Amnesty International Bournemouth Poole Christchurch Group

local news & events Amnesty International group for Bournemouth, Poole & Christchurch

Group Newsletter October 2025

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Welcome to the latest newsletter. Our next meeting is on Thursday, 6th November 2025, from 7:30 pm to 9:00 pm at Moordown Community Centre. We will have updates on campaigns, letter writing and planning future events. However, don’t forget that this Thursday, the new Amnesty South West Network is launching with a webinar…

Thursday 16th October, 7.30 pm, Breaking the Silence will expose the reality of life for Palestinians in the West Bank.  Founded in March 2004, Breaking the Silence is an organisation of veteran soldiers who have served in the Israeli military since the start of the Second Intifada and have taken it upon themselves to expose the Israeli public to the reality of the horrendous conditions faced by the Palestinians in the West Bank. They endeavour to stimulate public debate in Israel about this and, through their work, aim to bring an end to the occupation. Free tickets to the webinar are now available.  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1659755616729?

Friday November 21st 8.00 pm

Yes, it’s back. Get ready for an evening packed with trivia, fun and friendly competition!  Test your knowledge on a broad range of topics –  from current events and TV, to history and everything in between. We always start with a picture quiz.  Enjoy a night of head scratching, frustration, joy and groaning out loud!

Our quizzes are informal but competitive! We are returning to one of our favourite venues, The Brunswick Hotel (199 Malmesbury Park Road, BH8 8PX). Please help with planning by reserving your tickets via Eventbrite. As always, payment is due on the night, but we need to ensure we don’t exceed the room limit – teams of up to 6 are allowed, with an entrance fee of £5 per person. If you aren’t in a team, they can be adjusted/formed on the night to ensure no one’s on their own. As ever, we will have a raffle (prize donations very welcome).
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/amnesty-international-quiz-night-tickets-1794213022449

[Read more…]

South America Newsletter October 2025

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This month, we bring you news from Colombia, Brazil, Venezuela, Ecuador, Argentina and Chile. We also welcome Carolina Beresford as the new Country Coordinator for Colombia and Brazil.

Highlights are:

  • Colombia: Two Urgent Actions are calling for the protection and ending of harassment of FEDEPESAN and its members, and for health authorities to control a severe health outbreak threatening the Bari people urgently.
  • Brazil: Brazil has passed a landmark law to protect children online.
  • Venezuela: Human Rights Watch has issued a new report outlining that dozens of political prisoners have been held incommunicado for weeks, months, and some for over a year.
  • Ecuador: A new Amnesty International report reveals how a massive deployment of the Armed Forces has facilitated enforced disappearances, leaving entire families in limbo
  • Argentina: Argentina has renounced its candidacy for the United Nations Human Rights Council.
  • Chile: A UN committee has questioned how the State will guarantee indigenous peoples’ rights to land and ensure access to safe drinking water and sanitation

COLOMBIA

“Peace” – UN hails Colombia’s first convictions under its transitional justice system

Amnesty International has issued a new Urgent Action calling for the protection of the Federation of Artisanal, Environmentalist, and Tourist Fishers of Santander (FEDEPESAN) and its members, and to end the harassment suffered by the fisher community. Between June and August, 26 fisher families from the area of San Silvestre, Barrancabermeja, were forcibly displaced after threats to their safety. The FEDEPESAN president, Yuly Velásquez, received direct death threats to her phone. Despite ongoing legal actions, FEDEPESAN member Janeth Millán was evicted from her home and assaulted by police. The Urgent Action is now on the AIUK site.

Another new Amnesty Urgent Action calls on the Colombian health authorities to urgently control a severe health outbreak with measures that respect the Bari People’s rights to health and informed, prior consent. In the Bridikayra settlement of the Bari Indigenous People in Catatumbo, dozens are suffering from fever, pain and haemorrhages, and in August, a child died after showing these symptoms. Living far from urban centres and not being provided with health services puts them at further risk. The Urgent Action is now on the AIUK site. With both actions, please copy in the Colombian Ambassador to the UK. [Read more…]

Group Newsletter September 2025

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Welcome to the latest newsletter. Our next meeting  is on Thursday 2nd October 2025, 7.30pm – 9.00pm at Moordown Community Centre. We will have updates on campaigns, letter writing and planning future events.

South West England Amnesty Network

This is a new initiative that aims to enhance human rights activism and awareness across South West England, encompassing both national and global issues.  Local groups have been at the heart of Amnesty International UK from its inception and have been a vital part of its activism. Unfortunately, the number of local groups has declined gradually, leaving parts of the country without a means to connect with others and participate in campaigning. The Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch group is now the only local group left in Dorset. Find out more about the network. It will launch on…

Thursday, 14th October, 7.30, with a Webinar.

Luiz Aberbuj from Breaking the Silence will expose the reality of life for Palestinians in the West Bank.  Founded in March 2004, Breaking the Silence is an organisation of veteran soldiers who have served in the Israeli military since the start of the Second Intifada and have taken it upon themselves to expose the Israeli public to the reality of the horrendous conditions faced by the Palestinians in the West Bank. They endeavour to stimulate public debate in Israel about this and, through their work, aim to bring an end to the occupation. Free tickets to the webinar are now available.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1659755616729?
[Read more…]

South America Newsletter September 2025

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This month we bring you news from Bolivia, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, and Venezuela

Highlights are:

  • A new study details how lithium mining in Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile has caused severe and ongoing human rights impacts, especially for indigenous peoples and the environment.
  • In Chile, three police officers have now been convicted for the brutal beating of Moisés Órdenes during a peaceful protest in 2019, ruling they used disproportionate force but stopping short of labelling it torture
  • President Javier Milei has vowed to veto a $98 million increase in funding for the national public health system, passed by Congress.
  • In Peru, The amnesty bill, which was approved by the country’s congress last month, has been passed into law following signature by President Boluarte. The legislation prevents the criminal prosecution and conviction of former soldiers, police officers and self-defence committee fighters accused of serious human rights violations; Amnesty has strongly criticised the legislation.
  • In Ecuador, Human Rights Watch has reported that oil extraction is continuing in the heart of Yasuni National Park in the Amazon rainforest despite a vote by the Ecuadorian people in 2023 to halt all current and future oil drilling

ARGENTINA, BOLIVIA and CHILE

photo Gaston Brito Miserocchi Getty Images via AFP

A new study details how lithium mining in Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile has caused severe and ongoing human rights impacts, especially for indigenous peoples and the environment. The report highlights failures both by states and companies to respect, protect, and fulfil rights, and calls for urgent structural reforms and international accountability. Otherwise, the surge in demand for lithium will be at the expense of those most directly affected by extractive activities on the Andean salt flats, which indigenous peoples have historically inhabited.

Environmental defenders are met with violent repression and harassment for denouncing the lack of consultation, information and compensation. In Argentina, the Jujuy province is within this lithium triangle and the subject of Amnesty’s recent report. Bolivia has the world’s largest lithium reserves, but its production is relatively low. In northern Chile, a lithium partnership between state-owned copper producer Codelco and lithium miner SQM was temporarily suspended in July. Two Indigenous groups filed legal challenges, arguing that the consultation process did not adequately seek their input on the partnership.

CHILE

Three police officers have now been convicted for the brutal beating of Moisés Órdenes during a peaceful protest in 2019, ruling they used disproportionate force but stopping short of labelling it torture. One officer was also found guilty of obstructing the investigation and falsifying records, while most of the original defendants were dismissed from the case. Amnesty International welcomes the verdict as a step toward justice but warned that impunity for human rights violations in Chile remains a serious problem. It calls on the state to ensure truth, justice, and full reparation while preventing future abuses during demonstrations. [Read more…]

Europe Newsletter August 2025

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Türkiye

Ahmad Aabo

Ahmad Aabo; Good news

On 8 August I sent you an Urgent Action concerning Syrian asylum seeker Ahmad Aabo, who has lived in Türkiye since 2012, but had his temporary protection status revoked in 2023 after being diagnosed with HIV and assigned a security code on grounds that ‘he carries a communicable disease’.

In 2024, Ahmad Aabo was detained in two separate deportation centres in Istanbul and Adana for six months and faced the threat of being returned to Syria. He reported cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment while in detention. In October 2024, he was released from detention after the removal of the security code and lifting of the deportation order, but his temporary protection status was not restored. After his release, he lived in constant fear of being detained again. In May 2025, he was again detained and placed at the Arnavutköy deportation centre for three days after a random police ID check in the street.

Following the Amnesty International’s urgent action published on 4 August 2025, Ahmad Aabo was invited to the office of the Istanbul Migration Management Directorate on 26 August, where his temporary protection status was restored and an ID card was issued for him. As a result of this, his access to free healthcare was also restored after the social security was reactivated. After almost two years of living in uncertainty, the positive impact of the urgent action on the Presidency of Migration Management is very clear.

Speaking to Amnesty International, Ahmad Aabo said:

“The urgent action appeal helped me breathe again. I want to send my sincere gratitude to everyone. Simply because of my HIV+ status, I endured persecution, I was detained. I feared being detained every time I saw a police officer. I have my ID card again, I regained my rights. This is the impact of the urgent action. Thanking you is not enough. I wish that no one goes through what I have been through. HIV is not an illness. People living with HIV should be supported. They should not endure torture. I thank all those who signed appeals for me, all those who stood by me from the bottom of my heart.”

MANY THANKS TO ALL WHO SENT APPEALS ON BEHALF OF AHMAD [Read more…]

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