You can participate on your own, join an event — or you can host your own event! We’re here to help. If you have any questions, please contact the Write for Rights team at writeathon@amnesty.ca.

The purpose of the Write for Rights is to mobilize millions of people around the world on International Human Rights Day, December 10th. The main goal is to use the power of letter-writing to influence world leaders to protect individuals or communities whose human rights have been denied.

Everyone! You don’t need to have previous experience with human rights or Amnesty International to participate. Amnesty welcomes all those who are keen to keep shining the light on human rights. Whether you plan to participate as a letter-writer, event organizer, event attendee or donor, you’ll be making a difference!

You can register above as an individual letter-writer or join a letter-writing event in your community. Check out our map of events currently organized in Canada (and be sure to watch for more as we get closer to December 10th). Organise your own Write for Rights Event – big or small – and invite friends, family, or colleagues to participate. You can even register to host a private event at your own home. Every event helps change lives!

Yes, it does! We’ve learned that it takes persistence. Some countries can be more responsive than others and some high profile prisoners of conscience face repeat arrests. You can check out some of our past cases and success stories.

Every year, Amnesty International identifies people and communities at risk of human rights abuses worldwide who urgently need solidarity and justice. This year we’ve picked 11 cases where Canada-wide and global activism can make a huge difference, right now. We write letters for the individuals and communities whose human rights are being abused. These letters are typically addressed to the state authorities who have power to end the human rights abuses at hand. All the information that you need concerning case background, content, letter-writing, and address are available on this page. If you choose to write letters on your own, please register here and we will send you helpful information to get you started. You can choose to write a letter for any, some, or even all of the Write for Rights cases.

Most people are planning to write on December 10th to mark Human Rights Day. However, some events may take place earlier or later. We will be collecting letters until the end of February.

Of course! However, we strongly encourage you to register here because it allows us to keep you in the loop, and helps us track the impact of participation across Canada! Registration is available online until the end of February.

Write in any language in which you are fluent and feel most comfortable.

We invite you to set your own letter-writing goal: one, five, ten or more letters. Each letter makes a difference, especially when we remember that thousands of people are also sending letters, emails and tweets. No matter what you have time for, be sure to report your numbers so yours can be added to the global total! Send us an email with your totals at writeathon@amnesty.ca.

Absolutely! Thousands of Canadians are members of our Urgent Action Network. This dynamic network allows members to receive an appeal from Amnesty as frequently as they choose and on the type of human rights issues that interest them. For example, you could ask to receive one appeal per month for women at risk, about threats of torture or about the death penalty.

You can organise a virtual event or an in-person event. Some ideas for locations include private homes, libraries, book stores, schools, colleges, fairs or exhibitions, holiday markets and holiday shopping events, universities, community centres, places of worship, or prisons. If you would like to host a private event, you can hide your address on the registration form. We’re always excited to hear about new ideas for locations across Canada.

Once you register your event, a member of the Write for Rights Team will get in touch with everything you need to promote and organise your event. You can download the case cards (PDF). We can also send you posters, postcards, t-shirts, and other merchandise from our online shop. Please reach out if you would like support with advertising in your community newspaper or other publication. We have a budget to help support these types of expenses. Please email us at writeathon@amnesty.ca with your request.

It is strongly preferred that you register your event online. You can set your event as private on the registration form if you don’t want your address to be published on our event map. When you register online, your event will automatically be added to our event management and engagement platform. It’s a great tool to help you organise and allows you to connect with your participants and other Write for Rights event organisers. Registering for Write for Rights is your pledge to participate in the event. It also gives us an indication of how many people are planning on participating and how many letters were written during the campaign. It also helps you stay up to date if there are changes to the cases or campaign materials.