People displaced by armed conflict, northern Sri Lanka, 26 April 2009. © Private
By Yolanda Foster, Amnesty International’s researcher on Sri Lanka.
Six months ago the Government of Sri Lanka announced that war in Sri Lanka was finally over. Victory seemed sweet to ordinary Sri Lankans in the south. The deliberate killing of civilians by Tamil Tiger suicide bombers polarized communities and bred real fear that conflict could leak into ordinary life and affect anyone at any time.
Triumphalism about the elimination of the Tamil Tiger leadership led to dancing in the streets of Colombo. What was forgotten in the moment of victory was the suffering of tens of thousands of Tamil civilians displaced by the conflict and now unlawfully detained in camps in the north east.
Continue reading ‘Six months of suffering in the Sri Lanka camps’
By Fernanda Doz Costa,
Researcher on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the Americas
Last Friday, I participated in a very interesting hearing about maternal mortality, where four experts from the Americas gave testimony before the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights in Washington DC.
It was great working in partnership with them; each brought different experience and expertise.
Continue reading ‘Campaigning on maternal mortality in Latin America’
Amnesty International is launching a bus tour, together with partner organisations the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal and the Bhopal Medical Appeal, which will travel throughout Europe for eight weeks starting on 17 October until 2 December – the day of the 25th anniversary.
Continue reading ‘The Bhopal European Bus Tour’
U2 announce Daw Aung San Suu Kyi award. Dublin, 27 July 2009. © Press Association
By Benjamin Zawacki, Amnesty International researcher on Myanmar
I arrived back in Bangkok this afternoon with ears still ringing but most of the jet-lag cancelled out by nearly back-to-back return flights. “Nearly”, because in between were some of the most memorable moments of my almost two years as Amnesty’s Myanmar specialist and almost 20 years as one of U2’s most devoted fans.
On their massive “360 Degrees” tour in their hometown of Dublin on Monday night, U2 announced that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi had been recognized with Amnesty International’s Ambassador of Conscience Award for 2009. Hearing this was gratifying, but hearing—and seeing—what came next, was enough to stir the conscience as well as the senses.
Continue reading ‘A very loud tribute to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in Dublin’
Unas 400 personas provenientes de diferentes organizaciones, tanto campesinas como indígenas, así como de distintos movimientos sociales y grupos de defensa de derechos humanos atendieron a la audiencia en La Paz, Bolivia. © Amnistía Internacional
El día de ayer Amnistía Internacional asistió a la audiencia de la Corte Interamericana de Derechos Humanos, junto a 400 personas provenientes de diferentes organizaciones tanto campesinas, como indígenas, así como de distintos movimientos sociales y grupos de defensa de derechos humanos, para escuchar al Estado paraguayo rendir cuentas de lo que se ha avanzado en la protección de la comunidad indígena Sawhoyamaxa. Amnistía ha estado movilizándose junto con esta comunidad desde 2008.
La comunidad Sawhoyamaxa comenzó su lucha por recuperar sus tierras ancestrales hace 18 años en 1991. La comunidad esta constituida por entre 400 y 500 personas y se ha visto forzada de vivir en un estrecho de terreno al costado de una carretera principal, mientras aguardan la resolución de su reclamación de tierras.
Continue reading ‘Solidaridad a través de las fronteras’
