Below is a list of all current actions pertaining to human rights advocacy, violations and abuses that have been posted so far in 2007. They are listed in the chronological order in which they were published.
Colombia: Concerns about human rights impact of trade negotiations.
Posted: 19 December 2007
The Canadian government is rapidly negotiating a trade agreement with Colombia, amidst concerns about grave human rights abuses. Amnesty International has called for an independent human rights impact assessment before signing any agreement. Will you help us convince Canada's Trade Minister that now is the time to carefully analyse the situation on the basis of the perspectives of all who will be affected, so as to avoid future problems? ... Take Action!
Malaysia: Migrants targeted by "vigilante" force
Posted: 17 December 2007
They are among over 1.5 million migrant workers, asylum-seekers and refugees in Malaysia. Many lack legal status and are classified as "illegal immigrants". Malaysia has not ratified the 1951 UN Refugee Convention, thus refugees and asylum-seekers have no protection ... Take Action!
Dominican Republic: Discrimination at Birth - Haitian Migrants and their Descendants
Posted: 17 December 2007
For nearly a century, Haitians have crossed the border into the Dominican Republic hoping to find a better life for themselves and their families. However, racism and discrimination permeate virtually every aspect of their lives. They face a constant battle to have their rights respected in a country where their labour is welcomed but their presence is not ... Take Action!
China: Sign the petition to free Shi Tao
Posted: 10 December 2007
Shi Tao is a freelance journalist and poet sentenced to 10 years imprisonment after he sent an email to an international colleague. Amnesty International recognizes Shi Tao as a prisoner of conscience, jailed solely for exercising his fundamental freedom of expression. Please sign this electronic petition to China's Minister of Justice demanding freedom for Shi Tao and a stop to the prosecution and jailing human rights activists. Take Action!
Canada: Call for Moratorium on use of Tasers®
Posted: 7 December 2007
Many Canadians were outraged by video footage of the recent death in custody of Robert Dziekanski in Vancouver airport. In subduing the agitated man, police appear to have moved almost immediately to the use of Tasers® without exhausting non-violent means. Amnesty International is concerned that Tasers® continue to be deployed in Canada despite the lack of an independent and comprehensive study of their use and effects. Take Action!
USA: Access to sexual assault forensic examinations
Posted: 22 November 2007
Indigenous women who have survived sexual assault in the USA are effectively being denied access to forensic examinations. A critical part of any police investigation of sexual violence involves the collection of forensic evidence including a sexual assault forensic examination. This examination must be conducted by a trained and qualified health professional to ensure accurate, sensitive and confidential collection. All survivors of sexual violence should be offered a forensic examination, without charge, regardless of whether or not they have decided to report the case to the police. Such evidence can be crucial for a successful prosecution .... Take Action!
Cote d’Ivoire: Protect women and girls
Posted: 22 November 2007
After the September 2002 uprising and the de facto division of the country in two, hundreds if not thousands of women and girls have been victims of widespread and, at times, systematic rape and sexual assault committed by all parties to the conflict or by civilians with close ties to these forces. Many women have suffered gang rape or have been abducted by fighters who into sexual slavery. Rape has often been accompanied by the beating or torture (including sexual torture) of the victim, both in public and in front of family members, including children ... Take Action!
Hungary: Cries unheard - rape and sexual violence in the home
Posted: 22 November 2007
In Hungary, widespread prejudice, government inactivity and deficiencies in the criminal justice system pose at times insurmountable obstacles for women to obtain justice or redress for rape. The Hungarian Penal Code recognizes rape within marriage as a crime. However, the Penal Code’s definition of rape requires the victim to prove that they physically resisted, no matter the level of threat or violence that they faced. This definition denies women the right to sexual autonomy and physical integrity, and fails to provide proper protection from violence. .... Take Action!
Japan: Comfort Women - denial of justice
Posted: 22 November 2007
During World War II an estimated 200,000 women were forced into sexual slavery in “comfort stations” in China, Taiwan, Borneo, Philippines, Singapore, Malaya, Burma, Indonesia and many of the Pacific Islands. These women, many of whom were under the age of twenty, were held for the exclusive use of the Japanese Imperial Army as “comfort women”. These women endured physical, mental and sexual abuse as they often has to ‘service’ 50 soldiers a day ... Take Action!
Burundi: No protection from rape in war and peace
Posted: 22 November 2007
In the absence of support from the state, the community and often the victim’s family, many violations of women’s human rights remain unreported and unaddressed, leaving women to cope with the consequences of these violations by themselves. Women often do not report rape because they fear reprisal attacks from the perpetrator. In addition, women in Burundi are subjected to various forms of gender discrimination, including social stigmatization of rape victims by their communities .... Take Action!
Nigeria: Rape - the silent weapon
Posted: 22 November 2007
In 1985 The Nigerian Government ratified the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). However the definition of rape in Nigeria’s national legislation is inadequate. The Nigerian government has failed to prevent, investigate and prosecute rape, or provide reparation to the victims of rape within the country. Cases of violence against women by Nigerian forces, including rape, continue to be a frequent occurrence .... Take Action!
Azerbaijan: unfair trial and ill-treatment in detention
Posted: 20 November 2007
On June 18, 2007, three teenagers - Ruslan Bessonov, Maksim Genashilkin and Dmitri Pavlov - were sentenced to ten years imprisonment in a strict regime prison following an unfair trial on charges of murdering another teenager, Vusal Zeynalov. All three boys allege they were tortured and ill-treated after their arrest in March 2005, including in the days leading up to the final hearing. According to relatives, bruises were visible on their faces and necks ... Take Action!
Pakistan: State of emergency creates human rights crisis
Posted: 15 November 2007
Hundreds of people have been arbitrarily detained including judges, lawyers, human rights activists, journalists and political party activists. Many have been charged with unlawful assembly under public order provisions, or detained without charge under preventive detention laws, including anti-terrorism laws. Others have been charged with sedition. The whereabouts of some of those detained are unknown. Many are at risk of torture and other ill-treatment ... Take Action!
Canada: Bring Omar Khadr to Justice. Bring him to Canada
Posted: 14 November 2007
Almost five years after being taken into custody by U.S. forces in Afghanistan, Canadian citizen Omar Khadr was charged for the second time on April 24, 2007 with five counts including conspiracy, murder and supplying material support to terrorism. He was 15 years old at the time of the alleged offences, making him the first child combatant ever to be brought before a court for alleged "war crimes". Other governments worked to protect the rights of their citizens in Guantánamo Bay. But Canada has remained silent. It's time to bring Omar Khadr to justice. It's time to bring him back to Canada ... Take Action!
Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC): Urgent medical treatment required for Major Yawa Gomonza and Colonel Paul Ndokay
Posted: 14 November 2007
Two high-ranking members of the national Congolese army are in need of urgent medical treatment for injuries they received when they were tortured by the "Special Services" police (Direction des Renseignements Généraux et Services Spéciaux, DRGS). They are being detained without trial at the Kinshasa Penitentiary and Re-education Centre (Centre de Détention et Rééducation de Kinshasa, CPRK), the main prison in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) ... Take Action!
Canada: U.S. Refugee rights activist faces criminal charges
Posted: 9 November 2007
Janet Hinshaw-Thomas, director of Pennsylvania based PRIME - Ecumenical Commitment to Refugees had been charged under Section 117 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act for assisting Haitian asylum seekers with their entry into Canada. The charges against her have been dropped, but changes to section 117 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act need to be made to make it clear that it does not apply to groups and individuals who provide assistance to refugee claimants for humnaitarian motives. ... Take Action!
China: Husein Dzhelil (known as Huseyin Celil) aged 37, Canadian citizen
Updated: 26 October 2007
Huseyin Celil is a member of western China’s Uighur minority. He has been a Canadian citizen since November 2005. He fled persecution in China because of his campaigning on behalf of his community. The Chinese authorities routinely accuse Uighur activists of "terrorism" without providing credible evidence for such charges.
...Take Action!
Myanmar: Free prisoners prisoners
Posted: 24 Octoberr 2007
“Fearlessness may be a gift but perhaps more precious is the courage acquired through endeavour, courage that comes from cultivating the habit of refusing to let fear dictate one's actions, courage that could be described as 'grace under pressure' - grace which is renewed repeatedly in the face of harsh, unremitting pressure.” Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s “Freedom From Fear” speech given in 1990.... Take Action!
Myanmar: Further arrest of Human Rights Activists
Posted: 16 October 2007
Six people, including prominent activists Htay Kywe, Mie Mie (also known as Thin Thin Aye) and Aung Thu, were detained in the early hours of 13 October in the city of Yangon as part of a continuing crackdown by the military authorities. According to an eyewitness report, about 70 members of the security forces raided the house where the six were in hiding. There is no information on where they are being detained. Amnesty International is seriously concerned for the safety of all six people, who are at grave risk of torture and ill-treatment. Htay Kywe is reportedly in poor health ... Take Action!
Israel and the Occupied Territories: Farmers denied access to their land as Israeli authorities tighten their grip on Palestinian territory west of the fence/wall
Posted: 15 October 2007
Sharif Omar, a 65 year old Palestinian farmer and human rights defender living in the northern West Bank village of Jayyous and some 29 other Palestinian farmers have been denied permits to access to their land on the other side of a 700 km fence/wall, which Israel has built on Palestinian land inside the occupied West Bank. Sharif Omar and his family rely on farming for their livelihood. When the fence/wall was completed in 2003, his sons were denied permits to travel to the other side of the fence/call to access the family land ... Take Action!
Canada: Grassy Narrows - Land and Life
Posted: 15 October 2007
The flooding of their lands. The poisoning of their waters. And now the large-scale logging of their traditional hunting and trapping territories. The people of Grassy Narrows - an Anishnabe community in northwest Ontario- have repeatedly suffered the impact of government decisions made without their consent, or even the minimum level of consultation required by law. The consequence has been the erosion of traditional ways of life, wide spread ill-health, and severe impoverishment ... Take Action!
Thailand: No place for health professionals in executions
Posted: 5 October 2007
In October 2003, Thailand adopted lethal injection as the humane execution method to replace firing squad. The first executions by lethal injection – of three men convicted of drug offences and one convicted of murder – took place on 12 December 2003. Prison officials were reported in the Thai press to have said that it took nearly an hour to administer the lethal drugs to the first inmate, who was unidentified, because of problems locating his veins. The other three prisoners reportedly took 15 minutes each while doctors, public prosecutors, police and prison officials watched ... Take Action!
Myanmar: Protect peaceful protesters from further violence
Posted: 26 September 2007
Hundreds of thousands of people have demonstrated peacefully on a daily basis. Beginning 21 September 2007, the numbers of demonstrators increased considerably, with estimated numbers ranging from 10,000 to 100,000. Demonstrations on this scale have not been seen since the nationwide demonstrations in 1988, which were violently suppressed by the authorities with the killing of approximately 3,000 peaceful demonstrators. ... Take Action!
Iraq: Two million refugees need resettlement
Updated: 24 September 2007
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that 40,000-50,000 people a month are now fleeing their homes in Iraq . The neighbouring countries of Jordan and Syria struggle to meet the needs of an estimated two million Iraqi refugees. The situation is so bad that these countries are threatening to close their borders and to turn away people fleeing violence and persecution. This would put individual lives at risk, and would be a serious threat to the international refugee protection system ... Take Action!
Dr. Chee Soon Juan released but faces further charges: keep up the letters
Updated: 18 September 2007
Dr Chee was released 18 September 2007, a week early for "good behaviour". See below touching photographs of him hugging his family as he leaves the prison. He has said that his campaign for human rights and democracy in Singapore is for his children's future. He now faces seven further charges for speaking in public without a permit. It is important to continue writing to the Singapore authorities expressing concern about restrictions on freedom of expression, especially as they apply to Dr. Chee and other government critics. . ...Take Action!
Sudan: Protect the people of Darfur
Updated: 14 September 2007
War remains a daily reality for the people of Darfur. Despite ongoing peace talks and ceasefires, the conflict which escalated three years ago shows no signs of letting up. All parties to the conflict have committed serious abuses, including obstructing much needed humanitarian aid. Those responsible for the worst crimes in Sudan must be held accountable. The people of Darfur have lived in fear for too long ... Take Action!
Canada: Demand mandatory human rights standards for Canadian companies operating abroad
Posted: 13 September 2007
Think there should be mandatory human rights standards governing the Canadian extractives industry overseas? In March, 2007, a joint industry-civil society report made a series of recommendations calling for corporate social responsibility standards. Write to key Cabinet Ministers and members of the Opposition asking them to support the recommendations! ...Take Action!
Myanmar: Student and political activists detained again for protesting governmental economic adjustments
Posted: 31 August 2007
Paw U Tun, Ko Ko Gyi, Pyone Cho and Min Ze Ya are among at least 18 people detained on 21 and 22 August after participating in demonstrations against fuel price rises. They are at risk of torture or other ill-treatment. It is believed the activists will be charged under Law 5/96, which provides for up to 20 years imprisonment for anyone who is found guilty of expressing opinions which disrupt the stability of the state, or "undermine, belittle and make people misunderstand the functions being carried out by the National Convention." Amnesty International is concerned that the vague and sweeping provisions of Law 5/96 criminalize the peaceful expression of political beliefs, and has called for its repeal ...Take Action!
UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: Decision imminent on vital Human Rights standard
Updated: 30 August 2007
The United Nations General Assembly is scheduled to consider adoption of the long awaited and much needed UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples on September 13, 2007. The Declaration was adopted by the UN Human Rights Council on June 29, 2006. after more than two decades of debate and negotiation. A small group of states have pushed to prevent its final adoption by the General Assembly, arguing that key provisions must be redrafted. Canada, which has complained that the Declaration is too "vague", has called for the land rights provisions to be dramatically weakened to state only that Indigenous peoples "may" have rights in respect to their traditional lands, territories and resources and that these rights "may" include the right to use, control and develop these resources ...Take Action!
Zimbabwe: Women Human Rights Defenders at Risk
Posted: 25 July 2007
Zimbabwe has had a rapidly deterioriating human rights situation since 2000, when the government embarked on a fast-track land reform programme followed by mass forced urban evictions in 2005. These forced evictions have driven the poorest people from their homes and from their work – including the work of informal traders in marketplaces. This seriously affects women, as they are the majority of informal market traders. The result has been that many are no longer able to support themselves and their families ... Take Action!
Mexico: Human Rights Defenders in Oaxaca face reprisals
Updated: 20 July 2007
Two human rights defenders were attacked by police during violent clashes between demonstrators and state police on July 16 and had to receive hospital treatment for their injuries. They now fear reprisals for having filed a complaint with the authorities against the police. At least 40 people were arrested during the conflict. Local human rights organizations and the detainees' families claim they are being held incommunicado, and fear for their safety ... Take Action!
China: Husein Dzhelil (known as Huseyin Celil) aged 37, Canadian citizen
Updated: 25 June 2007
Huseyin Celil is a member of western China’s Uighur minority. He has been a Canadian citizen since November 2005. He fled persecution in China because of his campaigning on behalf of his community. The Chinese authorities routinely accuse Uighur activists of "terrorism" without providing credible evidence for such charges.
...Take Action!
Kenya: Respect the rights of refugees
Posted: 20 June 2007
Armed conflict in Somalia has forced thousands of Somalis to seek asylum in Kenya. However on January 3, 2007, The Kenyan government claimed to have ‘security concerns’ and closed its border with Somalia. On the same day at least 420 Somalis who had already crossed into Kenya were forcibly returned to Somalia by the Kenyan authorities. These actions put thousands of lives at risk. Many of the people trying to flee Somalia now live in extremely difficult conditions at the border with Kenya. As ‘internally displaced people’ they do not receive aid or humanitarian assistance ... Take Action!
Peru: Denial of the right to maternal and child health
Posted: 31 May 2007
The lack of proper investment, the unequal distribution of health resources and unequal access to health care in Peru result in one of the highest mother and infant mortality rates in the Americas. This situation affects the rural poor and indigenous women in particular. If there is clear political will, adequate funding and appropriate services, these deaths are preventable. ... Take Action!
Colombia: Justice for the people of the Sinú River
Posted: 31 May 2007
An internationally-respected defender of Indigenous rights, Kimy Pernía Domicó was abducted by paramilitaries on June 2, 2001 in the Colombian city of Tierralta. He was never seen again. Kimy had spoken out about the damming of a river central to the lives and culture of his people, the Embera Katío. Damming the river caused devastating impacts, including the loss of important sources of food and a rise in malaria-spreading mosquitos ... Take Action!
Canada: Stop discrimination against Indigenous children
Posted: 17 May 2007
The federal government has estimated that Indigenous children are three to five times more likely than any other children in Canada to be taken from their families and placed with foster parents or in state institutions. Indigenous child welfare advocates say the numbers are actually much higher. The government has also acknowledged that one of the main reasons so many Indigenous children on reserve are taken from their families is that there is less funding provided by government to keep Indigenous children safely in their homes as compared to non-Indigenous children... Take Action!
Mexico: Dam Opponents at risk
Posted: 17 May 2007
Amnesty International is gravely concerned for the lives of Indigenous subsistence farmers opposed to the construction of a hydroelectric dam in Guerrero, Mexico called La Parota. Amnesty has documented the violence surrounding the La Parota dam project since 2004, including the killing of three people, injuries to several others and death threats to a local activist with the Organization of Community Members Opposing the La Parota Dam (Consejo de Ejidatarios y Comuneros Opositores a la Parota, CECOP) ... Take Action!
Mexico: Human Rights Defenders Face Reprisals
Posted: 17 May 2007
A car carrying journalist and human rights defender Lydia Cacho was reportedly tampered with on 7 May in an attempt to cause a fatal accident in Mexico City. No one was hurt. However, Amnesty International believes Lydia Cacho's life is once again in danger. Lydia Cacho had arrived at Mexico City airport with several other journalists. She was also accompanied by three agents of the Federal Investigation Agency (Agencia Federal de Investigación, AFI) who have been protecting her since she received death threats in 2005 and 2006 ... Take Action!
Guatemala: Denial of Justice
Updated: 2 May 2007
In February 2006, Silvia Patricia Madrid was found dead on a road on the outskirts of Guatemala City. According to the Public Prosecutor's Office, she died of strangulation and her body was found to have evidence of sexual violence and other scars consistent with being dragged. The story of Silvia Madrid is not unlike hundreds of other missing and murdered women in Guatemala. According to police records, 581 women were killed in 2006. Many of the women were killed in ways that demonstrated gender specific violence; cases of women killed in 2006 continued to show sexual violence, torture and exceptional brutality ... Take Action!
Mexico: Migrants rights defenders at risk
Posted: 26 April 2007
For four years, Santiago Rafael Cruz defended the rights of Mexican migrant workers in the US state of Ohio. He worked for an organization called the Farm Labour Organizing Committee (Foro Laboral del Obrero Campesino), known by its acronym FLOC. On 8 April, Santiago Rafael Cruz was found murdered in FLOC's Monterrey office. His hands and feet had been tied, and he had been severely beaten on his head and face. Nothing had been stolen from the office. While the motive for the murder is still not clear, Amnesty International fears it may be in reprisal for his work with FLOC. Amnesty is seriously concerned that Cástulo Benavides Rodríguez, FLOC's director with whom Santiago Rafael Cruz worked, is also at risk of attack, as well as other staff members of the organization. ... Take Action!
Canada/Afghanistan: Stop Detainee Transfers
Posted: 25 April 2007
Amnesty International is concerned that Canadian forces in Afghanistan continue to transfer detainees to Afghan custody despite persistent reports of torture and other serious human rights violations. After repeated appeals for a voluntary cessation of transfers, AI Canada is currently seeking an injunction in the Federal Court ... Canadian soldiers must never be part of a process that could lead to torture. Please write to the Minister of Defence calling for Canadian Forces in Afghanistan to stop transferring detainees until there can be genuine measures put in place to ensure that no detainee is subjected to torture and ill-treatment ... Take Action!
USA: Support for Native American and Alaska Native Women urgently needed
Posted: 24 April 2007
According to US government statistics, Native American and Alaska Native women are more than 2.5 times more likely to be raped or sexually assaulted than other women in the USA. Though rape is always an act of violence, there is evidence that Indigenous women are more likely than other women to suffer additional violence at the hands of their attackers. There are gaps in the data regarding sexual violence committed against Indigenous women, but it is known that the perpetrators of the violence are both Native and non-Native ... Take Action!
Maze of Injustice - The failure to protect Indigenous Women from sexual violence in the USA
Posted: 24 April 2007
More than one in three Native American and Alaska Native women are survivors of rape. Most do not seek justice because they know they will be met with inaction or indifference. As one support worker said, “Women don’t report because it doesn’t make a difference. Why report when you are just going to be revictimized?” Sexual violence against women is not only a criminal or social issue, it is a human rights abuse. ... Take Action!
Chad/Sudan: Violence against displaced women
Updated: 5 April 2007
The conflict in Darfur has included massive human rights violations by all parties, including extra-judicial executions, unlawful killings of civilians, torture, rape, abduction, destruction of property, and forced displacement. Now the conflict and human rights crisis in Darfur has also become a fact of life for the people in eastern Chad. Attacks by the Sudanese government-backed Janjanwid militias - including some fighters based in Chad itself - have spread some 150 kilometres into the country .... Take Action!
Zimbabwe: Stop the violent harassment of activists
Posted: 30 March 2007
About 50 activists were arrested at a public meeting in Zimbabwe on 11 March 2007, in defiance of a three-month ban imposed by the authorities. The activists, including leaders of the main opposition party in Zimbabwe -- the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) -- were severely beaten during arrest and some were reported to have been tortured while in police custody. Police shot dead one of the activists, Gift Tandare, the youth chairperson of the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) local structure in a Harare suburb. Please add your signature online to the petition below expressing grave concern and condemning the violent harassment of activists in Zimbabwe .... Take Action!
Share Power: Tell Ivanhoe Mines to circulate the shareholder human rights resolutions at the upcoming AGM
Posted: 28 March 2007
Ivanhoe management steadfastly refuses to accept that shareholders hold legitimate worries that the company's human rights and environmental practices could have negative future impacts on their investments and affect the profitability of the company over the long-term. Amnesty has long-standing human rights concerns about the activities of Ivanhoe Mines in Burma (now known as Myanmar) and is closely watching its new Oyu Tolgoi project in the southern Gobi Desert in Mongolia .... Take Action!
Share Power: Ask Nortel to protect and promote human rights
Posted: 22 March 2007
Good News! Nortel Resolution Withdrawn; Company Agrees to Human Rights. Policy Ethical Funds® withdrew its human rights resolution with Nortel Networks on Monday, March 19 after the company agreed to comply with the terms of the resolution. The shareholder resolution called on Nortel to describe its development of appropriate policies and management practices that promote and protect human rights in their Iraq and China operation. Your letters are needed to ensure the company discloses how it intends to implement the new policy and deal with security issues.... Take Action!
Share Power: Demand that Dow Chemical accept responsibility for the Bhopal clean-up
Posted: 13 March 2007
On the night of December 2nd, 1984, over 35 tons of toxic gases leaked from a pesticide plant in Bhopal owned by the US-based multinational Union Carbide Corporation's (UCC) Indian affiliate Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL). The gases that leaked consisted mainly of poisonous methyl isocyanate (MIC) and other toxins. In the next 2-3 days, more than 7,000 people died and many more were injured ... Take Action!
Mexico: Human rights violations in the justice system
Posted: 8 March 2007
A year has passed since a Canadian couple, Domenic and Nancy Ianiero, were found murdered in their Mexico hotel room. No one has yet been brought to justice for this crime and many questions have been raised in the Canadian press about the actions of Mexican prosecutors. This case attracted considerable attention, given that thousands of Canadians tourists travel to Mexico each year. Yet much overlooked is the crucial issue of how flawed justice in Mexico affects Mexican citizens on a daily basis, resulting in widespread human rights abuses ... Take Action!
Afghanistan: Take 20 seconds for Afghani women
Posted: 7 March 2007
After many years of conflict in Afghanistan, hundres of thousands of women and girls continue to suffer violence at the hands of their husbands, fathers, brothers and members of armed groups. When women seek justice, they are futher victimized by the police and formal and informal justice systems. Although thousands are returning to school, many remain deterred by fear of rape, school burnings and threats by local leaders and Taleban ... Take Action!
Canada: Leadership to stop violence against women
Posted: 25 February 2007
In Canada, violence against women, and in particular Indigenous women, is a serious problem. In April 2002, there were more than 2,400 women residing in shelters across Canada. Canada’s international leadership for the protection of women’s human rights has not translated into comprehensive and progressive policies and programs at home. In October 2006, the government of Canada announced changes to the budget and mandate of the department of Status of Women. These changes included a number of restrictions imposed on organizations that receive funding from Status of Women ... Take Action!
Belarus: Eliminate Domestic Violence
Posted: 25 February 2007
In Belarus, recent actions by the government to protect women from domestic violence remain far from adequate. Few women who have experienced domestic violence report their experience to police. One reason for this is the absence of policies and procedures to support reporting, documenting and tracking of acts of violence against women and girls. The Belarusian Criminal Code does not define or criminalize domestic violence as a specific crime and no distinction is made between violent crimes perpetrated by strangers and those by family members. Most perpetrators do not receive punishment and survivors don’t often find justice ... Take Action!
Guatemala: Recognize denial and inaction
Posted: 25 February 2007
In Guatemala, the government’s failure to adequately address cases of violence against women and girls through impartial investigations denies them and their families both truth and justice. Guatemala has one of the worst records in the world when it comes to violence against women and girls – due in large part to this denial and inaction. Hundreds of killings of women and girls have been reported in recent years and the authorities have failed to detain and bring to justice those responsible. Failure to prevent the escalation of killings and to ensure effective prosecutions means that perpetrators can continue to commit these crimes in the certainty that they will not be held to account. ... Take Action!
United States/Saudi Arabia: Youth among first detainees at Guantánamo
Posted: 23 February 2007
Yousef al-Shehri's family thought that both he and Abdul Salam al-Shehri had died until Saudi Arabian authorities released pictures of them, confirming their detention in Guantánamo. Another year would pass before the family received letters from the two young detainees. In 2005, however, authorities at Guantánamo refused to allow Yousef al-Shehri to listen to an audio tape from his mother, stating that the message may contain hidden messages or other material ... Take Action!
Afghanistan: Protect Women Against Violence
Posted: 22 February 2007
In Afghanistan few women and girls are exempt from the reality or threat of violence. Violence against women is widely tolerated by the community and widely practiced. It is tolerated at the highest levels of government and judiciary and abusers are rarely prosecuted. Women and girls live with the risk of abduction and rape by armed individuals, forced marriage, being traded for settling disputes and debts and face daily discrimination from all segments of society as well as by state officials. ... Take Action!
Canada: Protect the health and well-being of Security Certificate detainees
Updated: 16 February 2007
Mahmoud Jaballah, Mohammad Mahjoub and Hassan Almrei have all been in prison in Canada for more than five years. They are being held under immigration security certificates at the Kingston Immigration Holding Centre in Ontario. In the course of their seemingly indefinite detention, Jaballah, Mahjoub and Almrei have faced a number of restrictions on access to their families, medical care, regular exercise and the outdoors. They have been on hunger strikes for more than 8 weeks, protesting their incarceration and the conditions of their detention ... Take Action!
Nigeria: Rape - the silent weapon
Updated: 12 February 2007
In Nigeria, rape of women and girls by police and security forces is widespread. Women and girls are frequently raped while in detention or when visiting a male relative who is being detained. The military also use rape as a weapon to punish and intimidate whole communities, such as in the Niger Delta, where communities have publicized human rights abuses committed by the government ... Take Action!
Jamaica: Bring an end to sexual violence
Updated: 12 February 2007
In Jamaica, many women fear reporting sexual violence to the police for fear that they will not be believed. Social attitudes about women and girls contribute to a belief that women and girls are at least partially responsible for the crimes committed against them. Those that they should be receiving support from such as judges, court personnel, and the police, may challenge the fact that these women and girls have been raped or sexually assaulted ... Take Action!
Share Power: Challenge Chevron's environmental practices
Posted: 29 January 2007
Chevron is the fifth-largest integrated energy company in the world. There are several ongoing human rights and environmental concerns with Chevron's global operations.However, Amnesty International is deeply concerned about ongoing abuses in Ecuador, Burma, Angola and Nigeria. Oil development in the these regions has posed a serious danger to human rights, including people's right to life, health, livelihood and a safe environment (including political stability). ... Take Action!
Share Power: Tell Power Corporation to stand up for human rights in China
Posted: 29 January 2007
Power Corporation of Canada is a diversified management and holding company with interests in financial services and the communications sector in North America, Asia and Europe. The company currently enjoys status as one of 40 foreign companies approved by China's security regulator to invest in yuan-dominated securities. Amnesty believes that with that privilege comes the responsibility to promote and protect human rights! ... Take Action!