January, 07 2019, 11:00pm EDT
Failure to Raise Human Rights During Pompeo Visit to Gulf Could Risk Increased Abuses
WASHINGTON
Amnesty International USA has sent a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo regarding his current tour of the Middle East, with visits to Jordan, Egypt, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Kuwait. Philippe Nassif, advocacy director for Middle East North Africa, issued this statement:
"While Secretary Pompeo holds talks with the leaders of countries in the Gulf, the United States continues to transfer arms to Saudi Arabia, despite the devastating civilian suffering caused by the Saudi-led coalition's air strikes in Yemen. This brazen disregard for human rights and humanitarian law must not continue.
"Pompeo must act on this opportunity to improve the US record on human rights in the Gulf. We urge him to place basic rights at the heart of these meetings by pledging to halt arms transfers to the Saudi-led coalition, as well as condemning the persecution of human rights defenders for peacefully expressing dissent and speaking in support of freedom of the press. Failure to raise these issues would embolden states in the Gulf to continue trampling human rights."
Amnesty International is calling for the release of human rights defenders across the region including Nabeel Rajab in Bahrain, blogger Raif Badawi in Saudi Arabia, and Amal Fathy, imprisoned for her criticism of the Egyptian government.
The letter is available in full here.
Amnesty International is a global movement of millions of people demanding human rights for all people - no matter who they are or where they are. We are the world's largest grassroots human rights organization.
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The president-elect's advisers are reportedly discussing plans to shrink or eliminate key bank watchdogs, including the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
Dec 13, 2024
President-elect Donald Trump and his advisers are reportedly considering plans to weaken—or abolish altogether—top bank regulators, including the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
The Wall Street Journalreported Thursday that members of Trump's transition team and the new Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency have asked nominees under consideration to head the FDIC and OCC if the bank watchdogs could be eliminated and have their functions absorbed by the Treasury Department, which is set to be run by a billionaire hedge fund manager and crypto enthusiast.
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"The next recession starts here," tech journalist Jacob Silverman warned in response to the Journal's reporting.
Eric Rauchway, a historian of the New Deal, wrote that "even Milton Friedman appreciated the FDIC," underscoring the extreme nature of the incoming Trump administration's deregulatory ambitions.
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