Thursday, June 30, 2016

June 2016: Amnesty Insider - HIGHLIGHTS and ACTIONS

Amnesty International

INTERIM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S NOTE

Government leaders must prioritize human rights, and I was proud to take that message to the leaders of the U.S., Canada, and Mexico this week in Ottawa. I joined the heads of Amnesty International sections from Canada and Mexico in meeting with senior officials in all three governments in advance of an annual summit of the three countries' leaders.

On behalf of 2 million Amnesty International supporters in Mexico, Canada, and the United States, we’re calling on the three countries’ leaders to make concrete commitments to protecting human rights. In particular, we’re urging them to do more to protect refugees—and to immediately end the detention of immigrant children. Nearly half of the world’s forcibly displaced people are children. Since the beginning of 2016, more than 39,000 unaccompanied children from El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, and Honduras have arrived at the U.S. border without parents or other adults. In many cases, these children are being put into prisons in the U.S., without access to any assistance or even translators, and then deported weeks or months later—sent back into the extremely dangerous conditions they were fleeing.

We're fighting to protect those children—and to protect the rights of all refugees and migrants. Hundreds of thousands of Amnesty International supporters are demanding that government leaders do more, while we're also engaging in direct advocacy with key decision-makers. We won't stop until every person's human rights are fully protected. Please take action to join us.

In solidarity,
Margaret Huang

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