Jan-Feb 2015Core Action

Dear Amnesty Activists,

Happy New Year! Like many of you, I’ve spent the last few weeks reflecting on the last year of activism, and looking forward to 2015. It’s no surprise that just as the many human rights crises of 2014 didn’t take a break at the end of the year, neither did Amnesty activism - over the past few weeks the number of stories, Facebook statuses, and Tweets that I saw about defending justice and promoting human rights gives me hope. I’m proud to begin another year of building the human rights movement with each of you!

As activists throughout the country continue to raise the call that #BlackLivesMatter, it’s on each of us to take our own action to the next level and transform each moment of crisis and uprising into an unstoppable movement. These next few weeks are crucial to continue building solidarity, push the Department of Justice and the state of Missouri to respect the human rights of all, and to build connections across issues and across borders. From Ferguson to Palestine, from Guantanamo to the Philippines, dignity and justice are at stake, and as we all know, the voices of all of us standing together, amplified by the power of a global movement, will make a difference.

Indeed, our collective power has changed the world, and that’s why I’m also looking forward to seeing each of you at the 2015 Annual General Meeting in Brooklyn, March 20-22, where we’ll celebrate the power of people to build From Moment to Movement. Take a look below at a list of just some of the ways your actions made impact on peoples’ lives, and make your plans to join me in Brooklyn!

In the meantime, we have work to do. This action guide includes important dates, calls to action, and resources that will help you recruit new Amnesty activists, build your group and your network, and change the world. Use these resources to plan public events that will bring people around you together, to educate and activate people in your community, and to connect people who are as passionate about human rights as you are.

This year, we still have enormous work to do, and now is the time to reaffirm our commitment through timely action. Each crisis in your community is a chance to step into leadership. Each crisis around the world is an opportunity to raise a call to action. Each new moment is an opportunity to recommit to a world in which everyone’s dignity matters.

In solidarity,

Rachel O’LearyDeputy Executive Director, Membership Mobilization

January - February: Key Action DatesJanuary 11 13th anniversary of the opening of the Guantanamo Bay detention facility

January 28 Stop Torture solidarity actions

January 23 - February 3 Social media actions for Murad Shtewi

February 3 - February 15 Kufr Qaddum Village action

Looking ahead…March 20-22 Annual General Meeting in Brooklyn, NY

March 27 - April 10 Legislative advocacy weeks

Victories: Building Momentum for Human Rights2014 was marked by huge crisis, but Amnesty activism made a difference. As the world’s eyes shifted between Sochi and Brazil for the Olympics and the World Cup, Amnesty reports and actions shined a light on the conditions faced by far too many in each country. Migrant children languished behind bars at the southwestern border, bombs fell on Gaza, and students in Ayotzinapa disappeared, but each time Amnesty members stood up as a voice for dignity and to keep the spotlight on justice. When Michael Brown was shot and killed in Ferguson, Amnesty was there, and long after the cameras have gone, Amnesty members continue to organize toward a world in which police are accountable and respect human rights.

Your activism changed lives. Here are just a few ways you and your community made a difference over the last year:

· Gao Zhisheng, Prisoner of Conscience in China, was released· Meriam Ibrahim, Prisoner of Conscience in Sudan, was released· Nabeel Rajab, Prisoner of Conscience in Bahrain, was released· Albert Woodfox, in solitary confinement for over 40 years, saw a judge uphold a decision to overturn his conviction· 28 people were transferred out of Guantanamo, lowering the number of detainees to 127· The Senate report on CIA torture was released, marking a critical step toward truth, accountability, and remedy for the many victims and survivors

Each Amnesty action you take makes a difference. Each new person you recruit to take action builds momentum. And each time you step up and take a risk for human rights, our collective power grows through your leadership. Below are just a few ways you can sustain your activism over the next two months. Stay connected to your Field Organizer and your Area Coordinator or Student Activist Coordinator so you can build your connections with others in your area and gain inspiration. Tweet and post on Facebook, and utilize the resources on the ARC. Make your activism matter by connecting in with the rest of the movement!

Sochi2014#

Excessive Use of Force, Accountability and Freedom of ExpressionThe recent grand jury decisions in the cases of Michael Brown in Missouri and Eric Garner in New York have led to a wave of protests, not only in Ferguson and New York City, but in cities across the country. Protesters are calling for accountability in these cases as well as others, such as Tamir Rice in Cleveland and Akai Gurley in New York City, along with reforms to law enforcement and the criminal justice system.

We previously released a report analyzing the human rights issues surrounding the death of Michael Brown and the protests that followed in Ferguson, Missouri. The report critiques local, state and federal responses to the protests that followed based on international human rights standards, and also outlines a series of recommendations with regards to the use of force by law enforcement officers and the policing of protests.

This report shows why it has been so important for Amnesty International members to stand up for policing that respects human rights. From Ferguson to Rio de Janeiro to Istanbul to Hong Kong, now is the time for us to continue to show solidarity with those exercising their right to peaceful protest, and to call for police accountability!

Congress recently passed the Death in Custody Reporting Act, which is a step in the right direction. However, the Department of Justice has been required to collect and publish nationwide statistics on police shootings for more than 20 years but has failed to do so. Among the many recommendations in the Ferguson report, we are calling for the Department of Justice to uphold its responsibility in accordance with the 1994 Violent Crime Control and Enforcement Act.

Take ActionHere’s how you can help. You can sign the petition to demand that the Department of Justice take action, share it with your group and your community, and then take your activism further using the Ferguson Toolkit. You can also find more information on the issue of policing, including the Ferguson Action National Visionary Platform and Demands, on our website.

By organizing vigils and group conversations, you can encourage others to think about how this issue affects your own community. By taking to the streets of your community, you can stand in solidarity with Ferguson residents rallying for rights-respecting, accountable policing. Use the Ferguson toolkit to organize events on your campus and in your community. Get out and get engaged to ensure that our demands to the Department of Justice are heard!

Stop Torture: The PhilippinesPeople are being tortured today in police stations across the Philippines. A mother beaten. A father’s head forced into a plastic bag. A child’s arm burnt with cigarettes. Electricity coursed through a brother’s water-drenched body. A husband screamed with pain as string was tied to his genitals and then yanked hard.

Torture, is the Philippines’ dark, open secret. It’s common knowledge that authorities use it, but the majority of Filipinos don’t know what torture is and that it is a crime under national law. Few victims know how to file a complaint, and many fear reprisals. Those who do face a dauntingly complex complaints system. The result? Not one torture survivor has seen justice under this law.

Amnesty International demands that Philippine President Noynoy Aquino ensures that no one is above the law, not even the police. We demand that he set up a single, independent commission to deal with complaints of police abuse.

Take ActionOn January 28, activists will join in solidarity with torture survivors in the Philippines. Direct actions are being planned in Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York, and you can get involved in your area by contacting Country Specialist Nerve Macaspac at venermacaspac@gmail.com.

Throughout the start of the year, your group can help in gathering 300,000 signatures on a global petition, which will be delivered on June 26 - the International Day in Support of Survivors of Torture.

We are also working in support of Jerryme Corre. He was electrocuted, punched and threatened with death. Officials blindfolded him, handcuffed his ankles and beat him throughout the night, hitting the soles of his feet with a wooden baton. They put cloth over his mouth and poured water down his throat. He was subjected to electrocution with exposed wires on his back, side and thighs. Put pressure on officials by signing this petition.

For more information, read Amnesty’s 2014 report on torture in the Philippines.

Individuals At Risk: Kufr Qaddum VillagePrisoner of Conscience and human rights defender Murad Shtewi was upholding the universal right to peaceful protest when Israeli forces arrested him in April 2013. More than five months later, he was convicted of “unauthorized” protest and sentenced to nine and a half months in prison. His crime, as we see it? Leading 12 years of peaceful protests against Israeli occupation, illegal settlements, and the closure of the main road connecting his village, Kufr Qaddum, to nearby Nablus.

Murad will be released on February 3rd, but that doesn’t mean that he is truly free to exercise his human rights; a suspended sentence is hanging over his head, and Murad faces immediate re-arrest if he participates in demonstrations or protests. Palestinians across the occupied West Bank face the same harassment and intimidation by Israeli forces that Murad is subjected to, for daring to raise their voices in protest. Israeli forces regularly respond to peaceful demonstrations in villages like Kufr Qaddum with excessive and unnecessary force, firing tear gas, rubber-coated bullets, and live ammunition directly at protest-ers – including children. Kufr Qaddum is just one of hundreds of towns and communities that have been uprooted and cut off from daily routine by illegal Israeli settlements. Join Amnesty International in making sure that his rights and the rights of all Palestin-ians to live in dignity are respected.

Take ActionFrom January 23 - February 3, raise your voices on Twitter to #FreeMuradShtewi as Amnesty delivers the hundreds of letters you wrote as part of Write for Rights to the Israeli embassy. Here are sample tweets you can use:

.@IsraelinUSA, @Amnesty is delivering hundreds of letters to #FreeMuradShtewi. Will you respect his right to protest after his release?

Murad Shtewi’s arrest violates the human right to peacefully protest. @IsraelinUSA, will you pass on @amnesty’s message? #FreeMuradShtewi

Even if Murad is released, Palestinians should be allowed to live free of fear. @IsraelinUSA, read @amnesty letters! #FreeMuradShtewi

From February 3 to February 15, you can join others around the world in bringing Murad’s village, Kufr Qaddum, to your campus or community to create awareness about how illegally built Israeli settlements and the crackdown on peaceful protests are a violation of international human rights. Use #InKufrQaddum on social media to join the conversation.

My Body My Rights: Our work to end violence against women is far from over!It is painful easy to find instances of violence against women occurring in every part of the world. Just last month, a new report by Amnesty revealed harrowing sexual violence against Yezidi women and girls in Iraq, at the hands of an armed group calling itself the Islamic State.

Violence is horrific wherever it occurs and in whatever context; it is particularly abhorrent in the devastating impact it has on the lives of 1 in 3 women around the world. Amnesty International is committed to ending this human rights abuse in our lifetime and the International Violence Against Women Act (IVAWA) is a key part of the solution.

IVAWA makes the elimination of violence against women a top U.S. diplomatic and foreign assistance priority by ensuring the U.S. has a comprehensive strategy in place to secure the safety and rights of women and girls. Amnesty activists have been diligently working to get Congress to pass IVAWA since its inception in 2007, and over the past year members across the country have taken action to raise awareness in their communities of the global gender-based violence epidemic.

Thanks to your efforts, IVAWA has made the most progress we have seen in years. We have achieved the most bipartisan support the bill has ever had; IVAWA was highlighted at Congressional hearings; there are nearly 150 cosponsors in the House and Senate; and core elements of the bill were included in key pieces of legislation like the National Defense Authorization Act. Although Congress didn’t pass IVAWA in 2014, we are well-poised to push the bill even further in 2015.

Take ActionAs the new session of Congress begins, Amnesty will be working to ensure a timely reintroduction of IVAWA. Thanks to your hard work ensuring strong support in the last session of Congress, the bill is in a great position to progress through the legislative process. But for that to happen, we will need your help in telling Members of Congress to help end one of the world’s most widespread human rights violations.

Sign up for spring lobby week and download the IVAWA activist toolkit, which includes petitions and other action ideas!

Looking Ahead

Annual General Meeting: March 20-22, Brooklyn, NYAIUSA is headed to the Big Apple for the Annual General Meeting at the New York Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge! This year’s AGM will focus on building from Moment to Movement, celebrating people power and building skills to grow your network, deepen your connection to the movement, and take your activism to the next level Book your travel now, and look out for more information soon!

Legislative Advocacy Weeks: March 27 - April 10Are you a member of one of the 130 plus local and student groups from 37 states that signed up for lobby weeks last fall? THANK YOU! Please let us know how your meeting went by filling out a short debrief form.

From March 27 - April 10 we will again join together to send a strong message to Members of Congress to stand up for human rights. Sign up to lobby at www.amnestyusa.org/lobbyweek. Want to get more involved? Contact Ulana Moroz at umoroz@aiusa.org.

“Lobbying for Amnesty is an incredibly exciting and empowering activity that makes a huge difference for our efforts. Anyone can lobby and everyone should consider giving it a try.” Sam Steed (Student Activist Coordinator, VA)

“In contrast to paid lobbyists, a group of students or community leaders have an incredibly powerful voice if they lobby and express such passion. I’d encourage stu-dents to partake in lobby visits if they have the opportunity, as it is an effective way to advocate for human rights.”Lucy Leban (Student Group, FL)