Gun violence: Be careful in America, Amnesty International warns Nigerians, others

Global rights group, Amnesty International, has issued a travel
advisory for Nigerians and other foreigners travelling to the
United States of America amid the incessant cases of gun violence
and mass shootings.

According to AI, persons travelling to the US should exercise
caution and have an emergency contingency plan.

It asked visitors to avoid crowded places including shopping
malls, churches and cultural events.

The rights group said depending on your gender, skin colour and
ethnic background, you may be at a higher risk of being targeted
with gun violence and should plan accordingly.

The advisory read, “The Amnesty International travel advisory
for the country of the United States of America calls on people
worldwide to exercise caution and have an emergency contingency
plan when travelling throughout the USA.

“This travel advisory is being issued in light of ongoing high
levels of gun violence in the country. Depending on the traveller’s
gender identity, race, country of origin, ethnic background or
sexual orientation, they may be at higher risk of being targeted
with gun violence and should plan accordingly.”

The rights group said under international human rights, the US
has an obligation to enact a range of measures at the federal,
state and local levels to regulate access to firearms and protect
the rights of people.

AI, however, accused the United States Government of failing to
take appropriate steps to curb gun violence

According to the World Bank, Nigerians constitute the highest
number of Africans in the US.

Ironically, the US has been issuing travel advisories against
travelling to many parts of Nigeria over insecurity.

Following the spate of mass shootings in the US, many countries
have issued travel advisory against travelling to the US.

The Japanese Embassy in the US released a statement on Sunday
calling the United States a “gun society” and urging Japanese
nationals to stay alert after the Dayton shooting.

Some other countries that have issued similar travel advisories
against the US include: The Bahamas, New Zealand, Venezuela and
Uruguay.

The US has the 28th-highest rate of deaths from gun violence in
the world, according to a 2017 report by the University of
Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation.

Four or more people have been killed in a mass shooting in the
US every 47 days since June 2015, a Washington Post analysis
found.

The Nigerian government has, however, refused to issue similar
advisories.

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