Student Activism

Hello fellow activists,

As the news media attempts to remain on the forefront of happenings in Burma, Amnesty International is trying to respond to new developments in the area and to advocate for immediate action.  The situation is worsening with violence against protestors and an AI press release highlights the situation:

(Washington, DC)-Members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meeting in New York today must take prompt and effective action to protect the right to peaceful demonstration in Myanmar and avoid further escalation of violence and human rights violations, Amnesty International's Secretary General Irene Khan said in an open letter today.

Following reports of the killing of up to nine demonstrators, Amnesty International remains gravely concerned that peaceful protests by tens of thousands calling for reform in Myanmar are being met with escalating violent repression that will aggravate an already grave human rights situation and pose serious threats to peace and security in ASEAN and the wider region.

"The current situation demands resolute interventions to prevent the threat of massive human rights violations. By using its influence to ensure the Myanmar authorities respect human rights, ASEAN will send a crucial signal to its member states and the world that it is committed to the protection and promotion of human rights," said Ms. Khan.

 

Last Wednesday, in DC, AIUSA and its supporting members showed support through a rally in front of the Burma embassy.  Here is a slideshow of photos:

http://www.slideroll.com/publish.php?s=rz2h7e2m&browse=1&ref=0#getc

Some things you can do:

» Ask President Bush to urge a UN Security Council mission to Burma
» Read Amnesty's letter to the UN Security Council

More sources:

Interactive Graphic: Recent Events in Burma- Washington Post

Country profile: Burma -BBC news

Thanks,

Allison

Human trafficking is the modern practice of slavery.  Every year hundreds of thousands of people are forced or coerced into labor or sexual exploitation.  Despite this reality, governments around the world are only beginning to address this issue. 

In Greece, trafficking of women and girls into the commercial sex industry has prevailed since the 1990s, and continues to increase.  Although the government has signed The Council of Europe's Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings, which outlines measures to bring perpetrators to justice, and protect and assist victims, Greece officials have not ratified it. 

YOU can take action by asking the Minister of Justice to protect the rights of trafficked women in Greece by sending him a letter to express your concern.  You can either compose a letter in your own words,or use ours and personalize it, by clicking here. 

To learn more about the Council of Europe's Convention on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings: http://www.coe.int/t/DG2/TRAFFICKING/campaign/default_en.asp. 

For additional information on trafficking issues, visit: http://www.amnestyusa.org/women/trafficking, where you may download the report, Greece: Uphold the rights of women and girls trafficked for sexual exploitation!

As the Fall 2007 kicks in we have great news for all the activists who love movies.  The AIUSA's Program for International Justice and Accountability (IJA Program) will launch a new film on international justice, and you can be a part of this highly anticipated event. 

The project was produced by the highly acclaimed Skylight Pictures and directed by Pamela Yates.  The film will explore the current situation of international justice through the stories of survivors and the cases they are pursuing in Peru, Chile, Uganda, The Hague, Guatemala, and the United States.

If you want to learn more about the film and read the interview with film director, check out the International Justice Bulletin from the AIUSA Program for International Justice and Accountability. 

If you want to promote international justice through film, you can "PREMIERE" AI's new film  in your town or on campus by emailing: ija@aisua.org, and help foster awareness of international justice issues in your community.

-Allison

Troy Davis was sentenced to death for the murder of a police officer in 1989; a murder he maintains he did not commit. There was no physical evidence against him and the weapon used in the crime was never found.  Now seven of the nine non-police witnesses have recanted or contradicted their testimony.  October 9^th is Troy's birthday and in celebration of this occasion we're asking you to post a video birthday message for him on YouTube.  Simply record a positive video of 60-seconds or less wishing Troy a ‘Happy Birthday' while reaffirming to the state of Georgia that the global support network behind Troy believes fairness matters.

A few guidelines:

• Be lively and creative: sing it, rap it, play it, draw it, dance it, paint it, shout it from the roof-tops
• Keep messages positive and refrain from bad language and controversial statements that could be viewed as inflammatory
• After you've recorded this message - please post it on YouTube at www.youtube.com/group/ncadp and email it to troyvideo@gmail.com

Sign the Fairness Matters petition at:
www.amnestyusa.org/troydavis

For more information on Troy Davis please visit:

http://www.ncadp.org/index.cfm?content=3
www.troyanthonydavis.org
http://www.savetroydavis.net/

To see AIUSA DC Office's message to Mr.Davis please check out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPMCEd00_v4.

Thank you in advance for your support!

-Tiffany

Hello all,

There is a new National Student Conference coming to D.C. which may help you in your campaign for Darfur.  Join fellow students from across the country at STAND's National Student Conference, taking place from September 29th through October 1st in Washington, D.C. The conference will begin on Saturday morning at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum with a day featuring survivors of previous genocides, academic experts, and educational workshops, and will continue Sunday at the Renaissance Washington, DC Hotel, with a focus on how to mobilize your peers, divest your campus, get media for your events, and get politically active to end this genocide. On Monday, October 1st, we'll use the training and education gained at the conference to lobby our members of Congress on Capitol Hill for real legislative action for Darfur.  For more information or to register for the conference, visit www.standnow.org/conference. 

For more AIUSA resources, check out the Student Activism on Darfur page which includes student activism talking points, organizing resources, and information on the Instant Karma campaign.  Below are some links to actions you can be a part of now.

Neighborhood Walkabout Activity

Help Amnesty get more signatures for our Global Petition on Darfur! There are 6 weeks left and only 50,000 more signatures to go to make it to half a million. » Sign the Global Petition Today!

Chad: No Protection from Rape and Violence for Displaced Women and Girls in eastern Chad

Women and girls living in camps for Darfuri refugees and displaced Chadians face daily risk of sexual violence at the hands of Chadian and Sudanese government backed militias. Please urge the U.S. Permanent Representative to the UN to support the UNSC to authorize a UN peacekeeping presence in eastern Chad.

Looking forward to your comments and information on what your student group is doing to help.  Thanks.

-Allison

As the new fall intern for the National Student and Youth Program I'm excited to be composing my very first blog!  You'll be hearing from Alison and me over the next few months about important Amnesty International events and pressing human rights issues, as well as manic soapbox ramblings...at least from me.  

My interest in human rights started a few years ago after viewing a news special on sex trafficking in Cambodia and India.  I was shocked to find girls as young as five years old being sold into brothels, sometimes even by their own families.  Since then I've been compelled to find sustainable and culturally sensitive ways to help girls around the world escape conditions that make them susceptible to the sex tourism industry.   In addition to interning at Amnesty, I'm a graduate student at George Washington University, substitute teach, and run an afterschool program at a middle school. 

I hope I'll be able to make use of my experience with children and students in assisting you and other youth activists find and fight for causes you're passionate about.  Be assured, no matter what age you are, you CAN make a difference.  

As the great musical genius and civil rights activist Stevie Wonder said, "We all have ability. The difference is how we use it."

Looking forward to hearing from you!

-Tiffany

As the Fall 2007 kicks in we have great news for all the activists who love movies. Even if you are not a great fan of movies (which I do not believe) here are great news for you. The AIUSA's Program for International Justice and Accountability (IJA Program) will launch a new film on international justice. The film will explore the current situation of international justice through the stories of survivors and the cases they are pursuing in Peru, Chile, Uganda, The Hague, Guatemala, and the United States.

If you want to learn more about the film read the interview with film director Pamela Yates. To do so click here:

http://www.amnestyusa.org/international_justice/pdf/JuneBulletin.pdf

The film promises to be really interesting. If you are up to hosting a film "PREMIERE" in your town or on campus please e-mail: ija@aisua.org

For more information visit AIUSA website: http://www.amnestyusa.org/

• Week-ends of September 22 and September 29: AIUSA's neighborhood walk-about on Darfur. Activists distribute door hangers on front doors with information about Darfur and the Global Petition. Materials available from mcadena@aiusa.org
• September 27: Sudan Country Specialist Denise Bell and Business and Human Rights staffer Amy O'Meara will hold an online chat focused on Darfur and economic activism, "Investing in Human Rights in Sudan: Adding Economic Activism to Our Tools for Change."
• October 16: Presidential candidates' Townhall Meeting on Africa at the Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies, Washington, DC (location TBC). Sponsored by the Leon Sullivan Foundation, with co-sponsorship by AIUSA and other NGOs.
• October 24: High profile delivery of AIUSA's Global Petition for Darfur to President Bush that is the centerpiece tactic of Instant Karma. Delivery will be to the President's Special Advisor on Africa. Membership events around country; DCT to provide organizing materials.
• Late October (TBC): AIUSA campus concert series for Darfur at seven universities.

Hello friends,

Darfur has been in the forefront of the minds of AI members worldwide for some time now.  This means that our efforts are gaining momentum, and now is the time for student groups to act.  Below is just one example of many current student run campaigns:

• Amnesty International USA is joining forces with the student-led 400,000 Faces Project. The Project will contribute all 400,000 photo signatures to AIUSA's Global Petition for Darfur, bringing us close to half a million signatures on the petition to President Bush so far. The 400,000 Faces Project, started by students in 2006, quickly became one of the biggest and fastest growing student movements in the social networking site Facebook.

For an update on the issue of Darfur, here are just some stories from the Sudan Tribune on the state of the people and diplomatic affairs in the region.

Darfur rebel leaders expressed disappointment with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's visit to Sudan and low expectations for peace talks in October, saying Ban had failed to pressure Sudan to acknowledge key Darfur grievances

Amnesty International said Sudan had tortured five people detained at Kober Prison in Khartoum since July on accusations of planning to overthrow the government, and one needed urgent medical help.

A group of eight prominent women, which included former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, African officials, and the Beninese singer Angelique Kidjo, urged the international community to act quickly to deploy international peacekeepers to Darfur, and called for an immediate cease-fire to end violence there. 

To learn more about Amnesty International's efforts in Darfur, check out AI's Darfur page. 

-Allison

On January 11, 2002, the US transferred the first detainees to the US Naval Base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. Today, five years later, hundreds of people of various nationalities remain there. You think that's right, human or fair? We don't think so. When Amnesty activists see something contrary to human rights they mobilize and take action against it. Don't you? That's true in the case of Guantanamo as well. Amnesty activists all over the world will mobilize to call for the closure of the prison facilities at Guantánamo. 

Are you with us? If so click here to download the guide that includes:

• information that will assist you in planning public events,
• a letter writing action,
• a template letter to the editor, and
• The America I Believe In pledge.

http://www.amnestyusa.org/stoptorture/pdf/closegitmo.pdf

Plan an event, educate the public on the issue and demand the U.S. government to stop the most visible symbol of U.S. human rights abuses in the name of the war on terror.

More information on http://www.tearitdown.org/

Activists,

This past August you had a great opportunity to attend the Leadership Summit and the two-day training Amnesty U preceding the Summit. This fall the call is to check out the news about the regional conferences on the website: http://www.aiusa.org/ and attend them.

Here's some information on what's going on:

• West is going to talk about human rights revolutions and will take a stand in an age of conflict, November 9-11, 2007, in San Francisco, CA.
• South is going to take action for human rights, October 19-21, 2007, in Miami FL.
• Mid-West will provide skills and knowledge on Hope and Justice for All, November 2-4, 2007, in Omaha, NE
• Mid-Atlantic believes in human dignity and wants to know what the activists believe in and motivates their human rights activism, November 16-18, 2007, in Baltimore, MD
• Northeast will concentrate on student global activism, October 26-28, 2007, in Boston, MA

You can also contact you regional offices to find out more information on the conferences.

Make sure you have some time off other activities and join YOUR regional conference. Sure enough it will be interesting and educative. And, of course, you'll have the pleasure of meeting Amnesty friends and the regional staff, discuss matters that are important, and learn something new.

Hello all,

My name is Allison and I am a new intern for the National Student and Youth Program of Amnesty International USA.  In addition to keeping up our blog and informing groups of new AIUSA actions, I will be heading up the On-Campus Film Festival Program. 

The On-Campus Film Festival is a great way to use the arts to promote awareness.  If you check out our page on the AIUSA website, you can find a list of films in our library and a planning guide to host your own festival.   We even provide files to printout posters or flyers promoting your event.  If you are interested in this opportunity to increase AI membership and awareness please shoot me an email.

I am excited to work alongside AIUSA staff who are diligently pursuing economic, cultural, and political rights around the world.  From the Refugee Program to the Stop Violence Against Women campaign, I hope to have an influence on positive change in these and other programs, as well as help student groups to do the same.

Sincerely,

Allison

On-Campus Film Festival Intern

OCFF@aiusa.org

Hey activists,

I wanted to remind you to reserve some time on the weekend of October 19-21, 2007 for the National Weekend of Faith in Action.

This weekend needs some planning and I am sure together with the other group members you p hold success as always. If you are ready to get involved here's what you can do.

To register for NWFA click here.

http://www.amnestyusa.org/National_Weekend_of_Faith_in_Action/Register_for_the_NWFA/page.do?id=1104343&n1=3&n2=28&n3=81

If you are interested and want to learn more, click here

http://www.amnestyusa.org/National_Weekend_of_Faith_in_Action/Frequently_Asked_Questions/page.do?id=1104335&n1=3&n2=28&n3=81

-Liana