Category: MIL-OSI

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Thailand: Extradition of Montagnard activist to Viet Nam places him at grave risk of torture

Source: Amnesty International –

Responding to the extradition of Montagnard and Ede Indigenous human rights defender Y Quynh Bdap from Thailand to Viet Nam, Amnesty International’s Thailand Researcher Chanatip Tatiyakaroonwong said:

“This extradition is a grave failure of Thailand’s human rights obligations. Sending an Indigenous activist back to a country with a well-documented pattern of torture and discrimination against Montagnards puts Y Quynh Bdap in serious danger.

“Vietnamese courts have a long track record of convicting activists in proceedings that fall far short of international fair trial standards. By handing Y Quynh Bdap over to the very authorities he fled on the basis of a conviction obtained through an unfair trial, Thailand has violated one of the most fundamental protections in international law.

“Following the return of Uyghurs to China earlier this year, this is the second time Thailand has blatantly returned people to their countries despite risks of grave human rights violations despite a domestic law prohibiting torture and non-refoulment that came into force in 2023.

“Thai authorities must ensure safety and protection for all those fleeing persecution – including Indigenous and religious minorities from Viet Nam – rather than putting them at risk of harm.”

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Oil and gas Britain becomes world’s largest economy to end new oil and gas exploration Commenting on the government’s North Sea Future Plan, in which it has confirmed that no more licences for new oil and gas will be issued, Greenpeace UK’s co-executive director, Areeba… by Phil Richards November 26, 2025

Source: Greenpeace Statement –

Commenting on the government’s North Sea Future Plan, in which it has confirmed that no more licences for new oil and gas will be issued, Greenpeace UK’s co-executive director, Areeba Hamid, said: 

“Britain has just made history. Closing the door to new exploration marks the beginning of the end of oil and gas in this country. By standing firm on its manifesto promise, the government has shown genuine global climate leadership, making the UK the world’s largest economy to call time on new fossil fuel exploration. This is a major milestone.

“Oil and gas production has driven both the climate and energy price crises, leaving us all paying through the nose while fossil fuel giants have pocketed billions. But the winds are changing. The future of Britain’s energy is and needs to be clean, stable, home-grown renewables – not expensive, volatile, climate-wrecking fossil fuels.

“However, the current plan – and the cash – to support North Sea workers doesn’t go far enough. It’s vital they are at the heart of Britain’s transition to a clean-energy superpower, not left behind by it – but a £20mn jobs package doesn’t cut the mustard. A fair transition will create thousands of new jobs, strengthen communities, and prove that climate leadership and economic security can go hand in hand.”

ENDS
Contact: Greenpeace UK Press Office – press.uk@greenpeace.org or 020 7865 8255

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UK: Palestine Action judicial review a chance for ‘disproportionate’ proscription to be reversed

Source: Amnesty International –

A three-day judicial review of the Government’s decision to proscribe Palestine Action begins today

Amnesty International UK and Liberty are intervening in the case

‘The proscription of Palestine Action was an enormous overreach of the UK’s terrorism powers and should never have happened’ – Kerry Moscogiuri

The UK government’s decision to proscribe Palestine Action was a disproportionate misuse of the UK’s terrorism powers and should be overturned, Amnesty International UK said, ahead of the three-day judicial review hearing that begins today (Wednesday 26 November).

The proscription of Palestine Action as a “terrorist group” came into effect on 5 July 2025. Since then, more than 2,200 arrests have been made under terrorism legislation and 254 people have been charged with terrorism offences solely for participating in peaceful protests.

Amnesty and Liberty are acting as interveners in the case and will argue that the proscription of Palestine Action represents a substantial departure from established responses to protest movements which use direct action tactics and breaches Articles 10 & 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights – which protect freedom of expression and freedom of assembly and association. 

Kerry Moscogiuri, Amnesty International UK’s Director of Campaigns and Communications, said:

“The proscription of Palestine Action was an enormous overreach of the UK’s terrorism powers and should never have happened.

“The UK has a deeply flawed and overly broad definition of terrorism which human rights monitors including Amnesty International have been warning about for years. Palestine Action’s proscription only serves to highlight that those warnings were justified.

“The consequences of the proscription decision have been chilling. Over the past four months, organisations have been silenced and thousands of people have been arrested for sitting peacefully with placards saying they support Palestine Action.

“The Government must wake up and realise that the world is watching, and that people are extremely disturbed by the erosion of protest rights in the UK.”

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Cuba: The State represses women human rights defenders

Source: Amnesty International –

The Cuban government must put an end to institutional gender-based violence against women human rights defenders, journalists, and activists, Amnesty International said today as it launched its new report “They Want Us Silent, But We Keep Resisting: Authoritarian Practices and State Violence Against Women in Cuba.”

Amnesty International is calling on the Cuban authorities to end authoritarian practices and state gender-based violence against women human rights defenders. The report reveals that the Cuban state has implemented a systematic pattern of repression targeting women engaged in activism, journalism, and human rights defence. Such practices include arbitrary detention, unlawful surveillance, unjust criminalisation, enforced disappearance, and other forms of institutional violence — all within an environment marked by impunity for human rights violations and a lack of judicial safeguards.

“Women defenders in Cuba are punished not only for speaking out, but also for being mothers, journalists, and community leaders,” said Ana Piquer, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for the Americas. “The state wields gender-based violence as a tool of repression — seeking to break their dignity, their families, and their collective strength,” she added.

“The state wields gender-based violence as a tool of repression — seeking to break their dignity, their families, and their collective strength,”.

Ana Piquer, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for the Americas.

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Millions stranded as conflict and aid cuts in South Sudan drive surge in suffering – Oxfam

Source: Oxfam –

Donors provided lowest aid funding ever in 2025, since country created in 2011 

Almost 6 million people – nearly half of the population – in South Sudan are experiencing acute hunger, with little access to clean water or sanitation as funding cuts have stripped away vital humanitarian support just as it is needed the most, Oxfam warned today. 

Massive aid cuts have forced humanitarian programmes to significantly scale down, while the number of people in need of support has soared. More than 2 million people are currently displaced due to conflict across the country and widespread flooding; with over a million people fleeing the civil war in neighbouring Sudan.   

This year, South Sudan has seen the least amount of funding ever provided by donors since the country was created in 2011. With only a month of the year left, the country’s $1.7 billion emergency Humanitarian Need and Response Plan for 2025 is less than 41 per cent funded.  

In Renk, one of the country’s most densely populated and vulnerable towns where up to 1,000 people are arriving at transit centres every day, Oxfam is being forced to scale down its operations there by 70 per cent over the next month. Unless new funding is secured by February, Oxfam will have to shut down its operations there entirely.  

Shabnam Baloch, Oxfam’s South Sudan Country Director, said: “These aid cuts are catastrophic for the millions of people already grappling with extreme hunger and disease. We are now confronted with the heartbreaking reality of having to scale back our humanitarian response and in Renk, potentially have to close entirely in less than three months. It is as though the world is turning its back on those who need help the most, at the very moment when their survival hangs in the balance.”  

Many people who have fled the deadly conflict and hunger in Sudan are living in the border town of Renk, where communities are grappling with multiple health crises. Currently, there is only one clean water tap for every 433 people in one transit centre – almost half the accepted humanitarian standard. 

New cases of cholera, acute watery diarrhoea and Hepatitis E continue to be reported, with 450 (35 per cent) hospitals or health clinics either closed or severely disrupted.  

A recent Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report for South Sudan found that nearly 6 million people are experiencing acute hunger; this includes nearly 1.3 million people with very high acute malnutrition and an increased mortality rate. The report forecasts that these figures will worsen, reaching 7.5 million people in crisis by April next year. Oxfam warns there is a significant risk of many more being tipped into catastrophic levels of hunger as support continues to be removed. 

Maria, a returnee from Sudan said: “Few organizations are now operating, unlike before when there were many. Now there is poor sanitation and hygiene, many water taps no longer work. We fear for the fact we no longer see the help we had before. Households are now minimising the amount of water they use, and we could see a worse situation where there is little or no water at all. Yet water is life.” 

Oxfam is also concerned that the huge cuts to humanitarian assistance are directly translating into increased vulnerability and heightened protection risks for women and girls.   

Baloch said: “Desperate families will be forced to turn to harmful coping mechanisms if they are unable to get any support. Awful consequences, such as child marriage or sending women and girls to forage for resources in unsafe areas, where they risk exposure to sexual violence and exploitation. 

“We urge International donors not to forget what is happening in Sudan and the knock-on impact on South Sudan, where millions of vulnerable people could be left to starve or face a rapid spread in disease if the vital lifeline of aid is not urgently restored.” 

Ends 

Notes to editor: 

UN OCHA’s Financial Tracking Service shows the Humanitarian Need and Response plan (HNRP) for South Sudan, with requirements and funding gaps each year since 2011 (Please see table below) 

The World Food Programme announced last week a near $400m funding shortfall for the next six months and the impact of cuts 

Oxfam is currently supporting 44,000 refugees and returnees in Renk with clean water, and sanitation services. Among them are more than 9,000 people residing in Transit Centre 2 (TC2), where water, sanitation, and hygiene conditions are already critically overstretched. UNHCR and IOM data shows the number of people arriving each day. 

The IPC analysis on South Sudan was published on 4 November 2025  

The humanitarian standard for the number of people per tap of clean water is generally set at a maximum of 250 people per tap. In the transit centres in Renk, there are just 30 functioning clean water taps for 13,000 people. 

Year  HNRP Needs (USD in millions)  Funded (USD in millions)    % 
2011  619.7  379.2  61% 
2012  1,176.90  787.6  67% 
2013  1,072.00  771.9  72% 
2014  1,801.80  1,594.40  88% 
2015  1,635.50  1,064.90  65% 
2016  1,291.10  1,162.70  90% 
2017  1,639.70  1,167.70  71% 
2018  1,717.90  1,207.50  70% 
2019  1,507.40  1,138.60  75.53% 
2020  1,899.90  1,235.90  65.05% 
2021  1,677.80  1,220.90  72.77% 
2022  1,699.60  1,288.50  75.81% 
2023  2,055.90  1,156.30  56.24% 
2024  1,788.80  1,255.70  70.20% 
2025  1,694.80  683.6  40.80% 

 

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IAEA Convenes Forum in Manila to Advance Nuclear Solutions to Plastic Pollution

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) –

Mary Albon, IAEA Office of Public Information and Communication

The role of nuclear science and technology in helping countries tackle the global challenge of plastic pollution is the focus of a major IAEA event that opened today in Manila. The International High Level Forum on NUTEC Plastics will showcase concrete results achieved by this flagship initiative launched by the IAEA in 2020. 

Hosted by the Government of the Philippines from 25 to 26 November, the forum will highlight progress, identify challenges and chart a course for the future of NUTEC Plastics. The opening ceremony of the event was attended by the President of the Philippines, President of the Asian Development Bank and Director General of the IAEA. 

“NUTEC Plastics embodies the kind of innovation we need — solutions that merge advanced nuclear applications with environmental protection and translate scientific progress into tangible benefits for industry and society. Our scientific institutions here in the Philippines have embraced this challenge, building on the strength of international scientific cooperation,” said Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., President of the Philippines, in his keynote address.

“NUTEC Plastics is driving innovation in monitoring plastics in the ocean and in turning plastic waste into useful products,” said IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi. “Looking at plastic pollution from the atomic level allows us to understand microplastic pollution and its movements through marine ecosystems, which supports well-informed policy decisions to deal with it. And by using irradiation we can reduce the amount of plastic waste by turning it into valuable products like building materials.”

“To solve a problem of this scale, science must be paired with financing and policy,” said Masato Kanda, president of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) at the forum’s opening session. “Here in the Philippines, ADB is planning a $1 billion program to develop a sustainable and resilient blue economy. Complementing this, we are harnessing digital solutions to simulate the flow of plastic pollution in the Pasig River to help rejuvenate this important waterway. We are also deepening our collaboration with the IAEA across the board: from food security to energy transition.”

NUTEC Plastics presently works with 53 countries to improve plastic recycling and develop bio-based plastics, and with 102 countries to monitor marine microplastic pollution. 

The forum brings together government officials, scientists, policy makers and representatives from the private sector, international financial institutions and multilateral organizations from across Asia and the Pacific and beyond. 

A ministerial segment will spotlight how countries are tackling plastic pollution, setting the stage for solutions-driven discussions. Representatives of international and regional organizations such as the United Nations Environment Programme, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization and the Asian Development Bank will also share their insights and expertise. Adding to the momentum, young experts will take the floor to share their perspectives on how nuclear science can help turn the tide on the plastic pollution crisis. The event is broadcast live here.

The Global Scourge of Plastic Pollution

Every day, the equivalent of 2000 garbage trucks full of plastic are dumped into the world’s oceans, rivers and lakes.  Every year, 19-23 million tonnes of plastic waste leaks into waterways, disrupting habitats and livelihoods. Since plastic is not biodegradable, it breaks down into ever smaller fragments, which eventually degrade into microplastics. Microplastics can easily infiltrate into ecosystems and the food chain through water, air and soil.

By 2050 global plastic production is expected to almost triple to 1.1 billion tonnes. Meanwhile, less than 10% of the 7 billion tonnes of existing plastic has been recycled.

NUTEC Plastics: Nuclear Solutions for Plastic Upcycling

Radiation can transform plastic waste into durable, high value materials and products. It can also create biodegradable bio-based plastics as an alternative to conventional petroleum-based plastics. The High Level Forum will identify challenges to scaling radiation technologies for upcycling and propose strategies to overcome them.

To date, eight countries have NUTEC upcycling projects underway in cooperation with commercial partners. Argentina, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines are at the forefront in demonstrating the feasibility of using irradiation to recycle plastic waste to produce construction materials, industrial additives, railway ties and other durable products. These countries have already tested prototype processes and are moving toward pilot-scale industrial production. 

To support the commercialization of radiation-assisted upcycling, the IAEA has released three tools for measuring plastic circularity, identifying the level of technological maturity and calculating the economic feasibility of integrating electron beam technologies into plastic recycling. Countries can also use the IAEA’s new transportable electron beam system for research and development, training and demonstration activities.

Monitoring Marine Microplastics

Nuclear and related techniques can be used to track the movement and behaviour of microplastics in the marine environment, identify their sources and analyse their degradation processes.

NUTEC Plastics equips laboratories worldwide with the technology and expertise needed for sampling, analysing and monitoring marine microplastic pollution. The initiative has already trained more than 400 scientists worldwide through the IAEA’s technical cooperation programme, and its Global Marine Monitoring Network, which connects more than 100 laboratories, is harmonising global monitoring protocols.

The High Level Forum will highlight progress and identify challenges and opportunities in these areas and showcase new tools for microplastic monitoring.

“We’ve come a long way, but there’s still a lot to do,” concluded Director General Grossi. “The IAEA cannot do this alone: I invite governments, international organizations, research institutes, private enterprises and donors to join us in this exciting next phase of the fight against plastic waste.”

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Crise humanitaire au Soudan du Sud : des millions de personnes bloquées alors que le conflit et la réduction de l’aide aggravent les souffrances.

Source: Oxfam –

Les donateurs ont fourni le financement le plus faible jamais enregistré en 2025, depuis la création du pays en 2011.

Près de 6 millions de personnes, soit près de la moitié de la population, souffrent d’une grave crise de la faim au Soudan du Sud et ont difficilement accès à l’eau potable et à des installations sanitaires, les coupes budgétaires ayant privé la population d’une aide humanitaire vitale au moment même où elle en avait le plus besoin, a averti Oxfam aujourd’hui.

Les coupes massives dans l’aide ont contraint les programmes humanitaires à réduire considérablement leurs activités, alors que le nombre de personnes ayant besoin d’aide a explosé. Plus de 2 millions de personnes sont actuellement déplacées en raison du conflit qui sévit dans tout le pays et des inondations généralisées ; et plus d’un million de personnes ont fui la guerre civile au Soudan voisin.

Cette année, le Soudan du Sud a reçu le montant le plus faible jamais versé par les donateurs depuis la création du pays en 2011. À seulement un mois de la fin de l’année, le plan d’aide humanitaire d’urgence pour 2025, d’un montant de 1,7 milliard de dollars, est financé à moins de 41 %.

À Renk, l’une des villes les plus densément peuplées et les plus vulnérables du pays, où jusqu’à 1 000 personnes arrivent chaque jour dans les centres de transit, Oxfam est contrainte de réduire ses opérations de 70 % au cours du mois prochain. À moins que de nouveaux financements ne soient obtenus d’ici février, Oxfam devra mettre fin à toutes ses opérations dans cette ville.

Shabnam Baloch, directrice nationale d’Oxfam pour le Soudan du Sud, a déclaré : « Ces réductions de l’aide sont catastrophiques pour les millions de personnes qui sont déjà confrontées à la faim aiguë et à la maladie. Nous sommes aujourd’hui confrontés à la réalité déchirante de devoir réduire notre réponse humanitaire et, à Renk, de devoir potentiellement fermer complètement nos opérations dans moins de trois mois. C’est comme si le monde tournait le dos à ceux qui ont le plus besoin d’aide, au moment même où leur survie est en jeu. »

De nombreuses personnes qui ont fui le conflit meurtrier et la famine au Soudan vivent dans la ville frontalière de Renk, où les communautés sont confrontées à de multiples crises sanitaires. Actuellement, il n’y a qu’un seul robinet d’eau potable pour 433 personnes dans un centre de transit, soit près de la moitié de la norme humanitaire acceptée.

De nouveaux cas de choléra, de diarrhée aqueuse aiguë et d’hépatite E continuent d’être signalés, 450 (35 %) hôpitaux ou cliniques étant fermés ou gravement perturbés. 

Un récent rapport de la Classification intégrée de la sécurité alimentaire (IPC) pour le Soudan du Sud a révélé que près de 6 millions de personnes souffrent de faim aiguë, dont près de 1,3 million de personnes souffrant de malnutrition aiguë très grave et d’un taux de mortalité accru. Le rapport prévoit que ces chiffres vont s’aggraver, atteignant 7,5 millions de personnes en situation de crise d’ici avril prochain.

Oxfam avertit qu’il existe un risque important que de nombreuses autres personnes soient plongées dans une crise de la faim catastrophique à mesure que l’aide continue d’être supprimée.

Maria, une rapatriée du Soudan, a déclaré : « Peu d’organisations sont encore actives, contrairement à avant où elles étaient nombreuses. Aujourd’hui, les conditions d’hygiène et d’assainissement sont mauvaises, de nombreux robinets ne fonctionnent plus. Nous craignons de ne plus bénéficier de l’aide dont nous disposions auparavant. Les ménages réduisent désormais leur consommation d’eau au minimum, et nous pourrions voir la situation empirer, avec peu ou pas d’eau du tout. Pourtant, l’eau, c’est la vie. »

Oxfam s’inquiète également du fait que les coupes drastiques dans l’aide humanitaire se traduisent directement par une vulnérabilité accrue et des risques de protection plus élevés pour les femmes et les filles. 

M. Baloch a déclaré : « Les familles désespérées seront contraintes de recourir à des mécanismes d’adaptation néfastes si elles ne peuvent obtenir aucune aide. Cela aura des conséquences terribles, telles que le mariage des enfants ou l’envoi de femmes et de filles à la recherche de ressources dans des zones dangereuses, où elles risquent d’être exposées à des violences et à l’exploitation sexuelles.

Nous exhortons les donateurs internationaux à ne pas oublier ce qui se passe au Soudan et les répercussions sur le Soudan du Sud, où des millions de personnes vulnérables pourraient être laissées à elles-mêmes et mourir de faim ou être confrontées à une propagation rapide de maladies si l’aide vitale n’est pas rétablie de toute urgence. »

Notes aux rédactions :

Le Service de suivi financier de l’OCHA des Nations unies présente le plan d’aide humanitaire et d’intervention (HNRP) pour le Soudan du Sud, avec les besoins et les déficits de financement pour chaque année depuis 2011 (voir tableau ci-dessous).

Le Programme alimentaire mondial a annoncé la semaine dernière un déficit de financement de près de 400 millions de dollars pour les six prochains mois et l’impact des coupes budgétaires

Oxfam soutient actuellement 44 000 réfugiés et rapatriés à Renk en leur fournissant de l’eau potable et des services d’assainissement. Parmi eux, plus de 9 000 personnes résident dans le centre de transit 2 (TC2), où les conditions d’approvisionnement en eau, d’assainissement et d’hygiène sont déjà extrêmement précaires. Les données du HCR et de l’OIM montrent le nombre de personnes arrivant chaque jour.

L’analyse IPC sur le Soudan du Sud a été publiée le 4 novembre 2025.

La norme humanitaire pour le nombre de personnes par robinet d’eau potable est généralement fixée à un maximum de 250 personnes par robinet. Dans les centres de transit de Renk, il n’y a que 30 robinets d’eau potable en état de fonctionnement pour 13 000 personnes.

Année Besoins du HNRP (en millions de dollars américains) Financement (en millions de dollars américain) %
2011 619.7 379.2 61%
2012 1,176.90 787.6 67%
2013 1,072.00 771.9 72%
2014 1,801.80 1,594.40 88%
2015 1,635.50 1,064.90 65%
2016 1,291.10 1,162.70 90%
2017 1,639.70 1,167.70 71%
2018 1,717.90 1,207.50 70%
2019 1,507.40 1,138.60 75.53%
2020 1,899.90 1,235.90 65.05%
2021 1,677.80 1,220.90 72.77%
2022 1,699.60 1,288.50 75.81%
2023 2,055.90 1,156.30 56.24%
2024 1,788.80 1,255.70 70.20%
2025 1,694.80 683.6 40.80%
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Tunisia: Conviction of human rights defenders confirms criminalization of civil society work

Source: Amnesty International –

Responding to news that the Tunis Court of First Instance convicted human rights defenders Mustapha Djemali and Abderrazek Krimi yesterday evening, and released them due to the time already served after they have spent more than 18 months in arbitrary detention, Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, Sara Hashash said: 

“Their release is a huge relief for families who will be celebrating being reunited with their loved ones after more than 18 months in arbitrary detention. However, it is still outrageous that Mustapha Djemali and Abderrazek Krimi have been detained and now convicted for their humanitarian work for the Tunisian Council for Refugees. These two human rights defenders and humanitarian workers have been arbitrarily detained and subjected to a bogus criminal investigation, simply for doing their jobs. Their organization was carrying out essential work assisting refugees and asylum seekers in partnership with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the Tunisian authorities.

These two human rights defenders and humanitarian workers have been arbitrarily detained and subjected to a bogus criminal investigation, simply for doing their jobs.

Sara Hashash, Deputy Regional Director for MENA

“Mustapha Djemali, 81, and Abderrazek Krimi, 61, should never have been investigated, let alone prosecuted. Providing shelter and assistance to people at risk is a human rights imperative. The charges against them, including ‘forming an organization’ to ‘assist the clandestine entry’ of migrants, are a misuse of anti-smuggling laws to stifle civic space. This verdict sends a chilling message to human rights defenders and organizations working in Tunisia, suggesting that they risk arrest and imprisonment for fulfilling their mandate.

“This case is a stark example of the wider crackdown by Tunisian authorities on civil society and the rights of refugees and migrants, marked by arbitrary arrests, racially discriminatory practices, and xenophobic rhetoric. The authorities must quash the conviction.

“The Tunisian government must respect its obligations under international law, including the rights to freedom of association and expression. Instead of criminalizing human rights defenders, the authorities must enable them to carry out their vital work free from any fear of reprisal, arrest or prosecution.”

Background

Mustapha Djemali and Abderrazek Krimi are respectively the founder and project manager of the Tunisian Council for Refugees (CTR), a Tunisian NGO which worked with the UNHCR and Tunisian authorities to pre-register asylum seekers and provide essential assistance to those in precarious situations. Police arrested them in Tunis on 3 and 4 May 2024.

On 24 November, the Tunis Court of First Instance sentenced them to two years in prison, while suspending the remainder of their sentence after taking into account the 18 months in pre-trial detention already served. They were released last night. The court acquitted the three other CTR staff also on trial. A fourth employee had his appealed his indictment and is not being tried yet. Tunisian authorities have increasingly escalated their crackdown on human rights defenders and independent non-governmental organizations (NGOs) through arbitrary arrests, detention, asset freezes, bank restrictions and court-ordered suspensions. 

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Nigeria: Generation of children at risk of missing out on education in the north

Source: Amnesty International –

The Nigerian authorities’ persistent failure to address the repeated abductions of school children and teachers in several parts of northern Nigeria is putting the education of a generation of children at risk, said Amnesty International, following the indefinite closure of 20,468 schools across seven states in the wake of last week’s mass abduction in Niger state.

Since the abduction of the Chibok school girls in April 2014, at least 15 mass abductions of school children have been documented by Amnesty International, highlighting the authorities’ consistent failure to protect children and teachers from attacks and guarantee access to education. Authorities continue to fail to ensure justice and accountability for all the previous mass abductions.

“What we are witnessing right now in the northern part of Nigeria is an assault on childhood and an utter failure to guarantee the safety and security of school children and teachers. It is not only school children that are unsafe. Hundreds of towns and villages have for many years endured frequent attacks by gunmen,” said Isa Sanusi, Director Amnesty International Nigeria.

“The Nigerian authorities are grossly failing in their constitutional and international human rights obligations to protect lives.

“This failure by the authorities to promote and ensure the security and safety of the population constitutes a serious breach of their human rights obligations, including under the Nigerian Constitution and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights to which Nigeria is a state party.

“Many abducted children and teachers are never released by their abductors. The possibility of abduction is forcing millions of children to abandon education, while underaged girls are having their education terminated and forced into marriage as a means of avoiding abduction at school. This is a devastating blow to years of efforts to boost enrollment in schools in the educationally disadvantaged parts of northern Nigeria.”

What we are witnessing right now in the northern part of Nigeria is an assault on childhood and an utter failure to guarantee the safety and security of school children and teachers.

Isa Sanusi, Director Amnesty International Nigeria

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Ukraine: Peace plan must not compromise on justice or accountability

Source: Amnesty International –

Reacting to reports that a draft US-backed peace plan to end Russia’s ongoing war of aggression in Ukraine is under intense discussion, Amnesty International’s Secretary General, Agnès Callamard, said:

“The news that comes out of Ukraine every day is of constant tragedy and suffering for its people. Yet, the Ukrainian people continued to display courage and resilience in the face of Russia’s crimes.  

Amnesty International urges negotiators to ensure that human rights and victims-focused justice are at the heart of any agreement.

Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General

“Any credible prospect of an end to Russia’s war of aggression is welcome. However, a durable end to the fighting should not come at any price – especially if the cost of guns going quiet is amnesty and impunity for those who have committed aggression and other crimes under international law, or a compromise on the fundamental principles of the rules-based order.  

“Amnesty International urges negotiators to ensure that human rights and victims-focused justice are at the heart of any agreement. Nobody should suffer any further human rights abuses as the result of any peace deal, all ongoing violations must end now, and victims must receive remedy for their suffering. Russia should immediately return all the children it has forcibly transferred from Ukraine and release all the Ukrainian captives it is holding unlawfully, many of whom have been disappeared.  Peace deal or no peace deal, such matters are urgent and must be non-negotiable.”