Write for Rights

Amnesty supporters across the country are taking action for Write for Rights. 

Every year on December 10th, Amnesty International celebrates International Human Rights Day with the world's largest grassroots human rights event. Last year, we sent 3.7 million letters and messages for human rights from 200 countries. 30,000 participants in Canada contributed over 35,000 actions to the worldwide total. Our activists make all this possible. 

Want to join in? 

There's still time to organize your own event for Write for Rights. 

Hold a potluck with friends or gather at a local coffee shop to write letters. 

Check out our tips for organizing a great event and register now! 

Last year Amnesty supporters across the world wrote an astonishing 3.7 million letters, messages, emails, tweets and much more as part of Write for Rights. From Afghanistan to Zambia, dedicated campaigners, students, school kids and loads of others got on board. In Canada, Amnesty supporters took action in more than 1000 locations across the country, taking over 30,000 actions. Together, we demanded change on behalf of people and communities suffering appalling human rights abuses.

And guess what? It made a massive difference. Here are five people whose lives were transformed by the power of the pen.
 

By Gloria Nafziger, Amnesty International Canada's Campaigner for Iran

Where would you spend a Sunday in July?

On Sunday July 17, the members of Amnesty International’s TriCities Group in Coquitlam BC chose to stand in solidarity with Iranian prisoner of conscience, Narges Mohammadi

Narges Mohammadi is a human rights defender who received a 16-year prison sentence after she was convicted, following an unfair trial in April 2016, of the charges of “founding an illegal group”, “gathering and colluding to commit crimes against national security”, and “spreading propaganda against the system”. She is already serving a six-year prison sentence from a previous case. Her convictions are based solely on her human rights work.

Narges is critically ill. She suffers from a pulmonary embolism (a blockage in the blood vessel that carries blood from the heart to the lungs) and a neurological disorder that has resulted in her experiencing seizures and temporary partial paralysis. She needs ongoing specialized medical care, which she cannot receive in prison, as well as daily medication.

“We are inspired and deeply honoured to have the support of so many individuals in our fight to stop the proposed Site C Dam."  - Chief Roland Willson of the West Moberly First Nations

West Moberly is one of the First Nations in the Treaty 8 region of northeastern BC that vigorously objected to the Site C dam through the environmental assessment review process. The report of that independent review set out a clear case against the dam, including the irreversible harm that it will cause to one of the few remaining areas where West Moberly and other First Nations can exercise their rights, the destruction of hundreds of cultural sites, and the province's failure to properly other, less harmful alternatives. 

By Ann Douglas

Know a young person who is passionate about social justice—who is eager to make the world a better place, starting right now?

Let that young person know about the Lifesaver program. Lifesavers are free monthly actions for kids aged 9 and up. The actions involve writing letters on behalf of an individual or group whose human rights are in jeopardy.  https://www.amnesty.ca/get-involved/youth-activism/lifesaver

Recent Lifesaver actions have offered support to:

Egyptian photojournalist Mahmoud Abu Zeid (known as “Shawkan”) has spent nearly 1,000 days in jail after photographing the violent response of security forces to a sit-in protest in Cairo. He has been tortured in detention and now faces trumped-up charges which could lead to life imprisonment. Ahead of his trial on 26 March, he sent Amnesty this letter about his experiences in prison.

At 7:45am, a tall, hard-hearted and thick-minded informant with barely recognizable facial expressions shows up; his accent betrays his countryside origins. His mission and assignment inside the prison, like his other “team” members of informants, are to stand near your head and shout the following: “Stand up buddies, all of you; it is inspection time”. 

“Write for Rights, Toronto!” successfully concluded on December 5th, 2015. We will discover the number of messages penned when all the letters and cards are sorted. But more important was the number of people participating.

This year’s event was incredible because of the record attendance. We had to squeeze in three more tables. We ran out of paper and food! Our organizers were pleasantly shocked at having to make runs to nearby stores for more snacks and writing supplies. Amnesty International is made strong through the support and enthusiasm of its supporters and activists and this event was a testimony to that strength!