New: Close Guantanamo!
The incoming administration in the US represents a fresh opportunity to press for closure of the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay. Forty men continue to be held there, with their lives in limbo despite court orders for many of them to be released. Some have been held for almost 20 years.
Amnesty has released new research on the ongoing human rights violations at Guantanamo Bay.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Sign and share the online petition to incoming President Joe Biden.
Share the slides and graphics featured on Amnesty Canada’s social media feeds
Ongoing: Rohingya Refugees in Bangladesh
Since August 2017, hundreds of thousands of Rohingya have fled their homes in Myanmar’s northern Rakhine State after the military unleashed a brutal campaign of violence against them. Nearly one million live in the threadbare camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh where the conditions are made even more difficult by the COVID 19 pandemic.
In December 2020, Bangladeshi authorities began to relocate hundreds of Rohingya refugees to the Bhashan Char, a remote island in the Bay of Bengal. Amnesty has called on authorities to halt further relocations and return those on the island to their families and community in mainland Bangladesh, and to ensure that due process must is followed, including the full and meaningful participation of refugees in any plan for their relocation.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Sign and share the online petition calling for Rohingya refugees to have a voice in decisons that affect them.
Ongoing: Targeting of Uyghurs in China and abroad
One million Uyghurs, Kazakhs and other predominantly Muslim people are being arbitrarily detained in secret detention camps in China’s north-western Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (Xinjiang). The Chinese government appears to be trying to wipe out religious beliefs and aspects of cultural identity to enforce political loyalty.
This campaign has a global reach. Uyghurs living overseas – including in Canada – are being harassed and intimidated by Chinese authorities: intrusive surveillance, intimidating phone calls, and even death threats. Family members in China are targeted to suppress their activism abroad. They also fear that other governments will be pressured by China to repatriate Uyghurs who have left China.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Sign and share the online petition urging the Chinese authorities to stop targeting Uyghurs in China and abroad.
Upcoming actions and other situations we’re watching
Watch for future blogs, urgent actions and social media posts on:
The Inauguration and first 100 days of US President Joe Biden: Amnesty International USA has sent a letter to 3,500 United States mayors and governors calling on them to protect people from armed groups and to denounce white supremacy, including related to the Inauguration on January 20th.
The ongoing conflict in Armenia and Azerbaijan: Amnesty’s latest research confirms violations on both sides.
Solidarity with activists in Belarus (tentative launch date late January)
The impact of the national security law in Hong Kong
Further developments in the extradition case of Julian Assange
Canadian resident Cihan Erdal detained in Turkey
For more information: contact Hilary Homes, Crisis and Tactical Advisor (hhomes@amnesty.ca)
