Amnesty

The family of a 12-year-old schoolgirl killed by the British Army in 1976 has called for an independent investigation into the death. Majella O'Hare was shot twice on 14 August 1976 in Whitecross, Co Armagh after walking past an army patrol on the way to church with a group of friends.

Former police officer Judith Gillespie has been appointed for a one-year term as the new independent chair on an inter-departmental working group on Mother and Baby Homes, Magdalene laundries and historical clerical child abuse. Ms Gillespie is the third person named as chair of the troubled group,

The PSNI is facing renewed calls to suspend its use of spit hoods following new evidence that they provide no protection from COVID-19 and could in fact increase the risk of infection. The controversial restraint devices were made more widely available to officers at the end of March by Chief C

The introduction of police powers used to fine dozens of Black Lives Matter protesters just hours before the protests began was "purely coincidental", ministers have said. Amnesty International and the Belfast-based Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ) raised concerns earlier this month

Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis has come under pressure to allow same-sex couples in Northern Ireland to have religious marriages and convert their existing civil partnerships to a marriage. Same-sex marriage became legal in Northern Ireland on Monday 13 January under the Northern Ireland (

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

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