Thousands of people were detained in quarantine centres for alleged violations of a mandatory quarantine imposed in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. There were reports of precarious and insanitary conditions in these centres, as well as arbitrary detentions and excessive use of force. The...

States in the Americas must address the closure of civic space in the region, end repressive policies and respond to the social demands of the population of the region, said Amnesty International today in an open letter to heads of state attending the 53rd General Assembly of the Organization of...

Salvadoran authorities have systematically committed grave human rights violations since a state of emergency and numerous legislative amendments were approved in March 2022, supposedly to tackle gangs, said Amnesty International today. This policy has resulted in more than 66,000 detentions, most...

•     The number of migrant children crossing the dangerous Darien Gap between Colombia and Panama on foot hit an all-time high, with UNICEF counting 32,488 children from January to October.

Reacting to the signing of a communiqué by more than 30 countries in Costa Rica today calling for international law including prohibitions and regulations in relation to the development and use of autonomous weapons systems, Amnesty International’s Secretary General Agnès Callamard said: “The...

In order to fight inequality and discrimination, governments in the Americas must adopt all measures necessary to ensure full enjoyment of economic, social, and cultural rights in the region, Amnesty International said today in an open letter to the heads of state who will attend the 52nd General...

El Salvador’s gangs have inflicted nothing but misery on the population. For 30 years, people have lived in fear of being extorted, kidnapped, raped, or murdered by members of MS-13 or Barrio 18 – rival groups that were founded in Los Angeles and later exported to El Salvador through mass...

Under the current state of emergency, the Salvadoran authorities have committed massive human rights violations, including thousands of arbitrary detentions and violations of due process, as well as torture and ill-treatment, and at least 18 people have died in state custody, Amnesty International...

In response to a court ruling in El Salvador that sentenced a woman to 30 years in prison for aggravated homicide after suffering an obstetric emergency, Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International, said: “This sentence is a travesty of justice. Suffering an obstetric emergency...

Thirty days after El Salvador’s Legislative Assembly approved a state of emergency in the country in response to reports of rising gang-related killings, and in light of the renewal of this measure on Sunday, Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International said: “Over the last 30...

Amnesty International published an open letter to President Nayib Bukele today, expressing concern about the actions of the Salvadoran authorities in response to the dramatic increase in homicides reported last weekend. “The drastic rise in homicides has made it clear that public security...

Instead of addressing deep-seated socioeconomic inequalities to deliver a fair recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, states across the Americas waged a sustained assault on the defence of human rights in 2021, targeting peaceful demonstrators, journalists, human rights defenders and civil society...

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) will examine the widespread unlawful surveillance using Pegasus spyware against journalists and civil society in El Salvador at a hearing on Wednesday. Amnesty International, Access Now and Citizen Lab will provide expert opinion at a hearing....