Amnesty International Bournemouth Poole Christchurch Group

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

Group Newsletter October 2021

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Welcome to the latest newsletter from your local Amnesty International group.
This is relatively brief as we’ve yet to receive new updates from the Europe and South America teams (one consequence of changing to the first Thursday of the month!). But we meet a week today on
Thursday 4th November 2021 7.30pm at Moordown Community Centre
Its very nice to be back at Moordown. One event that we will be discussing on Thursday is:…

Write for Rights 2021

We are delighted to announce that Bournemouth library have welcomed us back to hold Write for Rights (W4R) in their foyer.. We are booked for
Saturday 11th December 2021
W4R is Amnesty International’s annual campaign, sending greetings cards to prisoners of conscience and other human rights defenders around the world.  In 2019, more than 6.5 million messages of support and appeal letters were sent during the W4R campaign. They made a big difference to the people and communities confronting injustice and facing human rights violations.
We have tried numerous venues around Bournemouth over past 20 years, most outside and invariably cold or wet, sometimes both. Our W4R in Bournemouth library in 2019 was by far our most successful. So after last years enforced break it will be great to be back. We’ve yet to finalise the times, but the more help we have the longer we can stay. Please let us know if you would like to help.

Stop the Rights Raid

There are several Bills currently progressing through the UK Parliament which could see devastating damage to fundamental human rights protections if passed in their current forms. These proposed changes would increase the marginalisation of some of the most discriminated against in our society, and also threaten the UK’s international reputation as an upholder of international human rights principles.
Amnesty International are deeply concerned about the UK Government’s intention to ‘update’ the flagship UK human rights protection – the Human Rights Act – following the review launched in December 2020. The new Justice Secretary, Dominic Raab, has already vowed to end the “nonsense” of the Human Rights Act, The Act enshrines our freedoms into UK law, is binding on public bodies and means people can go to UK courts to have their rights upheld. It is our strong view that it must remain untouched.
There is a detailed briefing from AIUK on our website. There is also a proforma latter so you can write to your MP.
https://amnestyat50.co.uk/stop-the-rights-raid
Currently there is a petition you can add your name to on the AIUK site relating to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill.
https://www.amnesty.org.uk/actions/uk-government-stop-assault-our-freedoms

Stop the Rights Raid

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Below is a briefing from AIUK on current legislation going through Parliament that will impact on our rights. Currently there is an online petition relating to the  Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill. Do write to your MP if you have time. There is a proform letter to MP – relating to all legislation – you can download and adapt. The briefing document it refers to can be downloaded here..

 

Your human rights are your personal freedoms. You can’t see or touch them, but they should always have your back. Think of them as your invisible armour. If you don’t find yourself thinking about your rights much, that’s a good sign that they’re there for you and doing what they should be: making you feel safe, accepted and free to enjoy your life with dignity and without fear. But what if someone quietly took your armour away, bit by bit, and you didn’t realise until it was too late? How would you protect yourself?  

 

That’s what’s happening right now, right under our noses – and the UK government doesn’t want you to know about it. As we speak, they are trying to introduce new laws and make changes to existing ones that will result in less freedom for ordinary people, more power for people in authority, and even greater inequality in our society. These changes will also make it harder for you to stand up for yourself if your human rights are being abused. And on top of that, in many cases it will be society’s most vulnerable people who are the worst hit by the changes. Our freedoms are under attack from all angles: this is a raid on our rights.  

 

If you’re still not sure what all this means in practice, you’re not alone. That’s exactly what people in power want, as a lack of public understanding makes it easier for them to sneak through changes that will negatively affect people’s lives without them realising (until it’s too late). We’re here to shout about the changes and make sure as many people as possible are aware of them, as we need your help to fight them.  

 

Here are some examples of what’s at risk in the UK Government’s rights raid. 
 
The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill    [Read more…]

South America Newsletter October 2021

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This month we bring you updates on human rights issues in Chile, Ecuador, Bolivia, Paraguay, Colombia, Brazil, Venezuela, Chile and Argentina. Actions in relation to the second anniversary of the “Estallido Social” in Chile. The prison situation in Ecuador and the violent riot that occurred. The pressure of the IACHR over Bolivia to know the state of health of the ex-President Áñez. The protests of indigenous groups in Paraguay for the approval of the amendment to the land invasion law,  Human rights abuses continue to mount in Venezuela and Colombia. Please sign the Urgent Action on Colombia on behalf of the journalist José Alberto Tejada and the petition on behalf of human rights defenders. The homicides in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and President Bolsonaro’s speech to the UN. The new report of the UN fact-finding mission on Venezuela. 

CHILE

amnesty internationalThis month marks the 2nd anniversary of the Estallido. The Estallido are a series of protests that took place in Chile in 2019 and expanded to several cities across the country. On 25 October 2019, over 1.2 million people took to the streets of Santiago to protest against social inequality, demanding President Piñera’s resignation, in what was called as “The biggest march of Chile.

The actions of the National Police forces, called Carabineros, resulted in 36 people being killed. Amnesty International published the Eyes on Chile report, where it was proven that police forces were using violence to spread terror. At present, Amnesty International is demanding that the UK Government hold the Carabineros Commander accountable for their actions and to investigate the chain of command.

To mark this anniversary, we will be sending an action by the 13th of October to engage influencers for our campaign marking the 2nd anniversary of the Estallido.

How about expressing your views? Do you enjoy writing? If you wish to write a reflexion or an opinion, get in touch with Carla Torres (carla.torres@amnesty.org.uk) who is setting up a Medium Blog for Amnesty Members to express their views and support our Campaign for Gustavo Gatica, who was permanently blinded by police officers while protesting in 2019.

ECUADOR

116 have been killed and another 80 injured in a riot at one of Ecuador’s largest prisons.  The prison has been the scene of bloody fights between gangs for control of the establishment in recent months.  President Lasso said that he would send additional security forces and free up funds to avoid a repeat.  This was the deadliest act of violence ever reported in Ecuador’s prison system.  Human Rights Watch urged the government to fully investigate the violence and bring those responsible to justice.  Ecuador’s prisons are notoriously overcrowded. [Read more…]

Group Newsletter October 2021

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First a reminder that our next meeting will be on Thursday 7th October 2021, 7.30pm  at Moordown Community Centre (MCC).
This will be our first face to face meeting for 18 months. The agenda will be updates on campaigns, letter writing and planning. We are guests of MCC, who have only just reopened. Both MCC and the group are having to make decisions on how to maintain safety in light of the ongoing risk from COVID-19. If you intend coming, please read this.
https://amnestyat50.co.uk/event

[Read more…]

Europe Newsletter September 2021

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We have 2 very urgent Actions on Poland : one about the suffering of refugees trapped at the border of Poland and Belarus. Please sign and circulate the online petition
https://www.amnesty.org.uk/urgent-actions/protect-afghans-stranded-polish-border?fbclid=IwAR0K6hedXLdi1EKceHBYFBrW32yCpuiDQjD_f1EQheny-5Q-ZGjjC-EDTVs
and write personal emails and letters as well. The Urgent Action can be downloaded here. (includes model letter)
The other Urgent Action is about Ela, Anna and Joanna , the three brave LGBTI Rights defenders who are on trial again on 10th November . Please take Action :
https://www.amnesty.org/en/get-involved/take-action/poland-activist-elzbieta-podlesna/
We also have a very important trial coming up in Turkey ,
https://www.amnesty.org.uk/actions/demand-justice-turkish-students-defending-lgbtq-rights
And of course our preparations for the demonstration and Days of Action to support and defend refugees in Europe and the UK are shaping up. 

20th & 23rd October Demonstrations  and  Days of Action

The preparations for the demonstration and day of Action on 23rd October are shaping up. There will be 2 demonstrations in London : One organised by different organisations on Wednesday  20th October outside Parliament protesting against the Nationality and Borders bill (see picture), and on Saturday the 23rd October our Amnesty Europe demonstration starting at 12noon outside the Embassy of Italy (see poster below). We are campaigning against the criminalisation of refugees and Human Rights defenders who are involved in Search & Rescue and against the cooperation of Frontex and Italy with the Libyan coastguard returning refugees to torture, rape and extortion in Libyan DCIM camps. [Read more…]

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