Urge the U.N. Security Council to Bring Security to Chad and C.A.R.

Join Amnesty in urging the U.N. Security Council to bring security to eastern Chad and the northeastern Central African Republic (C.A.R.).

The U.N.S.C. Resolution 1778, passed on September 25, 2007, authorized a multidimensional presence in eastern Chad and northeastern Central African Republic (C.A.R.) to protect displaced persons and other civilians in danger. The situation in these two areas has been exacerbated by the continuing crisis in Darfur, as well as by domestic conflicts and instability in Chad and C.A.R.

Now we must act to ensure that the United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad (M.I.N.U.R.C.A.T.) is implemented as well as conclude arrangements with the European Union to deploy the "European Union Operation," which is crucial to the UN multidimensional presence in the region. Any delay in the implementation of M.I.N.U.R.C.A.T. and the E.U. Operation will prolong the suffering and uncertain future of millions of people, including refugees and I.D.P.'s, in Chad and C.A.R.

Sign your name to Amnesty's petition here.

Accountability for Blackwater

Join Amnesty International in demanding accountability for Blackwater. By signing your name to this petition, you ask Blackwater to take their human rights responsibilities seriously and to cooperate with Iraqi and US investigations.

Near Nisour Square, Baghdad, on September 16, at least 17 Iraqis were killed after personnel of Blackwater Worldwide, a contractor of the U.S. State Department, reportedly shot several rounds from their armored vehicles. This is neither the first time nor an isolated incident of Blackwater personnel using lethal force against Iraqi civilians.

Sign your name to Amnesty's petition here.

Urgent Action: Brazil

Below is the urgent action we did at our meeting today.

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BRAZIL - some 200 agricultural workers; killed: Valmir Motta de Oliveira (known as Keno) (m), community leader

The lives of around 200 agricultural workers occupying a farm near the town of Santa Teresa do Oeste in Parana state, southern Brazil, are in imminent danger. The group was attacked by armed men on 21 October, leaving two men dead and one woman in a coma.

Early in the morning of 21 October, members of the Via Campesina and the Movimento de Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra(MST), both landless workers’ movements, occupied the 127-hectare farm. The land is owned by a multinational company that had used it for field trials of genetically modified crops. The use of the land is presently being contested both because it potentially contravenes an environmental zoning law and has been identified as a possible site for land reform for the settlement of landless agricultural workers.

Hours after the occupation, 40 armed men entered the farm and shot dead MST leader Valmir Motta de Oliveira (known as Keno) in the chest at point blank range. One of the armed men was also killed. Initial reports suggest he was shot accidentally by one of the other gunmen. Eight others were injured in the attack, including MST member Izabel Nascimento, who was beaten unconscious and is now in a coma in hospital, in a critical condition.

Two other MST leaders, Celso Barbosa and Celia Aparecida Lourenco, were pursued by the gunmen but managed to escape. “We are sure that they came here to kill Keno, Celinha and me,” said Celso Barbosa, who added that they had received death threats and intimidation since the beginning of the year.

Join the A.I. (UWest) Facebook Group

A.I. (UWest) now has an official Facebook group. If you are a Facebook user, please join us there by pressing the button below:

The Global Petition for Darfur

Please take just a moment to sign Amnesty's Global Petition for Darfur here. It only takes a few seconds.

The letter makes the following requests of George W. Bush:

• Set a timeline and benchmarks for the deployment of the African Union/UN peacekeeping force in Darfur;
  
• Protect displaced civilians in neighboring eastern Chad and support a UN presence there;
  
• Ensure sufficient support for African Union and UN peacekeepers to protect civilians and stabilize the region.

Again, you can sign the petition by following this link.

HumanTV: Monks and Activists About Repression in Myanmar

Below is a video from HumanTV, one of Amnesty's YouTube pages, about the repression currently taking place in Myanmar.

Urgent Actions: Niger and Yemen

At our meeting this week, we did two urgent actions on Burma (this one and this one).

Below are two others that we didn't get to--one from Niger, the other from Yemen. If you have a moment, please open the links and write a letter or two.

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NIGER - Ibrahim Manzo Diallo (m), journalist

Newspaper editor Ibrahim Manzo Diallo is reportedly held incommunicado by the military at an unknown location, and is at risk of torture and ill-treatment. Amnesty International considers him to be a prisoner of conscience, detained solely for his peaceful and legitimate activities as a journalist.

YEMEN - Mohammed Ali Nasser Mohammed (m)

Former Guantanamo detainee Mohammed Ali Nasser Mohammed was handed over by the US authorities to the Yemeni authorities on 1 October and has been detained since then in the Political Security prison in the capital, Sana’a. He has not been allowed to see his lawyers, and is in grave danger of torture or other ill-treatment.

No charges are known to have been brought against him, and it is not clear why he is being detained.

Welcome!

Welcome to the official blog of the University of the West (UWest) chapter of Amnesty International.

Our constitution's preamble states:

Amnesty International’s mission is to undertake research and action focused on preventing and ending grave abuses of the rights to physical and mental integrity, freedom of conscience and expression, and freedom from discrimination, within the context of its work to promote all human rights. Amnesty International is independent of any government, political ideology or religious creed. It does not support or oppose any government or political system, nor does it support or oppose the views of the victims whose rights it seeks to protect. It is concerned solely with the impartial protection of human rights.

Our club officers at present are:

Group Coordinator: Danny Fisher, M.Div.

Secretary-Treasurer: Jesse F. Tanner, M.T.S.

Faculty Advisor: J. Bruce Long, Ph.D.

Membership is open to any student, faculty member, administrator, staff person, trustee, or other member of the UWest community (spouses, partners, family members, etc.) regardless of race, gender identity, creed, national origin, sexual orientation, disability, or other status protected under international human rights law. Membership is voluntary, and people can join the organization at any time.

We meet Mondays at noon in the cafeteria. Come join us!