Tens of thousands of older women and men from ethnic minorities across Myanmar are being let down by a humanitarian system that fails to adequately address their rights and needs, Amnesty International said in a report published today. The 94-page report, ‘Fleeing my whole life’: Older people’s experience of conflict and displacement in Myanmar, is Amnesty’s first comprehensive investigation into the specific ways older people’s rights and dignity are not respected during armed conflict and crisis, as well in the provision of humanitarian assistance. The report is based on 146 interviews with

Amnesty revokes honour awarded when she languished under house arrest in 2009 Rohingya in Myanmar killed and tortured in campaign of ethnic cleansing 'We are profoundly dismayed that you no longer represent a symbol of hope' - Kumi Naidoo Amnesty International announced today that it has withdrawn its highest honour, the Ambassador of Conscience award, from Aung San Suu Kyi, in light of the Myanmar leader’s shameful betrayal of the values she once stood for. Yesterday, Kumi Naidoo, Amnesty’s Secretary General, wrote to Aung San Suu Kyi to inform her the organisation is revoking the 2009 award

Responding to the arrest of journalists Nayi Min, Kyaw Zaw Linn and Phyo Wai Win in Myanmar today, Tirana Hassan, Amnesty International's Director of Crisis Response, said: “These arrests are yet another alarming assault on press freedom in Myanmar, and demonstrate that the authorities in the country are growing more thin-skinned by the day. They should be released immediately and without conditions. “Journalists have a vital role to play in holding state officials to account and informing the public. These arrests, which came in response to an article criticising financial management by the

Seven Rohingya men were forcibly returned to Myanmar by the Indian government today, putting them at grave risk of being subjected to serious human rights violations, said Amnesty International India. The seven men were named as Mohammad Jalal, Mokbul Khan, Jalal Uddin, Mohammad Youns, Sabbir Ahamed, Rahim Uddin and Mohammad Salam. Aakar Patel, Amnesty India’s Executive Director, said: “Today’s decision by the Supreme Court marks a dark day for human rights in India. “This decision negates India’s proud tradition of providing refuge to those fleeing serious human rights violations. It

Responding to comments by Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi at the World Economic Forum in Hanoi today defending the recent jailing of Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, Amnesty International’s Senior Director of Global Operations, Minar Pimple, said: “This is a disgraceful attempt by Aung San Suu Kyi to defend the indefensible. “To say that this case had ‘nothing to do with freedom of expression’ and that Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo ‘were not jailed for being journalists’ is a deluded misrepresentation of the facts. “These two men were convicted under a draconian, colonial-era law that was

World leaders’ failure to act has allowed the Myanmar security forces’ perpetrators of crimes against humanity to remain at large for a year after their murderous campaign against the Rohingya prompted an exodus of epic proportions, Amnesty International said today. More than 700,000 Rohingya women, men, and children fled from northern Rakhine State to neighbouring Bangladesh after 25 August 2017, when the Myanmar security forces launched a widespread as well as systematic assault on hundreds of Rohingya villages. The onslaught came in the wake of a series of attacks on security posts by a

Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Australia must take a strong stand against ongoing ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya people in Myanmar as they meet this weekend, Amnesty International has said. Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s State Counsellor and de facto political leader, is expected to attend the first ever ASEAN-Australia Summit, taking place in Sydney on 17 and 18 March. Amnesty has documented how the Myanmar security forces have engaged in a brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing since last August, amounting to crimes against humanity. James Gomez, Amnesty

Responding to news that UN officials have called for approximately £720 million in assistance for the huge numbers of Rohingya refugees currently in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar, Biraj Patnaik, Amnesty International’s South Asia Director, said: “The money is urgently needed to help the Rohingya refugees to be able to live in safe and adequate living conditions in the camps in Bangladesh. This is not a short-term crisis and there is little prospect of them being able to return to their homes in Rakhine any time soon. “As the monsoon season looms, there is a great risk of landslides and floods