Action Briefing Dec 2004 - Jan 2005
	The Newsletter of Birmingham Friends of the Earth

Central Birmingham Amnesty International Group

Guest Article: Birmingham Friends of the Earth campaigner Simon Ware dons his Amnesty hat for a look at the organisation's latest campaigns plus what's happening at the local level.

What is Amnesty International?
Amnesty International is a worldwide voluntary movement of people campaigning for human rights. We are independent of any government, political party or ideology, economic interest or religion. Our vision is of a world in which every person enjoys all the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights standards. We work towards our vision in two ways: by promoting general awareness of human rights issues and by opposing specific abuses of human rights.

What are the current campaigns?
Amnesty International has two main campaigns at the moment. The first is the Stop Violence Against Women campaign. This campaign is based around the fact that women are more likely to suffer from gender-based violence then men. This can take several forms including in the home (e.g. physical, sexual or emotional abuse from partners or relatives), in the community (e.g. rape, sexual abuse or trafficking), at the hands of the state (both violence carried out directly by the state and violence officially condoned or ignored) and in times of war (when women are particularly vulnerable to violence and rape is often used as a weapon of war). The campaign draws together a number of organisations who work to eradicate violence against women.

According to fifty surveys from around the world, one in three women in the world has been beaten, forced into sex or otherwise abused in her lifetime. This violence against women happens in all cultures and in all countries in the world. In the UK, most surveys agree that one in four women in the UK is affected by domestic violence in her lifetime.

It is not all bad news, however. In 1999 the UN declared 25th November the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. In 2004, the Philippines passed the 'Anti Violence Against Women and Children Act'. Queen Rania of Jordan has pledged support for Amnesty’s campaign.

The campaign has three main aims. First, to get governments to act. Secondly, to confront the attitudes that can lead to violence against women or that allow it to be tolerated. And thirdly, to support women who stand up for human rights. This campaign's main focus at present is to gather comments on what people think a world without violence against women would look like. These imaginings are collected on paper hands which will go together to form an impressive visual. The campaign then extends to getting people from all walks of life writing letters to decision-makers around the world to create a momentum for change. The campaign has really taken off and local groups have attracted widespread public interest in the campaign.

The other main global campaign is the Control Arms campaign, now a year old. Its aim is to gather one million faces or self-portraits of people to demonstrate support for our campaign to make people safe from armed violence. So far 175,000 faces have been collected and thousands are continuing to come in. Groups have worked with celebrities, teachers, parents and MPs to get them to join the campaign and get others to add their faces to the on-line gallery. Fourteen governments so far have expressed support for an Arms Trade Treaty and the intention is to make it happen in 2006.

Other campaigns include Business and Human Rights, Refugees and Asylum Seekers, and the Death Penalty.

What does the Central Birmingham Amnesty Group do?
The Central Birmingham Amnesty International Group currently has 68 members on its mailing list and an average meeting attendance of around twelve. We meet on the second Thursday of every month at Carrs Lane Church Centre, 7.30pm. We have discussions on human rights, guest speakers, sign letters and plan events, whatever people want to get involved in.

Examples of speakers we have had recently include Birmingham Women’s Aid on violence against women in Birmingham, an Amnesty International UK speaker on human rights in Russia and a speaker from the Birmingham-Ramallah Twinning Committee on human rights in Palestine. The willingness of people to ask questions from all perspectives and to have a genuinely open discussion has been very refreshing.

We have been involved in street stalls on the Control Arms campaign, invited people to write their imaginings on the Stop Violence Against Women campaign at the Moseley Festival, attended regional conference with Director of Amnesty International UK Kate Allen as guest speaker, held hustings for the European Parliament elections, held a karaoke night, carol singing and much more. You will also often find Amnesty members at public meetings on Guantanamo Bay and other issues where human rights are at stake.

What events are coming up?

• Monday 6th December at 8pm at the Ceol Castle, Moseley we have an Acoustic Amnesty event which will raise funds for the group and Amnesty International UK.
  
• Friday 10th December at the Council House between 10am and 3.30pm there will be a Human Rights Day Action with greetings cards being signed and sent to Prisoners of Conscience.

Where can I find more information?
Visit the West Midlands Amnesty website www.wmai.org.uk. Alternatively, call me on 07799 512906 or email sid_132@hotmail.com. Much more information on Amnesty’s work can be found at www.amnesty.org.uk.

Simon Ware