ASSIST needs your sponsorship for the Great Yorkshire Run

ASSIST provides advice, support and friendship for destitute asylum seekers living in Sheffield.  We're a team of ASSIST volunteers, friends of ASSIST, asylum seekers and refugees running 10km in the Great Yorkshire Run on Sunday October 9th 2011, and hoping to raise at least £500 to enable ASSIST to continue its crucial work.

Check this page for team training updates and photos leading up to the race, and for more info on ASSIST, please visit www.assistsheffield.org.uk/.
Thanks!!!!
The ASSIST Runners

http://www.justgiving.com/ASSIST-Runners
About ASSIST

Asylum Seeker Support Initiative – Short Term (ASSIST) is a Sheffield charity that helps destitute asylum seekers in and around Sheffield. Asylum seekers become destitute when all the support they have been receiving from government is withdrawn following a final negative decision on an asylum claim. We often hear that they are failed because they are not genuine, but researches in 2003 by a group of MPs found that over half of those refused were in fact genuine; a proportion thought to be even greater now due to lack of adquate legal help.
Refused asylum seekers are not allowed to work, to register themselves as homeless, or places in local authority night shelters. There is no legal way for them to support themselves. Many become destitute, struggling daily for food, accommodation and clothing. It is estimated that there is about 1000 destitute asylum seekers in the Sheffield area alone.

What help do we give?

• finding night shelter for those sleeping rough
• finding temporary accommodation with host families
• paying a small weekly grant for food and basic living expenses
• advising about other sources of assistance available (charitable and non-charitable)
• giving free bus pass vouchers to those with serious medical problems, and pregnant women who would find it difficult to walk
• giving free bicycles
• finding longer term solutions by assisting clients to pursue their asylum claims
• raising awareness to the problem through events and talks
• opportunities for volunteering

We only give support to people who can demonstrate their situation (a letter confirming refusal of support under section 55 or a letter confirming termination of support at the end of an asylum claim plus termination of NASS housing letter, and, where appropriate a letter of referral from a relevant refugee community organisation). We prioritise those who are old, unwell, infirm or pregnant. Other than this we will support people to the best of our abilities with decisions made by a panel appointed by the trustees of the organisation. At present we support up to 80 people out of 1000 or more (estimated from government statistics) who are destitute in Sheffield. (Generally £20 per week per person). We give people cash but ask people to sign individually for all the money that they are given.
When necessary we provide people with money for travel expenses, so they can go to legal appointments. We are presently able to help about 25 people with accommodation, mostly hosted in private homes. ASSIST wants to help people in as dignified manner as is possible so they do not have to rely on food parcels.


Assist relies very much on the generosity of the public to meet the basic living needs of the asylum seekers. We have so far been able to help over 60 destitute asylum seekers with grants and accommodation. We try to give priority to those who suffer serious medical problems as well as women in late stages of pregnancy when making decisions about who should be helped. Those who can not be helped still benefit a lot from advice given by our volunteers about how they can access other forms of assistance.

What help can you give us?

You can make a big difference to the lives of these people by:

• making a regular donation to Assist, cheque or bank transfer
• host an asylum seeker for a short period of time
• supporting Assist at many of its fundraising events
• raise awareness by inviting members of Assist to come to speak to you about the problem
• become a volunteer with Assist

Being a refused asylum seeker is one of the worst punishments on men. Everyday, we see doors shut which deny us access even to the most basic human needs.  In an environment where everything appears to shift towards relentless firmness with no room for sympathy ASSIST really is a life saver.  Their work targets solving real problems faced by asylum seekers: need for shelter, food, clothing, access to healthcare, advice and signposting, befriending, and above all listening and caring.  It is not easy dealing with people for who the future has nothing -but ASSIST goes beyond and ask people to open their doors and take in asylum seekers.  It is beyond words to describe such gestures and generosity.  The worst feeling is knowing that you have nothing to offer in return; yet the relief is that nothing is expected of you in return.

International Day of the Disappeared in Sheffield

 Yesterday was International Day of the Disappeared when we remember the tens of thousands of people around the world who have been subject to enforced disappearance.  Sheffield Amnesty International organised a vigil to remember those people and to continue to seek justice for them and their families.

People came from as far as Liverpool and Newcastle to support the event.  Special thanks to local Amnesty International groups and to the members of the Chilean community many of whom have experienced the loss of loved ones in such difficult circumstances.  Their dignity and placards featuring hundreds of disappeared individuals served as a grim reminder as to why we should never forget.

 

My interview on BBC Radio Sheffield is 70 minutes into this link:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p00jrfgh/Rony_Robinson_30_08_2011/

 

Graham Jones

 

 

 

 

The Future of Nuclear Power: debate in Sheffield

Remember the victims of Hillsborough and their families

 Many people in Sheffield will remember the terrible day in 1989 when 96 people were crushed to death and over 700 others sustained various injuries.  It was the worst day of my life and I never want to see anything like that again.

 After  twenty two years of pain, the brave families of those that died are still seeking justice and are calling for the governemnt to ensure the release of papers relating to this incident.

Please support this petition
 http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/2199

 If you don't understand the way these families have suffered unnecessarily at the hands of the authorities, you could do worse than to watch clips of Jimmy McGovern's film Hillsborough:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVXfXZGki4c

Please help the people find justicea nd sign the petition.

CUTS - ALL REMPLOY FACTORIES UNDER THREAT

CUTS - ALL REMPLOY FACTORIES UNDER THREAT.

A recent DWP Report proposes either the privatisation or outright closure of REMPLOY
factories. If these proposals are implemented it will mean the destruction of REMPLOY and a
bleak future for disabled workers who are the most vulnerable workers in society.
In spite of the late notice all available trade unionists and their friends and colleagues are
urged to participate in the following Demonstration which is to be jointly organised by the
GMB, UNITE, and COMMUNITY.

FRIDAY 19TH AUGUST 2011

DEMONSTRATION

DWP
STEEL CITY HOUSE
WEST STREET
SHEFFIELD
S1 2GQ

START TIME 10.00AM
EVERBODY WELCOME
IT’S TIME TO STAND UP AND BE COUNTED IT DOES NOT MATTER
WHO OR WHAT YOU ARE
CUTS WILL DESTOY OUR COMMUNITIES
Tell the DWP WHAT YOU THINK TO THE CONSULTION OF THE SAYCE
REPORT
DEFEND DISABLED WORKERS DEFEND THE FUTURE OF REMPLOY
WORKERS
NO IFS NO BUTS NO PUBLIC SECTOR CUTS
THEY SAY CUT BACK WE SAY FIGHT BACK

International Day of the Disappeared in Sheffield

In Sheffield on 30th August at 4.30 pm we will be assembling in front of Sheffield Town Hall to remember victims of enforced disappearance from around the world. 

Aug. 30, is the International Day of the Disappeared, observed by Amnesty International and other human rights groups around the word to remember the disappeared and to press for justice for the victims of enforced disappearance and their families. An “enforced disappearance” occurs when agents of the state arrest a person and the state then denies any knowledge of the person’s status or whereabouts. 

You could be taken at any time, day or night. You might be at home, at work or traveling on the street. Your captors may be in uniform or civilian clothes. They forcibly take you away, giving no reason, producing no warrant. Your relatives desperately try to find you, going from one police station or army camp to the next. The officials deny having arrested you or knowing anything about your whereabouts or fate. You have become a victim of enforced disappearance

Enforced disappearance is a grave human rights violation and a crime. Amnesty International defines an enforced disappearance as the detention of someone by the state or its agents, when the authorities deny that the victim is in custody or conceal what has happened to them. Enforced disappearances have occurred across the world - in Sri Lanka, Russia, El Salvador, Morocco, Iraq, Thailand, Pakistan, Bosnia, Equatorial Guinea, Egypt and Argentina, to name a few. No one is immune; victims have included men, women and children.

Stand up against enforced disappearances and support our vigil on 30th August.

(if we don't see you there we might get worried about you.)

UK taxpayers finance illegal, inhumane weapons

Episode 3 of Amnesty International TV has launched today! You can view it on this link
http://www.youtube.com/amnestytvhttp://www.youtube.com/amnestytv

This edition highlights the scandal of the  investment by major British banks, some of them using taxpayers money, in illegal weapons, notably cluster bombs.

Cluster bombs kill and maim indiscriminately – 98 per cent of victims are civilians and a third of those are children. This is why over 100 countries – including the UK – have signed up to an international treaty banning their manufacture and use.
Yet over a year after this treaty came into force, and despite the fact that cluster bombs are now banned in the UK, some UK-based banks continue to invest in companies which make them.
Stop investment in companies that make cluster bombs
The worst of these is the Royal Bank of Scotland – which, don’t forget, is now over 80 per cent owned by UK taxpayers. RBS is known to have invested $80 million in companies which manufacture cluster bombs in the past year¹.
Take action: email the Chief Executive of RBS now
Cluster bombs can remain deadly for years, much like landmines. So civilians in places like Georgia, Kosovo, Lebanon and Laos are at risk long after the fighting has ended. As a member of the global Cluster Munition Coalition², we’re working to end the suffering cluster bombs cause. But we need organisations like RBS to take responsibility for the part they play.
Should a taxpayer-funded bank be investing in companies making weapons which are banned by this country? Should any bank invest in companies which make these appalling weapons?
If you think not, please take action now

UK taxpayers finance illegal, inhumane weapons

Many readers of this blog would probably be shocked to learn that their money – as UK taxpayers – is helping to prop up a bank which is investing in companies which produce illegal weapons.


But that is exactly what is happening with Royal Bank of Scotland (including Nat West), a government-owned bank which last year gave an $80million (£48.8million) loan to companies which help produce cluster bombs – weapons which the UK Government actually outlawed last year. 

A recent nationwide opinion poll found that nearly eight out of ten people in Great Britain said RBS shouldn’t be allowed to make these kind of investments. 

Cluster bombs are large explosive weapons that scatter dozens or hundreds of smaller submunitions over a wide area. They cannot distinguish between military targets and civilians. One third of all recorded cluster bomb casualties are children. Yet despite efforts to ban these indiscriminate weapons, 138 banks and other financial institutions continue to invest over US$20 billion in companies that produce them.
I imagine most of us in Sheffield would agree. Amnesty International is urging RBS to stop using our money to make investments in companies that make illegal weapons. 

For more information visit
 
http://blog.protectthehuman.com/clusterbombs/    

66 years since Nagasaki and Hiroshima were a-bombed

Yorkshire CND invites you to join in  the following events:

Saturday 6th August (Hiroshima Day)

Sheffield - 11am - Vigil outside Sheffield Town Hall

Sunday 7th August
Sheffield - Peace picnic at Meersbrook Park

Why must we remember this event?

On August 6, 1945 the US dropped an atomic bomb ("Little Boy") on Hiroshima in Japan. Three days later a second atomic bomb ("Fat Man") was dropped on the city of Nagasaki. These were the only times nuclear weapons have been used in war.
Reasons for the bombing
Many reasons are given as to why the US administration decided to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Reasons include the following:

• The United States wanted to force Japan's surrender as quickly as possible to minimize American casualties.
• The United States needed to use the atomic bomb before the Soviet Union entered the war against Japan to establish US dominance after the war against Japan and to secure Japanese surrender to the US.
• The United States wanted to use the world's first atomic bomb for an actual attack and observe its effect.

Given all of these reasons, the US was in quite a hurry to drop the bomb. Shortly after successfully testing history's first atomic explosion at Trinity, New Mexico, on July 16, 1945, the order to drop the atomic bomb on Japan was issued on July 25.

The impact of the bombing on Hiroshima
Hiroshima stands on a flat river delta, with few hills to protect sections of the city. The bomb was dropped on the city centre, an area crowded with wooden residential structures and places of business. These factors meant that the death toll and destruction in Hiroshima was particularly high.
The firestorm in Hiroshima ultimately destroyed 13 square kilometres (5 square miles) of the city. Almost 63% of the buildings in Hiroshima were completely destroyed after the bombing and nearly 92% of the structures in the city had been either destroyed or damaged by blast and fire.
Estimates of total deaths in Hiroshima have generally ranged between 100,000 and 180,000, out of a population of 350,000.
The impact of the bombing on Nagasaki
Due to the hilly geography of Nagasaki and the bombing focus being away from the city centre, the excessive damage from the bombing was limited to the Urakami Valley and part of downtown Nagasaki. The centre of Nagasaki, the harbour, and the historic district were shielded from the blast by the hills around the Urakami River.
The nuclear bombing did nevertheless prove devastating, with approximately 22.7% of Nagasaki's buildings being consumed by flames, but the death toll and destruction was less than in Hiroshima. Estimates of casualties from Nagasaki have generally ranged between 50,000 and 100,000.
The fact that the Nagasaki bomb was more powerful and also the narrowing effect of the surrounding hills did mean that physical destruction in the Urakami Valley was even greater than in Hiroshima. Virtually nothing was left standing.
The city of Hiroshima invites people from around the world to participate in making paper cranes to remember those who died in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This action started in memory of Sadako who was two years old when the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and later died of leukaemia caused by the exposure to nuclear radiation. Believing that folding paper cranes would help her recover, she kept folding them until she passed away on October 25th, 1955, after an eight-month struggle with the disease.
Sadako's death inspired a campaign to build a monument to pray for world peace. The Children's Peace Monument was built with funds donated from all over Japan. Now, approximately 10 million cranes are offered each year before the Children's Peace Monument.

gust

Hiroshima and Nagasaki Day events 2011 Yorkshire CND will be holding a series of events to comemorate the victims of the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6th and 9th August 1945, and to celebrate our desire for a peaceful, non-nuclear future.Hiroshima and Nagasaki Day Events: 6th - 9th Au

Shell's clammy hand in the Niger delta

 Sheffield Amnesty International works consistently on human rights abuses across the West African region.
The blog below highlights very well some of our human rights concerns caused by the environmental destrruction  caused by Shell.

(With thanks to Niluccio)
For a company whose logo is the shell of a giant clam, a marine and freshwater creature millions of years old, it’s ironic that Royal Dutch Shell is so cavalier about the pollution of watercourses that its operations frequently cause.

In the Niger Delta in Nigeria, Shell’s half-century of oil extraction has poisoned rivers, mangrove swamps and farming lands, and impoverished whole communities that depend on these natural resources for their survival.

Worst hit have been the people of Ogoniland (see this map). Now numbering some half a million, the Ogoni, to quote Ken Saro-Wiwa, have in the space of less than a century been “struck by the combined forces of modernity, colonialism, the money economy, indigenous colonialism and then the Nigeria civil war”. And of course a multinational oil company that sank nearly 100 oil wells and pumped about 28,000 barrels of oil through their land a day.

Famously – and notoriously – in 1995 the organised resistance to the oil industry’s pollution of Ogoniland by the Movement for The Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) saw its leader Saro-Wiwa and eight others put on trial before a military court and hanged. Shell’s website says it was “shocked and saddened” at this (as were Amnesty and millions of people around the world).

So, 16 years on, are the dark days of the MOSOP struggle (there were various horrible killings) a sort of nightmare from which local inhabitants and oil giant alike have moved on?

Shell would like you to think so. Its site contains an article published in the Guardian in 2009 called “It’s time to move on”. It’s about the out-of-court settlement made to the Ogoni people that year. In it Shell’s Executive Director for Exploration and Production Malcolm Brinded says he hopes “it’s the start of something new for the Ogoni people as well as for Shell in Nigeria.” He concludes with the observation that Shell is “supporting a UN-led survey of Ogoni land to meet environmental concerns.”

Hmm. Well, that survey is out today. It’s not a pleasant read. See the full report here. In summary, the study found that oil contamination in Ogoniland is widespread and severe, and that Ogonis have been exposed to it for decades.  For example, drinking water is highly contaminated. In one instance water contained a known carcinogen at levels 900 times above World Health Organisation guidelines.
Back in 2009 Brinded said Shell had “promised to clear up any damage from oil spills – whatever their cause”, but the company has meanwhile expended much public relations energy in disputing responsibility for oil spillages (Amnesty and Friend’s of the Earth International have even reported Shell to the OECD for their use of misleading figures), shifting blame onto “local saboteurs”. The point here is that, under Nigerian law, when spills are classified the result of sabotage Shell has no liability to provide compensation for damage done to local people or their livelihoods. 
Shell says it “agrees that, in the past, not enough oil revenue has been returned to the oil producing areas for developmental purposes” (a key MOSOP contention). And on spills it says “25% have been caused by operational failure or human error”, a situation it concedes is “unacceptable”. One key reason for spillage is that Shell has for decades failed to maintain its rusting, creaking pipeline infrastructure.
Spillages may represent a dent in profits for Shell, for local people they’ve been devastating. Here’s one viewpoint, that of Regina, a 40-year-old mother of six from the Bodo area of Ogoniland which suffered a major spill in 2008 wiping out fish in the creeks: “The price of fish has increased a lot in Bodo … Everybody is struggling …I think that for someone with [such] a low voice as myself it is difficult to make a claim.” And for a quick glimpse of the dreadful damage the oil spill at Bodo has caused, see this video.
Make no mistake: this a David and Goliath struggle for justice by poor people who’ve had their lives and livelihoods turned upside down by one of the world’s biggest multinational companies.
Meanwhile, chickens are coming home to roost. Shell is being forced to settle expensive legal cases for some 69,000 affected people in Bodo. If I was an institutional investor in Shell (I’m not) I’d be worried about the wisdom of putting my money into a company as neglectful of its corporate responsibility as Shell. 

http://blogs.amnesty.org.uk/index.asp

Death Penalty no thanks (but thank you, Niluccio, for this piece)

Noose in Abu Ghraib prison, Iraq (AP)

 Amnesty International believes that the death penalty is ulitmate inhumane violition of human rights. Sheffield Amnesty group work consistently in opposing the death penalty around the world, especially in the USA and in Belarus (Europe's last executioner.)  Thanks to Niluuccio for  the piece below explaining our implacable opposition to the death penalty.

Following Guido Fawkes’ little blaze (ahem) of publicity with his “bring back hanging” e-petition campaign, there’s been a lot of stuff (including from him) about the supposed “deterrence” of having a noose in the criminal justice system.
Crime rates are high because we don’t have judges with black caps and men like Albert Pierrepoint to dish out justice. Apparently.
So, if you’re looking for evidence to support an argument that capital punishment is a deterrent against serious crime – then you can find it. This chap on the Telegraph site will run you through some. Equally, if you’re looking for evidence to support an argument that capital punishment is not a deterrent against serious crime, then, yes, you can find that as well.
This is precisely why abolitionists like Amnesty have for so long said that there is no proven "deterrent effect" attaching to the death penalty. Because there isn’t.
In this sense it’s fallacious to say that capital punishment “works”. It works to kill people, yes (and not always quickly or painlessly, and not even always guilty people either), but it doesn’t work in the criminological sense of deterrence.
In the absence of the deterrence argument capital punishment's proponents should either drop their support or give other reasons for it. The major alternative "pro" argument is that perpetrators of the most serious crimes "deserve" the "ultimate" penalty – death at the hands of the state. Actually, if you listen closely, the "just desserts" viewpoint is never far away from death penalty debates. "Heinous" criminals don't deserve to live. Why should they when their victim has been cruelly killed?
In a sense, this would at least be an honest argument about ethics, societal norms and what values a decent society lives by. On the abolitionist side Amnesty and others argue that the death penalty is wrong, full-stop. It's a human rights violation in its own right. 
Everything else is subsidiary to this: the arbitrariness of its application (poor people, ethnic minorities and the badly-represented being more likely to die, as in the US); the error rate (confidence-sapping miscarriages like the Birmingham Six here or the 139 US death row prisoners released on grounds of innocence since 1973); its politicisation (Ken Saro-Wiwa and others in Nigeria; executions after protests in Iran); or even the means of extinguishing life (is a lethal injection "better than" hanging?).
In the end all of these (individually quite powerful reasons to be opposed) are themselves "utilitarian" arguments. They still skirt around the central question: is it right to invest the governing authority with the powers to judicially kill?
In the end you’re either for or against it on essentially moral grounds. I’m against.
Meanwhile, cases like Troy Davis’ in the USA just ram the point home to me: it’s wrong anyway (a justice system should dispense justice not death), and it leads to horrendous cases like this where a man has spent 20 years on death row for a crime he may not have committed. What more evidence do you need to oppose Guido’s ill-judged idea to unearth a relic of the past?

http://blogs.amnesty.org.uk/blogs_entry.asp?eid=7876

VIOLENT POLICE ACTION CAPTURED ON VIDEO

VIOLENT POLICE OPERATION CAPTURED ON VIDEO

ARGENTINA

New evidence about the violent police operation of 23 November 2010 to evict members of the Toba Qom indigenous community of La Primavera, Argentina, has come to light.
Video footage has recently been made public about the events of 23 November 2010, when police violently dispersed a roadblock by members of the Toba Qom indigenous community of La Primavera, in the North-Eastern province of Formosa, Argentina. They were protesting the construction of a university on land they claim as ancestral territory and were forcibly evicted. At least one community member and one police officer were shot dead and at least five community members were hospitalized with serious injuries during the eviction.

Images from the video that was recorded by a police officer present at the events of 23 November 2010 were shown earlier this month on Argentinean television and online. This is a potentially important development, as more than seven months after the police operation of 23 November 2010 there has been little visible progress in the judicial investigations. The Toba Qom indigenous community plans to submit the video to the prosecutors investigating the incident as new evidence in the case.

Earlier this year, the Governor of Formosa province wrote to Amnesty International stating,: “Regarding the facts that happened on 23 of November, it is not true that the Police acted the illegal way you describe, because they were following the request of a judge from the Provincial Justice, who was even present at the time those terrible events took place” and “(…) these events are being analyzed by the Justice, which counts with all the necessary information and means to judge those who are responsible for these sad incidents”.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Around 100 members of the Toba Qom indigenous community blocked national highway (Ruta Nacional) 86 for 4 months in protest at the construction of a university by the Formosa provincial authorities on land the community claim as ancestral territory. According to the community, between 400 and 500 heavily armed police officers demanded that they move out of the road, without showing an eviction order (orden de desalojo). The community refused to leave and were forcibly evicted by police. Police also burned temporary housing built by the community.
In April 2011, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) issued precautionary measures urging the Argentinean State to protect members of the community of La Primavera against “possible threats, attacks, or acts of harassment on the part of members of the police, law enforcement officers, or other State agents, as well as to implement any necessary measures so that Félix Díaz and his family can return to the community under safe conditions."
In May following demonstrations by the community and supported by national and international organizations and public figures, the national government reached an agreement with the Toba Qom Indigenous community to guarantee their safety and facilitate a resolution of the conflict between the local authorities in the province of Formosa and the community.Negotiations between the provincial authorities and the community are ongoing.
Watch the video at: 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=1g6LdUUsh64

PLEASE WRITE IMMEDIATELY in Spanish, English or your own language:

* Call on the authorities to carry out a full and impartial investigation into the events of 23 November 2010, and bring those responsible to justice;
* Urge them to urgently resolve the land claim of the Toba Qom indigenous community of La Primavera and other Indigenous People in Formosa and in Argentina, so they can live on their ancestral lands without fear of attack or illegal eviction;
* Call on them to comply fully with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the International Labour Organization’s Convention 169 and to enshrine in national law the rights of Indigenous Peoples to their ancestral lands, establishing mechanisms whereby these rights can be recognized and exercised with their full participation.


PLEASE SEND APPEALS TO: (Time difference = GMT - 3 hrs / BST - 4 hrs)

Julio Cesar Alak
Ministro Ministerio de Justicia, Seguridad y Derechos Humanos
Presidencia de la Nación
Sarmiento 329 - C1041AAG Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires
Email: privada@jus.gov.ar
Salutation: Estimado Sr Ministro

Dr. Gildo Insfrán
Gobernador de Formosa
Belgrano N° 878 - Casa de Gobierno - Formosa (3600)
Tel: 0054 3717 4 26000/1
Fax: 0054-3717-430872
Email: gobernador@formosa.gov.ar
Salutation: Estimado Sr. Gobernador

And copies to:

Hermanas de la Caridad, 3611 LAGUNA NAINECH Formosa), Argentina;
Tel: 0054 3718/ 49 10 62,
E-mail: paolagiolo@clorinda-fsa.com.ar


PLEASE SEND COPIES OF YOUR APPEAL TO:

The Ambassador, Embassy of the Argentine Republic, 65 Brook Street, London W1K 4AH. Fax: 020 7318 1301.
Tel. 020 7318 1300
Email: info@argentine-embassy-uk.org
Web-site: www.argentine-embassy-uk.org

Help call for justice in Burma

Every day members of Burma’s ethnic minorities deal with the very real threat of being forced into slave labour, murdered or raped.
Meanwhile, government forces and armed groups continue to carry out violence without any risk of being held to account.
Watch a video about these human rights abuses and join the call for justice
Following an update in 2008, Burma’s constitution outlaws freedom of speech and assembly, legalises enforced labour and essentially protects government officials from prosecution for violating human rights - closing the door to justice for victims.
So while brave individuals who stand up and call for reform are often arrested without warrant and held incommunicado, those who commit human rights abuses are unlikely to ever face imprisonment. Help hold these criminals to account
The Burmese authorities have shown themselves unwilling to investigate crimes against humanity. It is time for the international community to take a stand. We have joined the call for a UN Commission of Inquiry into human rights violations in Burma.

Please add your voice to ours.http://action.amnesty.org.uk/ea-action/action?ea.client.id=1194&ea.campaign.id=11503&utm_source=email&utm_medium=mass_email&utm_campaign=Burma&utm_content=Burma_COI_image
 
Act now: urge European countries to support a Commission of Inquiry
 
Thank you for your support