Two types of US-made grenade launchers used by Colombian security forces Four weeks of protests have been met by police violence, with dozens of deaths ‘The United States role in fueling ceaseless cycles of violence committed against the people of Colombia is outrageous’ - Philippe Nassif Amnesty International is calling on US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to immediately halt the flow of US weapons and equipment to Colombia after Amnesty verified visual evidence of US-made equipment being used by the Colombian security forces to commit human rights violations against protesters. Amnesty

$735m arms sale announced despite rapidly rising civilian death toll in Gaza Call on UK to conduct ‘full review’ of its weapons sales to region ‘Congress must oppose this sale’ - Philippe Nassif Responding to reports that the Biden administration has approved a $735 million sale of US weapons to Israel, Philippe Nassif, Amnesty International USA’s Middle East and North Africa Advocacy Director, said: “President Biden’s approval of a $735 million offensive arms sale to Israel in the midst of violations of human rights and international humanitarian law perpetrated by Israeli forces and

US to stop supporting Saudi-led operations in Yemen, including the sale of precision-guided munitions Amnesty is calling for all arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the UAE to be blocked ‘Crimes committed with arms sold by the US must be investigated’ - Philippe Nassif Responding to the Biden administration's announcement that the United States will cease support for the Saudi/UAE-led coalition engaged in Yemen, Philippe Nassif, advocacy director for the Middle East and North Africa, said: “As the conflict in Yemen enters its seventh year, it is vital that the United States commits to prioritising

UK set to leave EU system overseeing ban on torture equipment UN meeting today will discuss global regulations needed to combat torture trade ‘The UK’s torture trade controls could be left weakened and diminished in the future’ - Kate Allen ‘It is nonsensical to ban torture while allowing the trade in sinister equipment specifically designed for torture’ - Patrick Wilcken Amnesty International is calling on the UK government to make a formal statement of support for a global ban on the trade in equipment used for capital punishment or torture as the UK leaves the current EU system which

Arms sales to UAE could make US responsible for further civilian deaths in Yemen and Libya Sale would be first since Trump administration weakened arms control protections Ahead of plans by the United States to sell 18 armed aerial drones worth approximately $2.9bn to the United Arab Emirates, Philippe Nassif, advocacy director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International USA, said: “These US drones could be responsible for UAE attacks that violate international humanitarian law, and kill - as well as injure - thousands of Yemeni civilians already bearing the brunt of the one

Most comprehensive report into protests yet, records 89 cases of tear gas use across 34 states, and 21 incidents of unlawful use of pepper spray Tear gas and pepper spray used as ‘first resort tactic’ against peaceful protesters ‘I had a lot of open skin and it was burning for an hour’ - Elena Thoman, Denver Amnesty has called for halt to UK exports of crowd-control equipment to USA Police in the USA committed widespread human rights violations against protesters, medics, journalists and legal observers during Black Lives Matter protests, said Amnesty International today, as it published a new

UK Government insisting previous Saudi violations in Yemen were ‘isolated incidents’ UK has sold around £5bn of arms to Saudi Arabia during bloody Yemen conflict ‘This seems like an attempt to rewrite history and disregard international law’ - Kate Allen Responding to a House of Commons statement today by the International Trade Secretary Liz Truss on UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia, Kate Allen, Amnesty International UK’s Director, said: “This is a deeply cynical move to restart business as usual when it comes to Saudi arms sales. “How the Government can seriously describe a five-year Saudi-led

Interactive map based on open-source research shows police violence in 80% of states Protester in Philadelphia describes police pulling down protesters’ masks, then spraying and gassing them Amnesty has called on UK to halt exports of security and policing equipment to US ‘The time for applying band-aids and making excuses for a few “bad apples” has passed’ - Brian Castner Police forces across the USA have committed widespread human rights violations against Black Lives Matter protesters, Amnesty International said today, as it launched a detailed interactive map of more than 100 incidents of

Saudi state-owned Bahri Yanbu cargo vessel has track record of carrying millions of pounds of weapons to Saudi Arabia Dockworkers’ strike in Italy among planned protests ‘Activists and port workers are on high alert’ - Patrick Wilcken Protests and lawsuits are planned in several European countries this week over fears that a Saudi Arabian state-owned cargo ship - Bahri Yanbu - is due to dock in European ports with a consignment of arms destined to be used in the conflict in Yemen. The Bahri Yanbu, which is due to reach Tilbury Docks on 7 February, has previously ferried tens of millions of

Saudi state-owned ‘Bahri Abha’ arrives at port in Valencia amid concerns Spanish authorities are failing to prevent possible war crimes in Yemen Since Yemen conflict began, same vessel has transported £120m of arms to Saudi Arabia ‘If officials allow this operation, they risk being complicit in the commission of war crimes’ - Alberto Estévez A Saudi Arabian cargo ship has been allowed to enter the Spanish port of Sagunto in Valencia, despite Amnesty International and other NGOs calling on the Spanish authorities to block the vessel’s entry because of fears it may be carrying weapons bound for