Amnesty International launches 2017 report highlighting conflict, poverty, refugee crises News
Amnesty International launches 2017 report highlighting conflict, poverty, refugee crises

Amnesty International (AI) launched its 2017 Report [text, PDF] Thursday, highlighting human rights issues in 159 countries and territories across the world. The report recognizes conflict, poverty, refugee crises and discrimination.

In a foreword, AI Secretary General Salil Shetty called attention to the millions across the world experiencing what he refers to as “the bitter fruits of a rising politics of demonization.”

“As we enter the year in which the Universal Declaration of Human Rights turns 70, it is abundantly clear that none of us can take our human rights for granted.”

Shetty called out the military campaign of ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya people in Myanmar and the 655,000 refugees resulting.

“2017 also demonstrated the enduring willingness of people to stand up for their rights and for the values they want to see in the world. New and severe threats gave fresh oxygen to the spirit of protest,” said Shetty.

The report highlights the election of Donald Trump, and his campaign comments that were “discriminatory or otherwise contradicted international human rights principles.” It then points to a number of executive orders signed by Trump, as well as the administration’s policies regarding refugees and migrants, women’s rights, counter-terror and security, excessive use of force, gun violence, and the death penalty, including his call for a wall along the US-Mexico border, allowing for forcible return, and the increased detention of asylum-seekers and their families, prioritized deportation of migrants, and canceled funding for “sanctuary cities” that did not co-operate with federal authorities.