Obama’s Burden

Obama’s Burden - Human Rights in the United States

Taser Abuse Human Rights for Katrina Survivors | Individuals at Risk: Criminal Justice | Individuals at Risk: Conscientious Objectors | Other

Human rights don't start at the water's edge there's urgent work to be done here at home.

Amnesty International works to protect human rights in the United States. Amnesty International combats Taser abuse, works towards rebuilding New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, and advocates for individuals at risk.

Taser Abuse Since June 2001, more than 334 individuals in the United States have died after being struck by police Tasers. AI is concerned that Tasers are being used as tools of routine force, rather than as weapons of last resort. Rigorous, independent, impartial study of their use and effects is urgently needed. Learn more

Human Rights for Katrina Survivors Thousands of New Orleans residents are still displaced over two years after the human rights disaster of Hurricane Katrina. Due to a dearth in affordable housing stock, and with the majority of public housing still shuttered and facing demolition, long-term healthy alternatives remain elusive for those who wish to return. Individuals at Risk: Criminal Justice

Amnesty International campaigns against violations of individual human rights at every stage of the U.S. criminal justice system. Current cases include Gary Tyler, the Angola Two, and the Jena Six. Learn more

Individuals at Risk: Conscientious Objectors

In recent years, more soldiers are refusing to participate in the war and occupation in Iraq. They have applied for conscientious objector (CO) status, which would allow them exemption from participation in war. However, the US government has denied most of these petitions, denying the freedom of thought, conscience and religion guaranteed by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. These men and women become prisoners of conscience. Learn more

Other Domestic Human Rights Issues

Racial profiling has impacted nearly 32 million people in the United States. When law enforcement uses race as a proxy for criminal suspicion, it puts all of us at risk, especially among recent rises in hate crimes and social and economic discrimination.

There are more than 2,000 child offenders serving life without parole (LWOP) sentences in U.S. prisons for crimes committed before they were age 18.

Policies of the US government have become increasing focused on tracking and persecuting individuals expressing their right to free expression, disregarding longstanding US and international law guaranteeing that right.

Action Center

Tell Congress to help humanitarian workers get into Gaza and to suspend all transfers of weapons to Israel

20 days into the Gaza crisis and the humanitarian crisis there gets worse each day. 398 women and children are dead, another 4700 injured, 750,000 lack access to water and one million are without electricity.Protect Civilians in DRC

The situation in the DRC remains on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe. The priority at the moment is reinforcing the capacity of the UNs peacekeeping force, MONUC, to protect civilians and to ensure people have access to humanitarian assistance. At least 250,000 civilians, most of them women and children, were displaced by recent fighting. These people are in a desperate situation, without sufficient food, water, medical supplies or shelter.Improve healthcare for Native American and Alaska Native women

The Indian Health Service (IHS) is the principle and in some areas, sole provider of health services for Native American and Alaska Native people. Despite its prevalence, IHS continues to lack consistent protocols and resources for treating sexual assault survivors. Join the AIUSA Stop Violence Against Women campaign and help break down the barriers for Indigenous women overcoming crisis.
Call on investors: stand up for human rights in Darfur

Press investors in Sudans oil industry to follow the lead of companies like Morgan Stanley and T. Rowe Price to take a stand for the people of Darfur.
Help Pass the International Violence Against Women Act (S. 2279)

The International Violence Against Women Act (I-VAWA) integrates women's rights into diplomatic and foreign aid efforts. The bill increases economic and educational opportunities for women and girls, while combating negative social norms. Please ask your Senator to co-sponsor I-VAWA.
Help Pass the International Violence Against Women Act (HR 5927)

The International Violence Against Women Act (I-VAWA) was introduced in April 2008 by House Foreign Affairs Chairman Howard Berman. I-VAWA, among other goals: (1) promotes access to education for women, (2) integrates anti-violence work across U.S. foreign assistance and diplomatic efforts, and (3) supports overseas womens organizations working to prevent violenceInvestigate and prosecute military contractors who torture, kill

Jamie Leigh Jones was reportedly drugged, gang-raped and imprisoned in a container by fellow KBR co-workers in 2005 while working in Iraq on a U.S. Defense Department contract. Like the Abu Ghraib torture victims who still have not seen justice after more than four years, the abuse Jones says she suffered at the hands of private contractors over two years ago has not seen the light of a criminal trial.USA: Help Hold Private Military and Security Contractors Accountable for Human Rights Abuses

Employees and individual contractors of US government contracted companies are alleged to have abused, tortured and killed people in areas including Iraq and Afghanistan, but not a single one has been brought to justice. Tell Congress to demand accountability of contractors in the "war on terror."
Call on Chevron to address the human rights of Amazon communities

For over four decades, Indigenous communities have witnessed multinational oil companies cut through their ancestral lands in search of the country's vast petroleum resources. According to the report "Amazon Crude", Texaco alone was responsible for dumping 19 billion gallons of toxic wastewater into the region contaminating the drinking water of Ecuador's Amazon communities.Microsoft: Don't Assist Human Rights Abuses!

Amnesty International is concerned about the ways Microsoft may be aiding the repression of freedom to information and expression in China. According to recent reports, Microsoft's search engine blocks searches under key words such as "freedom", "democracy", "human rights", "Falun Gong", and "demonstration", among others. Users of Microsoft Spaces are also prohibited from using these and other words on the weblogs they create.