A group of Brazilian artists and intellectuals including singer-songwriter Chico Buarque and his wife Carol Proner, have signed a letter for President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to stop buying weapons from Israel. The initiative was also endorsed by Amnesty International (AI) and several far-left political parties who have requested a meeting with the head of state to deliver the note.
Amnesty International has taken out a provocative advert that will appear in 134 countries on the eve of the vote to decriminalize abortion in Argentina. An image of a coat-hanger, a stark symbol long-associated with unsafe and clandestine abortions, will highlight the deadly consequences of the current law, and remind Senators that they have the power to save many lives by voting to decriminalize abortion.
Amnesty International said on Wednesday that residents of Olympic host Rio de Janeiro's slum favelas are living in terror after 11 people were killed in police shootings in the past month. The rights group said at least 307 people were killed by police in the city last year and called on Brazilian authorities to take action in the 100 days ahead of the start of the Rio Games on August 5.
The Argentine chapter of Amnesty International (AI) joined the human rights groups that have criticized the new guidelines unveiled by President Mauricio Macri's Security Ministry to handle protests, saying that it was unconstitutional as it restricts key rights, including freedom of the press by limiting the role of journalists.