Student Activism

Have you read this? It's the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, you know the one mentioned in AIUSA's Misson...

"Amnesty International's vision is of a world in which every person enjoys all of the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Right and other international human rights standards."

If you haven't, check it out and you will then understand why I say I have found my second love, second only to string cheese in the afternoon, of course. But I am seriously rethinking taking down that ancient Led Zeppelin poster I have been carting around for years and replacing it with a nice framed copy of my new code of morality.

"PREAMBLE: Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world."

Adopted in 1948 the Declaration of Human Rights is going on 59 and will soon be approaching the age where it can buy senior tickets at the cinema. (Hi Grandma...love you.)  Though almost six decades old it still rings true and sixty years later we are still in need of such a declaration. Imagine if everyone held these common beliefs to heart. Imagine if your neighbor, your enemies, your friends, and your allies all practiced daily the declaration of human rights. Imagine. It chills me to think of all the suffering, the pain, the grief and all the humane activities that would be eliminated if people just accepted others to just be.

"Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person." People should not have to fear their livelihood on a daily basis, socially, economically nor politically. "No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment."  This was declared in 1948. 1948 people...and yet torture, cruel and degrading treat is still practiced today. The world needs to be educated.

"Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for the human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for maintenance of peace."

Did I mention I'm in love?

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights ladies and gentlemen. Read it, understand it and apply it.

-jon perry

REACT! What are your favorite articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights? Leave a comment and tell me how they apply to the world.  

It has been confirmed that Delara Darabi of Iran will be sentenced to death for a crime she committed at the age of seventeen. As reported, she burgled the house of an elderly female relative in 2003 with a 19-year old man named Amir Hossein Sotoudeh. Amir allegedly killed the elderly woman, but Delara initially confessed to the murder. However, later she claimed that she only confessed because Amir had asked her to because it would save him from execution. They believed that since Delara was under the age of 18, she couldn't be sentenced to death.

Delara is in poor conditions in Rasht Prison where it is reported that she has been beaten and left with a broken arm. Her father has requested that she is transferred to Evin prison in Tehran.

In Iran, many child offenders are sentenced to death and last year at least 177 people were sentenced to death.

Click here to take action!

What's up guys! Just wanted to let you all know about some cool stuff that's been happening over here at Amnesty International USA. Green Day, one of our amazing artists with the Instant Karma campaign to save Darfur has teamed up with Hard Rock Cafe to release a signature series T-Shirt that you can buy with the album! Joining the ranks of such greats as Ozzy Osbourne, Elton John, and Eric Clapton the Signature Shirt Series puts together Hard Rock and hard rockers to make cool shirts for a good cause. Starting on June 12th you can pick up the CD, featuring such artists as Green Day, Jack Johnson, The Flaming Lips, and Matisyahu from the Instant Karma website and you can pick up the shirt at any Hard Rock Cafe location and at the Hard Rock online store. So mark your calenders for June 12th and help to stop the violence in Darfur. Till then check out what the album's about and Green Day playing Working Class Hero live on American Idol.

Hey students! As this school year comes to a close I would like to give some tips on the new school year that will be approaching soon enough. The summer is a good time to go over ways to improve your Amnesty group and I have some ideas and suggestions you can use.

Did your Amnesty group recruit new members this past school year? If not, then you might want to market your group more and in a creative manner for this next school year. Good ways to recruit are by making your group name and events visible all over campus. Every event should have flyers on every corner. Don't just print standard black and white flyers, use markers and paint, make them colorful. Bright colors and pictures always stand out more than black and white. Also, If you advertise an event...be sure to give a description of what it is for. If the event is educational you can always ask certain teachers or professors if they will offer students extra credit to attend. The key is to get studets to coming out to your events and that way they can gain interest in your Amnesty group and sign up to receive e-mails and information on meetings.

Do you feel that your Amnesty group had succesful events? If you feel like you may need some improvement...here is a helpful tip: It's not about how many events you have, it's about whether or not your event was successful. Remember: Instead of planning multiple events...month after month...try planning only a few, but with a lot of effort put into it. If you advertise and spend a lot of time working on an event, it will pay off and more students will come out because of the time you had to spread the word.

-Nausheen

Do you want to help people in Darfur but don't know how to? Here is an idea!

On June 12^th, Amnesty International USA and Warner Bros will release a compilation album: Instant Karma. This album will include more than 20 songs of John Lennon tracks recorded by Green Day, Christina Aguilera, R.E.M, Snow Patrol, the Black Eyed Peas and many more and the royalty of the CD will go to Amnesty International's campaign to the end the Darfur crisis. Today, Green Day released their cover of John Lennon classic "Working Classic Hero". Click here to download Green Day's "Working Classic Hero." Start today by downloading a track and have a great chance to take action on Darfur. For more information about Instant Karma: The Campaign to Save Darfur, please visit http://www.instantkarma.org or www.amnesty.org/noise.

 Best Wishes to all,

wook

Looking for a fun group activity for your school's Amnesty group?

Here is an idea.... Host a film screening!

The film Blood Diamond, which is now out on video focuses on the conflict diamond issue and the growing number of child soldiers in Africa. This is a great film that is entertaining and educational because you learn a lot about conflict diamonds and child soldiers. However, this film is rated R and you will need to get permission before showing this film to anyone under the age of 17. If you are a University group...feel free to move forward with this.

If this sounds like an idea your group may be interested in...please e-mail me at nsypintern@aiusa.org and I can help come up with disussion topics for after the film. There are an estimated 200,000 child soldiers in the world today and 3/4 of the world's diamonds are sold in the U.S. (imagine how many are conflict diamonds)...I encourage all of you to take action and to educate others on these important issues.

Goodluck!

Nausheen