…are the Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch Amnesty International Group!!!  To be precise the award is for “Human Rights Activism” as it says on our certificate.  However, its for what we are proposing to do in the future, rather than what we have done. We entered this annual award, where the criteria was

“Every day, Amnesty groups educate and empower people to take action on human rights in so many fantastic ways. Sometimes though, we know your amazing ideas feel a bit out of your financial reach.

This is where the Marsh Awards for Human Rights Activism can help. We have partnered with the Marsh Christian Trust to recognise your passion and ingenuity. There are three prizes of £500 for Groups (Local, Youth and Student) to help make your ideas a reality.  Your ideas need to positively impact people’s understanding of human rights. Aside from that, the only limit is your imagination!”

So what was our proposal to merit this £500 award? Selfie Frames (or Photo Booth Frames). Below is a (shortened) version of our entry, that explains how we came up with this idea, and why we think it could be a useful way to help engage people.

Sceptical?  All your editor can say (who holds his hand up as largely responsible for this state of affairs), is we have no idea what the other entries were (or if there were any!). Also last year, Hull Group won and commissioned a large professional effigy of a “local and much loved historical campaigner for women’s rights, Mary Murdoch”… But their argument was the much same, create something to stop people at events and engage them.

The next event we have, the one that inspired this entry, is BourneFree On July 1st.  If anyone out there has graphic design skills and/or in any way want to help with this project, please let us know.  What we also need are appealing human rights slogans – such as “Love is a Human Right”, “It’s better to light a candle than curse the darkness” – that can be utilised on the frames.
We’ll keep you updated, and obviously show the frames in use when made. But for now, this is part of our entry… [Read more…]

The latest newsletter from the South America Team at AIUK – Ellie May (Brazil), Richard Crosfield (Colombia), Graham Minter (Rest of South America):-

“In this month’s newsletter, we highlight the renewal of serious unrest in Venezuela and a new Amnesty report and campaign on the situation. We describe the continuing paramilitary attacks on communities in Colombia.  There are further reports of threats to indigenous communities in Brazil. There are also updates on human rights concerns in Chile, Peru and Paraguay.  There are several options to take action, focusing this month on Venezuela, Colombia, Chile and Paraguay.

Venezuela

While Venezuela’s economic crisis is causing an increasingly serious deterioration in living standards, deep political polarisation continues to obstruct the search for a solution. The authorities are using their control over the justice system and the state security apparatus to persecute and punish their opponents. Renewed protests around the country have resulted in several deaths and hundreds of people injured or imprisoned. A new report by Amnesty, Silenced By Force: Politically-Motivated Arbitrary Detentions in Venezuela, describes the current situation. This marks the launch of a new campaign to showcase the suppression of free expression by force in Venezuela, about which we shall write to you shortly.

Meanwhile, we have sent Groups an Urgent Action update about Leopoldo López (see letters, as Leopoldo is Case File 2, on ACTION) who has been kept incommunicado since 8 April and has been placed in solitary confinement for reasons that have not been disclosed by the authorities. During this time, he has been illegally denied visits from his lawyer and family. [Read more…]

Thought we’d have a change from action pictures from the pub – there are only so many ways of depicting a pub quiz! Anyway thanks to everyone who turned out for Fridays quiz at the Brunswick.  We made £207 from entry and our raffle.

Thanks, as ever, to David and Rosemary Brown for devising and presenting the quiz. Thanks also to the Brunswick for providing the venue for free. probably be back there again later in the year – unless you know of anywhere different?

The latest newsletter from the South America Team at AIUK – Ellie May (Brazil), Richard Crosfield (Colombia), Graham Minter (Rest of South America):-

“We have 3 urgent actions, 2 from Colombia and another from Argentina. Authorities in both countries respond well to written actions, so please continue sending letters. They work! We have good news from Argentina and Venezuela. And those of you who can make it, please come to St Paul’s Cathedral to highlight the predicament of Peruvian human rights defender Máxima Acuña. We will be there from 8.30 to 12.00 on 11 April.

Colombia

The incidence of the killing of Human Rights Defenders (HRDs) as well as paramilitary incursions into Humanitarian Zones and rural communities has increased in recent months. Paramilitary groups are occupying land that the FARC have withdrawn from to take control of cocaine and marijuana production, illegal mining and other economic activities.

Amnesty has issued 4 Urgent Actions on behalf of communities under threat since 3 February. Please continue to take action on behalf of the communities of the Jiguamiandó river basin, click here to download the UA. Military forces, whether they be from the Government or other contestants in the ongoing conflict, are supposed to be committed to respecting the limits of Humanitarian Zones. [Read more…]