Human rights are under threat. So are the people who defend human rights. Join Amnesty this fall to defend our friends, our colleagues, our fellow human rights defenders. They are being being threatened, harrassed, jailed, tortured, and killed.
They are Rafael, a lawyer threatened for defending land rights defenders in Guatemala. Narges, a women’s rights activist jailed for peacefully advocating for equality. Bertha, a youth in Honduras attacked for peacefully advocating for Indigenous land rights. Elena, a journalist forced to flee for publishing a report about violence against gay men in Chechnya. And they are our own dear Amnesty colleagues and other activists in Turkey, jailed solely because of their peaceful activism in support of human rights.
Join us this fall as we demand justice and protection of the human rights of Elena, Bertha, Narges, Rafael, and our colleagues in Turkey.
1. TAKE ACTION ONLINE
Take action in support of courageous human rights defenders in Turkey, Guatemala, Honduras, Russia, and Iran.
2. JOIN THE MOOC
Amnesty International is organizing a global Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on human rights defenders. The course will run from November 1st to January 24th and you can participate at your own pace.
3. PARTICIPATE IN OUR PHOTO ACTION
- Download our sign or make your own with the message “I am a Human Rights Defender”
- Post your photo on social media using the hashtag “We Defend” and include a message about why you defend human rights
- Tag Amnesty in your post (@AmnestyNow on Twitter, @amnestycanada on Instagram)
- If you don’t use social media, email your photo and we will post it on your behalf
4. WATCH A FILM
Learn more about the threats to human rights defenders by watching the documentary film Daughter of the Lake at home on Netflix.
>>> Watch the film now (must have a Netflix account)
5. ORGANIZE A FILM SCREENING
Hold a public screening of Daughter of the Lake. Borrow a copy of the film from Amnesty and guide a Q&A session afterwards using our film discussion guide available here >>>
>>> Contact Amnesty to order the film.
6. TAKE PART IN COUNTRY-WIDE ACTIVISM ROUNDTABLES
Learn more about the We Defend campaign in support of the rights of human rights defenders, and share your creative activism ideas!
>>> Contact Amnesty for dates and locations.
7. BECOME A YOUTH CHAMPION
Join our We Defend youth champions team of volunteers to promote the campaign in your school or community, and help guide and shape the development of youth-focused resources and materials.
>>> Apply to become a We Defend campaign youth champion.
8. WRITE FOR RIGHTS DEFENDERS
ALL the cases in Amnesty’s annual letter writing marathon are human rights defenders! More information and resources will be available in October.
>>> Learn more about Write for Rights
9. LEARN MORE
Visit the We Defend webpage to learn more about why human rights defenders are at such risk and how you can take action.
