This report to document state by state the situation of human rights around the world. With more than come with 159 countries in this years report we have been able to identify some very common themes that were seeing across the globe. One of these is the worrying rise in state sponsored discrimination and hate, which we have seen here in the United States as well. But a more promising theme is that we are also seeing rising levels of activism, which is exactly what Amnesty International is all about. Im very pleased today to be able to introduce my three colleagues from the Global Human Rights movement who are all ready to talk about the report and the important work that Amnesty International is doing. First, are secretarygeneral, salil shetty would give an overview of the report and the key themes that amnesty is highlighting this year. Next my colleague erika gueverarosas who is the americas director for amnesty, will speak to some of the human rights themes in our hemisphere including the United States. And then our third speaker, tirana hassan, director of our crisis work, will be able to speak to amnestys work on the rohingya as well as the situation in syria and any other crises that have been rising over the last several weeks and the last year. Id like it might each of you that this launch today is actually part of an embargo effort. The report will not be released until 1201 eastern time so as that you do not live stream, you do not tweet or post online to social media, that you hold your stories until 1201 tonight. Thanks for being here again and ill head over to salil. Thank you all for joining us this morning. So when youre ago millions of people, not just in the United States, but across the world, were watching anxiously to see what a Trump Presidency would yield. After an Election Campaign of hateful and xenophobic and sexist rhetoric. They were also looking with trepidation across europe where intellectual races in france, netherlands, austria and germany were showcasing some of the rhetoric and the cynical use of fear and hatred. Combined with already harsh crackdowns and identitybased violence in many countries, it was a bleak outlook. A year later we take stock, and what we find that in 2017 to a very alarming extent, sadly, the hateful rhetoric crossed into hateful reality. In the usa we saw the reinstatement of the global gag rule, depriving millions of women and girls worldwide of vital healthcare. The travel bans and that mainly muslim countries, the dramatic cutback on Refugee Resettlement numbers leaving thousands more in limbo, and a new climate of permissiveness for xenophobia and hatred arising from President Trumps failure to condemn it when he saw it. Battling hatred and fear against all whole groups of people based on who they are ultimately these only in one direction. When leaders fostered or turned a blind eye, the endgame is horrific and literally fatal. In 2017 was on no clear example than the Myanmar Military campaign of ethnic cleansing against the rohingya population. Led by the general, which drove more than 600,000 women, men, and children to flee in terror. It was arguably the biggest human rights story of 2017, but a story with its roots in years of hatred and systematic discrimination against the rohingya. The rising rhetoric of hate translated into horrific realworld consequences. That is the bad news from 2017. But theres also a lot of encouraging news. 2017 showed us what happens when people mass in great numbers to said that they will not accept the injustices they face. Rather than capitulate to marriages of fear, ordinary people clamored for justice, breathing new life into longstanding struggles and igniting a new era of social activism. Theres no better example of that than what weve seen with the kids in this country standing up against gun violence in the last few days. They refuse, the children were talking about, refused to accept what is unconscionable, should be the status quo. From the huge womens march is especially here in washington, d. C. To the widespread protests which started over food prices and corruption in iran, and from the mass mobilizations for judicial freedom in poland, to the thousands braving teargas and bullets campaigning against food and medical shortages in venezuela, peoples determination to seek justice burn brightly across the world. As margaret mentioned this is the first time Amnesty International is launching our annual report on the state of the world human rights in the United States of america. The reason is simple. In 2017 the usa figured prominently on both sides of the ledger. Significant and serious new threats to human rights that huge resistance. What happens here in the u. S. Has great resonance around the rest of the world. Its very important for us to remember that we cant view it happen in 2017 and whats whats happening in the world today as a simple equation of unprincipled leaders versus peoples powerpack across the world the values of human dignity, equality and human rights are hotly contested in our public squares, and on the internet, which is the modern public square. We saw the womens march in d. C. But we also saw charlottesville. We saw the staunch defense of the judicial in poland but we saw a rally which included calls for a muslim holocaust. So the hatred and fear in our public here has not gone away. Faced with a permissive climate for hatred and leaders were ready to throw we peoples rights, dignity and equality, those were willing to stand for justice and human rights are a critical line of defense. They often pay a heavy price, none more so than the 120 People Killed in protests in venezuela, the 312 or more human rights defenders who have been killed in 2017, or the countless facing smears and intimidation. But above all, 2017 brings into sharp focus the urgency of principal and Ethical Leadership in the world. The great Abraham Lincoln famously said that, and im sure we can apply the same to women, and i quote, nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a a mans character, ge him power. The lesson from 2017 is that fear and hatred is a a recipe r nothing but violence. 2018 need to leaders prepare to tackle the challenges from refugees to protecting human rights defenders, to the precarious nature of many peoples access to basic services, instead simply deflecting responsibility through blame it. We need leaders who are unafraid to stand for and defend the values of human rights, dignity and equality. As people have shown up by rising up again and again in 2017, we cannot afford for these values simply to be thrown away. The cost of humanity is far too high. We can and must do better than this. Thank you very much, and i will invite erika to. Thank thank you, everyone. Good morning. My name is erika gueverarosas and the board to talk about the u. S. Policies impact on Latin Americans greater the region is expensive one of the worlds worst regression climates. We are the region with the highest rates of homicide around the world. We are the most unequal region of the world but also this is the consequence in many ways of the u. S. Policies that are affecting the ability of people around the continent to exercise human rights. The alarming concern for human rights in our election of donald trump has proven to be wellfounded fear President Trump wasted little time in putting his antirights rhetoric and discrimination and xenophobia into action, including by signing a series of executive orders that are threatening the human rights of millions at home and abroad. But some specific concerns about the impact of these u. S. Policies in relation to latin america, the caribbean have included the immigration and refugee policies and practices such as the many president ial orders that have been suspending refugees settlement program. With increasing numbers of people from central america, mexico and other countries in the region seeking protection due to the generalized violence and the failures of the states to protect them. The executive order on poor borr security and Immigration Enforcement improvements and a series of other measures are allowed also the force of return of people as well as the increase of the unlawful mandatory detention of asylumseekers and separation of families that are affecting thousands of Central Americans and mexicans that are trying to cross the border in seek of protection. But also what is going to have a serious implication in the geopolitics of the immigration refugee policies in the region is the end of the humanitarian programs known as the temporary protected status which allows thousands of salvadorans, haitians and nicaraguans who have lived in the country leader for many years as one of the reverses edges of immigration policies intended to provide protection to people playing manmade and natural disasters in many countries of the region. These thousands of peoples are among the nearly 1 Million Immigrants who lives in the United States, whose lives in the United States have been offended and said to have a deadline under President Trump of the largest group, nearly 700,000 immigrants who were protected under the deferred action for childhood arrivals known as daca are set to begin losing temporary work permits in march, in a few weeks, and 12 of the 15 Top Countries of origin for daca beneficiaries are in the latin american and caribbean region. But if the threat from war between us and its reporter was not to create hostility towards the southern neighboring countries, President Trump had rhetoric against venezuela and cuba are providing the perfect excuse for dictatorial leaders to justify grave violations of human rights and national approaches to control people sleep in venezuela in particular what people are facing the worst human rights crisis in the countries recent history, the rhetoric of trump against venezuela is ruling government has not just infuriated president maduro but also providing him with a perfect excuse to justify serious Human Rights Violations such as arbitrary detentions, torture and attacks on civilians. But also women and girls are expecting already a very fine consequences as regression on rights. Trumps extreme restrictions on womens and girls access to Sexual Reproductive Services have had a notorious impact on lives of millions of women in the region and elsewhere in the world. He restated and expanded the global role, restricting almost 8 billion and u. S. Foreign and funding aid for International Programs that provide even mention abortion. He decided a United NationsPopulation Fund as a leading Global Maternal Health that provides pregnancy care to lowincome low income women in 150 countries. And it latin america alone were experts estimate that almost 800,000 women are treated annually for complications of unsafe abortion, President Trumps stint of putting that just many lives at risk but also are creating a regression context in which countries now are proposing new restrictions to law and practices to ensure that women and girls are not accessing sexual reproductive rights that are needed in their lives. So of course crisis after crisis shook us to the ground, they also inspired many to race in the region taken some of these policies so we see the womens march in many countries in latin america opposing to some of these policies and opposing have governments are justifying these new u. S. Foreignpolicy towards latin america precisely to commit some of the worst atrocities against the population. So im going to pass the mic to tirana hassan who will speak with some of the crisis or entering some of people in other parts of the world. Thank you. Thank you, erika. Before we launch into talk about 2017, i wanted to just share with you a comment that was sent to us from eastern guida. As unit eastern eastern guida is outside damascus in surrey and is being bombarded relentlessly over the last few days. Its been described probably as one of the worst stages through his scene in the war. A pediatrician that parking spoke to said the situation in eastern guida is worse than words can say. We have been lacking the basics of five years, but today its even worse. Why do i Start Talking whats happening today when where affecting on 2017 . Because this is a direct consequence of the paralysis that has plagued the International Community in 2017. When it comes to conflict, crisis and mass atrocities, we had seen zero moral or legal leadership coming from the International Community. 2017 was of the year, 690,000 rohingya, that is pretty much the population of washington, d. C. , fled their homes when the army army with income the Myanmar Military went in guns of blazing setting their homes on fire, killing their relatives, raping their women, they fled when youre living in squalid conditions in camps that are like small cities. 2017 was the year that 470,000 people were living, not living, surviving under siege in syria, and 90 of those people are in eastern ghouta. 2017 was the year that hospitals, markets, civilian homes or bond in yemen without consequence. Bombed. In 2017 was the year that the International Community could have done it differently. Mass atrocities played out in real time. We couldve done something about it, but they didnt. The messages that we have heard when we have taken the evidence from syria, from yemen, from myanmar to the Security Council of the United Nations, to the Human Rights Council has been that the capitals are telling us to keep our heads down, or, this might not be the right time to engage on the rohingya issue with myanmar. It seems abhorrent that the International Community, when you look back at 2017, and they look at how they could have prevented mass atrocities, how they couldve responded to crimes against humanity, they will not look back and draw any lessons from this. They will look back and they will see that they were part of the drafting at some of the darkest chapters in modern history. I was on the border with myanmar in bangladesh in the first weeks when the rohingya were fleeing. They were coming across, it was, in droves. It was scenes of people fleeing of biblical proportion. And amongst the sea people that came out when there was a woman, and she arrived holding just what she could carry. She had three of her children, two of her children were still missing. She never wanted to leave myanmar, and the first thing she said was, and i want to go back. She wanted to go back when she was safe. She wanted to go back when she would be recognized as a citizen of myanmar and as a rohingya. She wanted to go back when she could send her children to school and live safely and with dignity. None of those things are unreasonable. None of those things are not doable. None of those things justify the paralysis that we are seeing amongst the International Community when responding to their current Rohingya Crisis. There are solutions and it is clear that without ordinary people in capitals, in countries, in communities who will push their world, push their leaders to take action on the International Stage, then were going to continue to see people suffer because of this paralysis. We live in a time when crimes against humanity are being beamed into our homes in real time, and this demands real action. There must be a comprehensive arms embargo imposed on militaries that continue to kill civilians, to bomb hospitals, and it needs to happen now and it needs to happen against the militaries and the countries who are serial offenders to these crimes. 2017 hot us that without consequences and accountability, where crimes will go unabated and civilians, including women and children, the elderly, people with disabilities will not only suffer, they will die. 2017 taught us one other thing, and that is that outrage and condemnation is not enough. Without concrete action from world leaders, the message that they are sending is no longer never again. It is again and again, and this is unacceptable. Thank you. We are going to do two things now. One is that it want to just give a quick recap of the main messages, particularly for the cameras, and also to do what we traditionally do which is to officially launch the report, holding up the report. You are welcome to join me, all of you. So to hold up the reports, please. Thank you. Is that good . So let me just restate for the purpose of those of you, youve heard a lot of different messages, let me just recap very quickly, so the main message from a report of 2017 is that the world suffered the terrifying consequences as hate and divisive rhetoric moved into policies and actions, and these consequences have been directed and hugely negative on women, refugees, minorities, those without a voice here at the same time governments mainstream hateful and divisive politics and the attacks on Vulnerable People got normalized. The good news is that people across the world, ordinary people, particularly youth, stood up to five for the own freedoms and for the freedoms of others. And we have huge number of examples to both talk about how governments have been so brazen in the