On Saturday, January 19th, be part of a global movement expressing outrage at ongoing gender-based rights violations and demonstrate solidarity with women human rights defenders by taking part in a Women’s March in your community.
Activism Guide
January 09, 2019
“You look at the lake, it looks good, it looks clean, the fish look all right. How to believe that something like that could turn against you?” – the late Steve Fobister Sr., former Chief of the Grassy Narrows First Nation, quoted in the Toronto Star
“Steve always wanted the government to admit that he had been poisoned by mercury. Now we take up his fight to honour him.” – the family of Steve Fobister, Sr.
In October, Steve Fobister Sr., a leader and spokesperson for the Grassy Narrows First Nation in northwestern Ontario, died after a long struggle with mercury poisoning. He was only 66. His family and friends are clear that the struggle he helped lead is far from over.
For more than five decades, the people of Grassy Narrows have been forced to live with the devastating consequences of a government policy that allowed massive amounts of mercury to be dumped into their river system. It’s no coincidence that Grassy Narrows, whose traditions and economy revolve around fishing, faces the worst community health crisis in Canada.
January 09, 2019
Last Fall, the BC government was able to convince a provincial judge to allow construction of the Site C dam to continue even though a fundamental Treaty rights challenge is still before the courts.
The United Nations’ top anti-racism body has now responded to the injunction decision by calling on the federal and provincial governments to immediately suspend construction of Site C. The letter from the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is absolutely clear that, despite the injunction decision, a halt to construction is absolutely necessary to prevent permanent harm to the human rights of Indigenous peoples in the Peace River region.
The Committee also called on the federal and provincial governments to seek independent, expert advice on how to fulfill their human rights obligations, including the right of free, prior and informed consent.
October 25, 2018
West Moberly and Prophet River First Nations have been forced to launch a court case to protect the Peace River Valley from the destructive Site C dam and uphold their Treaty Rights. By pledging to be a “Witness for the Peace”, you are letting the government know that you want them to uphold their Treaty obligations and that you care about what they argue in court on behalf of the "public interest". Site C Tabling Resources Included.
September 10, 2018
Erlendy Cuero, pictured above testifying to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, knows only too well how dangerous it is to speak up for human rights in Colombia. Her brother Bernardo (left), equally vocal in defending the rights of much-targeted Afro-Colombians, was gunned down last June. As Erlendy pressed for the perpetrators to be brought to justice, she received death threats. Deadly violence is ever present. In April, gunmen shot and killed two of Bernardo's sons.
Such atrocities were supposed to end with the signing of a peace agreement between the Colombian government and insurgents of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Yet since then, assassinations of community leaders have increased, not decreased. Every 11 days, someone in Colombia is killed for defending human rights. A frequent target are leaders of Indigenous, Afro-descendant and campesino communities seeking to defend their land rights in areas of economic interest. Colombian authorities are failing to protect them and allowing the perpetrators to get away with murder.
Now is a crucial moment to press for action.
September 07, 2018
More than 59,000 supporters of Amnesty Canada have raised their voices to demand justice in Honduras since beloved Indigenous rights defender Berta Caceres was gunned down in her home on March 2, 2016. The assassination was perpetrated less than a year after the leader of the Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH) was awarded the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize for her courageous work challenging the Agua Zarca hydroelectric dam and its impact on the land and water so vital to the rights and survival of Lenca Indigenous communities. Berta had repeatedly denounced threats she said came from people working for Desarollos Energeticos SA (DESA), the company developing the dam project. The government failed to act to protect Berta.
September 06, 2018
September is a month of excitement in Canada as students begin a new school year.
In Mexico, September 26 marks four years since police attacked a bus carrying 43 students from a rural college in Ayotzinapa who were studying to become teachers. Police took the students away. They were never seen again.
Their forced disappearance remains the most notorious example of a massive, ongoing epidemic of disappearances in Mexico - more than 37,000 people who were taken away and "vanished" - amidst state corruption and collusion with organized crime. The official investigation has been so deeply flawed as to be accused of covering up the involvement of the military and powerful authorities.
But now there is potential for truth, justice and finding the whereabouts of the students.
July 19, 2018
Share your story of human rights activism!
July 11, 2018
An appeal for action from Maude Barlow, Alex Neve and Grand Chief Stewart Phillip from Witness for the Peace
In just a few days, a B.C. court will begin hearings on one of the most important legal challenges of our time.
The court case — initiated by the West Moberly and Prophet River First Nations — may be British Columbia’s best hope for stopping the massively destructive and wasteful Site C dam.
A vital, irreplaceable cultural and ecological landscape is at stake. But the legal challenge to Site C is about more than the fate of the Peace River Valley. Fundamental issues of human rights and reconciliation are also at stake.
The federal and provincial governments have already admitted that they deliberately ignored their Treaty rights obligations when they decided to flood the Peace Valley. Such blatant disregard for the rights of Indigenous peoples has no place in any country genuinely committed to reconciliation.
July 03, 2018
Regina member Nathan Bauche descibes how he became involved in Amnesty International through letter-writing.
On June 24th, 2003 I sat down to write my first Amnesty International appeal letter. It was addressed to the Canadian government about the reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan. I received a reply to this letter from the Minister for International Cooperation at the time.
I had been acquainted with the movement earlier that spring in an education class. Our professor had invited the community AI group to speak to us. Through skits and discussion they explained Amnesty’s mission and role. During the presentation, I realized how easy it was to make a difference simply by writing a letter.
Afterwards I became heavy involved with AI. I joined the university’s Amnesty chapter, volunteered at many events, attended the Human Rights College in 2005, served on Amnesty Group 91’s board, and participated in twelve annual Write For Rights events.
June 18, 2018
Taner Kiliç, Amnesty International Turkey's Honourary Chair, has spent more than a year in prison. Taner’s trial, and that of 10 other human rights defenders, resumes in Istanbul on June 21st.
In June 2017, Taner Kiliç was charged and jailed as part of a crackdown on human rights defenders. Taner has done nothing wrong and never should have been arrested.
Taner is our friend and colleague. We will not give up until he is free.
Join our call to #FreeTaner and demand his immediate and unconditional release. Here's how:
1. TAKE ACTION NOWSign and share our action demanding that Taner be released immediately and unconditionally.
>>SIGN NOW
2. SHOW YOUR SUPPORT FOR TANERMake a sign with a message calling for Turkey to #FreeTaner. Include a message about where you are from.
June 15, 2018
1. Learn more about refugee sponsorship
Thousands of refugees are in urgent need of Canadian sponsors. Click here to learn more about refugee sponsorship and how you can help.
2. Add a 'World Refugee Day' frame Facebook profile picture
Add a link to this blog or our Operation Sponsor Surge page to your photo caption. Click here to add the 'World Refugee Day' frame to your Facebook profile picture.
3. Donate needed items
June 13, 2018
Summer is finally here and the season brings the perfect opportunity to get active with Amnesty in your community!
From local community fairs and music festivals to speaking tours and Pride parades, there are countless opportunities for Amnesty supporters to spread the word and build support for our work for human rights through tabling.
To get you started, we've prepared a tabling toolbox with all the resources you'll need to get active this summer. Make sure you have all the tools you need, and then take action on the important issues below.
>>> Check out our tabling toolbox
Show Your Human Rights PrideJune 08, 2018
By Jasmiha Ganeshanathan & Kishanaha Piratheepan, on behalf of the GTA Youth Leaders
On May 26th, 2018 Youth Leaders of Amnesty International in the GTA put together their 2nd Youth Café and it was a fantastic event!
This year’s Cafe incorporated learning and actions on three key human rights issues: Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women of Canada, Refugees and Water Defenders. We made the event unique by using participatory discussions and games as tools for learning and sharing information. One of the highlights of the day was the creation of a solidarity banner for water defenders in Guatemala that all participants got to paint ( and is now with our partners in Guatemala). We got inspired by youth author Stephanie Woodworth who talked about water and her experience growing up in a small rural community and were moved by the words of spoken word artist Frishta ‘Fresh’ Bastan.
June 01, 2018
In the coming weeks, the Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador will make a decision that could have profound consequences for the health and safety of Inuit people for generations to come.
The Muskrat Falls dam is nearly complete but a crucial concern remains unaddressed. The best and most reliable studies of the downstream impacts of the dam warn that filling the reservoir will generate dangerous levels of methyl mercury which will then contaminate the fish and seals on which Inuit people on Lake Melville depend.
Scientists from Harvard University have called for all vegetation and topsoil to be removed from the reservoir area - a recommendation that has been taken up by the majority of members of a provincial advisory body.
There are outstanding questions about how this can be done. What is clear is that the province must not gamble with the lives of Inuit people. The ability of Inuit people to live off the fish and seals of Lake Melville must be protected. The Muskrat Falls dam must not be completed until these concerns have been properly addressed.
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