The number of domestic abuse crimes recorded by police in Northern Ireland have reached a 15-year high. There were 18,640 domestic abuse crimes recorded by the PSNI between 1 April 2019 and 31 March 2020, an increase of 15 per cent on the previous year and the highest figure recorded since the start
Amnesty
Concerns have been raised that contact tracing apps designed to track the spread of coronavirus will not work north and south of the Irish border. Amnesty International has written to the entire Northern Ireland Executive to clarify its plans for a COVID-19 tracking app, with the UK government promo
Patrick Corrigan, Northern Ireland programme director at Amnesty International, argues against a return to "business as usual" after the coronavirus pandemic is over. Amid the rising death toll, the dangers faced by our front line workers and the wider dislocation for a society dealing with COVID-19
New measures allowing women in England to take abortion pills at home during the coronavirus pandemic should be extended to Northern Ireland, campaigners have said. The Department of Health in England yesterday confirmed that it would press ahead with previously withdrawn plans to allow women in Eng
New regulations allowing for access to abortion in Northern Ireland on request in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy have been laid in Parliament. Abortion will also be available up to 24 weeks where continuing the pregnancy would risk injury to the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman or gi
Internet giants Facebook and Google pose a systemic threat to human rights because of their "surveillance-based business models", Amnesty International has warned in a new report. The human rights group's Surveillance Giants report argues that the companies "control the primary channels that people
Human rights activist Ellen Murray will deliver Amnesty International's annual Belfast Pride lecture this year on the theme of transgender rights. Ms Murray is executive director of not-for-profit organisation TransgenderNI and an international trans human rights consultant focusing on healthcare an
Amnesty International has welcomed a recommendation from the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee that compensation for victims of Historical Institutional Abuse (HIA) should progress as quickly as possible through Parliament. A redress scheme was one of the key recommendations of the Historical Insti
Amnesty International Ireland has joined groups calling for the possession of drugs for personal use to be decriminalised by the Government. It is to add its support to the Ana Liffey Drug Project’s campaign, backed by civil groups and politicians.
Freedom of the press in Northern Ireland is “at risk”, Amnesty International has warned, as two investigative journalists face further police questioning related to their award-winning film about state collusion in the killing of civilians. Trevor Birney and Barry McCaffrey were arrested
Amnesty International has welcomed a report calling on the UK Government to legalise same-sex marriage in British Overseas Territories (OTs) as strengthening the case for legislation in Northern Ireland. The House of Commons foreign affairs committee has called for all OTs to legalise same-sex marri
The Iranian authorities carried out a "shameless" campaign of repression during 2018, crushing protests and arresting thousands in a wide-scale crackdown on dissent, said Amnesty International. The organization has today revealed new figures showing the extent of the Iranian authorities’ repre
Human rights activists, trade unionists and students have called on the UK government to legislate to allow same-sex marriages to take place in Northern Ireland. In a statement released to coincide with the two-year anniversary of the collapse of devolution yesterday, Amnesty International, Stonewal
The absence of devolved government in Northern Ireland has left human rights "trapped in political limbo", Amnesty International has warned. The human rights group has released a statement to mark the two-year anniversary of the collapse of the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2017.