Salil Shetty next Secretary General of Amnesty International
Amnesty International has appointed Salil Shetty as its next Secretary General. Shetty, an Indian national, has been the Director of the UN’s Millennium Campaign for the past six years and the Chief Executive of international anti-poverty NGO ActionAid before then.
“We are thrilled that Salil will be joining us and leading Amnesty International as we renew our fight to end injustice – campaigning with those imprisoned because of their ideas, those on death row, those being tortured, and those who have their rights denied because they live in poverty,” said Peter Pack, the chair of Amnesty’s International Executive Committee [the organization's governing body].
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL USA
PRESS RELEASE
December 15, 2009
Amnesty International Says President Obama
Just Changed the Zip Code for Guantanamo
Human rights organization concerned about the fate of
detainees who continue to be held without charge
(Washington) – Tom Parker, Amnesty International USA policy director for (counter) terrorism and human rights, issued the following statement in response to the Obama administration’s decision to relocate some of the detainees in the U.S.-controlled detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to the Thomsom Correctional Center in Illinois:
“The detainees who are currently scheduled to be relocated to Thomsom have not been charged with any crime. In seven years, the U.S. government including, the CIA and FBI, have not produced any evidence against these individuals that can be taken to a court of law.”
“The only thing that President Obama is doing with this announcement is changing the Zip Code of Guantanamo.”
“A fundamental principle of the rule of law is that people cannot be held without charge or trial. The founding fathers knew it, the greatest generation fought for it, candidate Obama campaigned for it and the president needs to remember it.”
Women often bear the brunt of poverty and human rights abuses; but as activists they use these roles to trigger positive social change. To mark World Human Rights Day, Amnesty International spoke to three women who put their lives on the line in defence of human rights.
Women are affected by poverty, violence and human rights violations more than men because of the discrimination they face the world over. Over 70 per cent of the world’s poor are women. Women earn only 10 per cent of the world’s income but do two thirds of the world’s work.
Three quarters of the world’s illiterate are women. Women produce up to 80 percent of the food in developing countries but own only one percent of the land.
25 years ago, Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal, India leaked extremely toxic methyl isocyanate (MIC) into the surrounding city, exposing almost a million people and killing 8-10 thousands in the initial three days. For the last 25 years, Bhopal survivors have sought clean-up, compensation and accountability from Union Carbide to little or no avail. Amnesty International Group 48 and the Association for India’s Development have come together to raise awareness for the initial gas leak and the subsequent 25 years of injustice, and to inspire our community to take an active stance against this tragedy. Please join us in taking a stand.
Group 48 will continue its annual tradition to host a holiday potluck and Write-a-thon at this year’s December meeting. This is part of the Amnesty International USA Global Write-a-thon to celebrate the UN-recognized Human Rights Day. Here are the event details:
Greeting cards (non-religious and non-Amnesty cards)
Paper for letter writing
Envelopes
Pens
98-cent stamps (international postage except Mexico and Canada)
79-cent stamps (Mexico)
44-cent stamps (US)
Copies of the Global Write-a-thon cases (please copy double-sided, no staple, make several copies for each case)
If you plan to attend this event, please submit a comment to indicate what you will bring in terms of food or supplies. Please also provide an estimate on total number of guests if you want to invite friends and/or family.
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