Bernwode Amnesty Group: Campaigns

Torture Campaign
(Co-ordinator: Peter Duckworth)

Torture campaign web site: http://www.stoptorture.org/

"Everyone has the right to live free of the threat of torture and ill-treatment. International law unequivocally and absolutely prohibits torture in all circumstances. Yet despite universal condemnation, torturers continue to inflict physical agony and mental anguish on countless victims - and to get away with it."

Torture continues to pollute the excercise of authority in many countries. The practice of it occurs under a variety of regimes - from despotic governments, which cynically use torture to suppress opposition, to otherwise more benign governments which fail to rein in the excesses of local officials who abuse the powers invested in them. It will never be stamped out altogether, but vigilance followed by pressure can suppress it when it occurs.

The purpose of Amnesty's campaign is to pressure governments to bring torturers to justice by ending 'impunity'. Impunity is the failure to bring to justice those who commit abuses of human rights. BAG has been involved in the campaign by raising public awareness of the occurrence of torture and by the bombardment of representatives of target goverments with cards and letters pleading for improved behaviour. The Amnesty campaign has resulted in some gratifying successes.

MSP
(Co-ordinator: Richard Ellis)

Death Penalty
(Co-ordinator: Alison Giraud-Saunders)

"The death penalty is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment.
It violates the right to life. It is irrevocable and can be inflicted on the innocent
and has never been shown to deter crime more effectively than other punishments."

This is a long term campaign. Amnesty opposes capital punishment both on principle – as a cruel and inhuman act – and because it is ineffective as a deterrent to crime and irreversible in miscarriages of justice. The aims of the campaign are to encourage more countries (and states within countries) to abolish capital punishment altogether or at least to abandon its use in practice. The number of countries that are abolitionist in law or in practice continues to grow – currently 111. A recent addition to this list was Turkey, as a condition for consideration for EU membership.

However, 84 countries retain and use the death penalty for ordinary crimes; in 2001 at least 3,048 people were executed in 31 countries. 90% of all known executions took place in China, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the USA (though some American states have abolished capital punishment). Some countries are reintroducing or increasing executions in response to rising concern about violent crime. Plans to do so were the focus of a recent campaign on English speaking countries in the Caribbean, such as Jamaica.

The current foci for the campaign are:

Texas: with less than 10% of the USA population, this state has been responsible for more than 30% of executions since the death penalty was reintroduced in the USA in 1976. Texas has continued to execute people who were under 18 at the time of their crime, people who were mentally ill and people who did not have proper legal representation during their trials. Today some 450 men and women await execution in Texas.

Tibet: China has recently executed a Tibetan for alleged political offences and sentenced another to death. There are serious concerns that this signals an extension of the death penalty into new regions of Chinese rule

Tajikistan: reports indicate regular use of torture to extract 'confessions'. Much secrecy surrounds use of the death penalty, so prisoners' families may be unaware of their relatives' executions and denied the chance to bury them.

AI have recently published a 'Death Penalty world map' This gives a graphical representation of which countries have abolished and which countries still retain the Death Penalty.

Russia Campaign
(Co-ordinator: Claire Rowsell)

Amnesty International is focusing on three areas of human rights abuses:

Children and women:
Children taken into police custody are at risk of torture and ill treatment. In 2001, 17,000 children were held in prisons and pre-detention centres in contravention of international law.
The authorities do little to protect women from domestic violence. Official figures state 14,000 women were killed in incidents of domestic violence in 2002.

Ethnic minorities:
Attacks on ethnic minorities are rarely investigated promptly or thoroughly.

Chechnya:
Well documented reports of torture, rape, arbitrary detention and extra judicial executions and disappearances by Russian troops in Chechnya. A lack of political will to hold those responsible to account.

Action:
AI has opened an office in Moscow to support AI's work in the Russian Federation.
Members of BAG have sent solidarity cards to human rights campaigners in Russia.
At the end of January AI is to present a petition to President Putin which calls for Justice for All.
Russia Campaign Manager, Becky Hess, addresses BAG meeting on February 10th.
March – Video about Prisoner of Conscience Gregory Pasko

North Andean R.A.N.
(Co-ordinator: Doff Wheatley)

"Since the collapse of peace talks between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the Colombian government in February 2002, the conflict has intensified and civilians are bearing the brunt of increasing levels of political violence. The FARC -- as well as the armed forces and their paramilitary allies -- are still failing to respect the right of civilians not to be drawn into the conflict."

This work covers the countries of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador and Panama. Most of the requests for action have focussed on Colombia, and the all too frequent threats, killings and disappearances perpetrated by the paramilitary groups. Some of these are linked to the army and others to the revolutionary guerilla groups (like the FARC). We are now being asked to get involved with the situation in Venezuela. This campaign is an ongoing one: it does not have a set time limit. Group members send letters to a range of government officials, army leaders and organisations working for human rights. Very occasionally we get replies to our letters but the main source of encouragement comes via Anmesty International from local groups that are fighting for justice, and welcome the support from abroad.

Female Genital Mutilation
(Co-ordinator: Denise Page)

This is not an official AI campaign, but it's a subject which is of interest to our group and there have been discussions within the main section with a view to making it an official campaign. The Northampton group have been active in this debate and we have offered them our support.

Amnesty has passed a resolution calling for practical and financial support of AI sections in West Africa in their efforts to eradicate FGM. Although money has apparently been sent out, as far as we know, no assistance has been given to West African sections for materials on FGM eradication for educational purposes; neither have any twinning links been set up between local AI groups in the UK and in West Africa.

Because of these concerns, the Northampton group are currently considering the possibility of putting forward a further motion relating to FGM at the forthcoming meeting in April 2003, but are presently trying to assess whether this would really be in the best interests of the cause.

Violence against Women

"Violence against women is perhaps the most shameful human rights violation,
and it is perhaps the most persuasive. It knows no boundaries of geography,
culture or wealth. As long as it continues, we cannot claim to be making real
progress towards equality, development, and peace."
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan

Violence against women is the greatest human rights scandal of our times.From birth to death,
in times of peace as well as war, women face discrimination and violence at the hands of the state,
the community and family. (See AI web site http://www.amnesty.org.uk/svaw/ )

At least one out of every three women has been beaten, coerced into sex,
or abused in her lifetime. This figure comes from a study based on 50 surveys
from around the world.
More than 60 million women are "missing" from the world today as a result of
sex-selective abortions and female infanticide.
Every year, millions of women are raped by partners, relatives, friends and
strangers, by employers and colleagues, soldiers and members of armed groups.
Violence in the family is endemic all over the world; the overwhelming majority
of victims are women and girls. In the USA, for example, women account for around
85 per cent of the victims of domestic violence.
The World Health Organization has reported that up to 70 per cent of female murder
victims are killed by their male partners.
Small arms and light weapons are the main tools of almost every conflict. Women and
children account for nearly 80% of the casualties, according to the UN
Secretary-General.

Control Arms Campaign

"My point of view is that these manufacturers should be stopped. The world powers, Britain, France, the USA, and so on could help. Guns are not made for animals in the bush. Rocket launchers are not made for animals in the bush…You are making them to kill who? To kill me and you!" Peter Rashid, Boajibu, Sierra Leone, 2001

(See AI website http://www.amnesty.org.uk/controlarms/ and join the Million Faces Petition at http://www.controlarms.org/

The lack of control of the arms trade is fuelling conflict, poverty, and human rights abuses...worldwide. Every government is responsible. Oxfam, Amnesty International and IANSA (International Action Network on Small Arms), are campaigning for a global Arms Trade Treaty, to bring the trade in weapons under control. Throughout the world, companies are making a killing - literally. They profit from selling arms and security equipment (such as guns, tear gas, leg-irons, electroshock batons and tanks) to countries where they are used to commit torture and other human rights violations.

(see April 2004 Newsletter)