Members in Action

By: Ishaan Chandok

On April 22nd, 2017, a day accompanied with beautiful weather, the group One Fire invited Amnesty activists from the Business & Human Rights/Indigenous Rights Team to join them for a concert at Christie Pits Park in Toronto. Under the message “We Are One”, artists came together in this collective movement to deliver music based on topics such as peace, love, and freedom. The focus of the event was Earth Day 2017, and between musical guests, Amnesty International volunteers were given time at the mic to speak to the audience. 

By Jackie Hansen, Major Campaigns and Women's Rights Campaigner, Amnesty Internatioanl Canada

Amnesty yellow mingled with the Women’s March on Washington’s signature pink toques at solidarity marches from St. John's to Victoria on Saturday, January 21. Amnesty supporters were amongst the 3+ million march participants worldwide. We marched against fear, hate, and in support of love, equality and justice. We marched for women’s rights and for LGBTI rights.

On inauguration day, many women and LGBTI people felt invisible in the president’s speech, erased from the White House’s list of policy priorities, and concerned about the potential impacts of new policies on civil liberties, the shrinking space for civil society, women’s rights, and LGBTI rights.

The Canadian government is launching dozens of consultations over the coming months. Among these are election promises and issues with significant human rights dimensions. Now is the time for Amnesty International supporters to make their voices heard. 

WAYS TO GET INVOLVED 

Amnesty is undertaking an extensive project focused on the human rights of Indigenous peoples in northeast British Columbia’s Peace River Valley. In August, we released “The Point of No Return,” a report outlining how the human rights of Indigenous peoples are threatened by the Site C hydroelectric dam. We are calling on you once again to support our action calling for a halt to the Site C dam. Please use the report and Site C action in your campaigning this season. The Site C action will be featured in December’s Write for Rights events. The report, action, and much more is available at www.amnesty.ca/SiteC. 

The next phase of the project is the release on November 3 of “Out of Sight, Out of Mind,” a full report on the Peace River Valley project, which provides an overview of how the economic development model being employed in northeast BC violates Indigenous land rights, threatens Indigenous cultures, and heightens the risk that Indigenous women and girls will experience violence. Information about the report release and accompanying actions will be circulated in advance of November 3.

This September, Apple launched its latest gadget, the iPhone 7. Thousands of people scrambled to buy it as soon as it was released. Others will wait until the winter holiday shopping season to purchase it for loved ones. But beyond its new features, how many consumers think about the working conditions of those who mined the minerals that go into their new phones, along with our tablets and laptops?

Child miners work long hours in hazardous conditions in cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The cobalt is used to make batteries for electronics devices.

Amnesty International is urging Apple to investigate its supply chain to ensure that it does not use child labour.  

WAYS TO GET INVOLVED

GATHER SIGNATURES on our petition to Apple. 

GATHER SIGNATURES on our petition to Samsung. 

ON SOCIAL MEDIA use the hashtag #notinmyphone and tweet @Apple. 

Everyday across the globe, men, women and youth speak out in defence of the land and environment. They defend our planet and thanks to their work, we have clean air to breathe and water to drink.
But in countries such as Guatemala and Honduras, territory, land and environmental rights defenders (TLERDs) are killed and imprisoned because their activism challenges the politicians and companies that want to control the use of their lands and resources.

This September, Amnesty launched “We defend the land with our blood; Territory, Land and Environmental Rights Defenders Under Attack in Honduras and Guatemala”. This report is in advance of a new global campaign on Human Rights Defenders launching in March 2017. The report calls on the governments of Guatemala and Honduras to provide protection for defenders so they can carry out their important work, investigate crimes against them and prosecute those responsible, and publicly state their support for the work of TLERDs.

Combine a 3° temperature, a dose of sun, a course at Lake Ontario’s shoreline and 26,000 runners. There you have it: the Toronto Waterfront Marathon. Scattered among them on October 18 were 12 individuals running for rights. Together, we had contacted many friends and relatives to sponsor our efforts. They contributed close to $7,000 for Amnesty’s work!

“I had never run more than 10 km, but I decided to tackle the marathon as a personal goal,” said Johann Cooper. “Before I knew it, I was on the Amnesty team, wearing I'm running to support Amnesty International on my back.”