – finally – is freed.”  

Source: Médecins Sans Frontières –

Dr Nadim Shahariyar (right), deputy hospital director of Kutupalong hospital “Previously, patients usually came in with a single illness and recovered well. Recently, however, children are arriving at our hospital later in the progression of their conditions, often with multiple illnesses and complications.”

© Nazmul Islam/MSF

Nazmul Islam/MSF

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Source: Amnesty International –

Responding to news that Chinese artist Gao Zhen has been convicted of the offence of “slandering China’s heroes and martyrs” and sentenced to three years in prison, Amnesty International’s China Director Sarah Brooks said:

“The lengthy pre-trial detention and, ultimately, decision to convict Gao Zhen and sentence him to the maximum three-year prison term under this offence illustrate the authorities’ determination to deter others from engaging in independent artistic expression.

“No artist should face criminal punishment for creating work that challenges official narratives or encourages critical reflection on history.

“This trial demonstrates how broadly worded and politically motivated laws are used – and worse, in this case, used retroactively – to silence artists, activists and other individuals who dare to express views that differ from those of the Chinese government.”

The repressive outreach of the authorities has extended beyond Gao Zhen himself. His wife and child have not been accused of any crime, yet they have reportedly been subject to harassment and intimidation and have been unable to leave China since his detention.

Brooks added, “The retaliation against Gao Zhen’s family members is a deeply troubling tactic and amounts to a form of collective punishment.

“Gao Zhen’s conviction should be overturned, all charges against him should be dropped, and he should be released immediately and unconditionally. Harassment and threats against Gao Zhen’s family must end, and his wife and child should be allowed to leave the country freely.

“The Chinese authorities must repeal the law on heroes and martyrs unless they can ensure that it is in line with international human rights standards, and must cease criminalizing peaceful expression and artistic creation.”