Amnesty International Bournemouth Poole Christchurch Group – Page 25 – local news & events Amnesty International group for Bournemouth, Poole & Christchurch

South America Newsletter November 2021

November 8, 2021 by zarganar

This month we bring you news from Venezuela, Brazil, Colombia, Bolivia, Paraguay and Chile. Amnesty has issued two new Urgent Actions: the director of a Venezuelan NGO remains in detention and we ask for his release, while in Brazil we are asking the Attorney General to investigate the government’s mishandling of the pandemic.

Included are in-depth reports on the impact of US sanctions on Venezuelans, human rights abuses under Brazilian President Bolsonaro’s government and two reports on Colombia. One focuses on the continued aggression against human rights defenders, while a deposition to the Truth Commission describes in great detail how the lives of women and girls were upended by armed groups during 50 years of civil conflict.

We report on inter-familial sexual violence against women in Bolivia, an important ruling on Paraguay’s indigenous community and new evidence that Amnesty has compiled on 2019’s social uprising in Chile.

VENEZUELA

amnesty international — International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim A.A. Khan QC

On 25 October, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court commenced an official visit to Venezuela to investigate crimes against humanity. The visit will last 10 days, and he will also visit Colombia. The ICC Prosecutor’s Office conducts independent and impartial preliminary examinations, investigations and prosecutions of the crime of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression.

Amnesty has issued a new Urgent Action on behalf of Javier Tarazona. He is Director of local NGO FundaREDES and remains detained by the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (SEBIN). Rafael Tarazona and Omar de Dios García, FundaREDES’ activists, were conditionally released on 26 October. Amnesty urge authorities to release Javier Tarazona immediately

Important note: Please take action immediately. Send a letter to the Embassy in London, because the mail in Venezuela does not work properly. President Nicolás Maduro c/o Her Excellency Mrs Rocío Maneiro, Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela 1 Cromwell Road SW7 2HW Fax 020 7589 8887 ambassador@venezlon.co.uk reinounido.embajada.gob.ve Twitter: @NicolasMaduro

UN expert report emphasizes that US sanctions on Venezuela undermine human rights. UN Special Rapporteur Alena Douhan has reiterated her call for sanctions relief. The independent expert reiterated that the wide-reaching sanctions program against Venezuela has had a “devastating” effect on the entire population’s living conditions. economic and social crisis was exacerbated by the imposition of “sectoral sanctions on the oil, gold and mining industries” as well as ” the economic blockade

[Read more…]

Group Newsletter October 2021

October 28, 2021 by zarganar

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

October 27, 2021 by zarganar

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

October 6, 2021 by zarganar

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

This 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…]