Against a backdrop of the spread of authoritarian practices, climate collapse and the erosion of international law, Amnesty International is launching its annual Write for Rights campaign on Human Rights Day (10 December) to support the victims of human rights violations and show that humanity can win.
People across Canada, including Amnesty International Canada’s student groups and community groups, are coming together to support the individuals and communities whose rights have been violated around the world and are featured in the campaign. Through letter writing events, online actions, and classroom activities, supporters in Canada are joining millions worldwide in calling for justice, accountability and dignity.
This year’s campaign brings people together from around the world to fight for justice, dignity and a shared future, supporting those who are paying the price for defending human rights and speaking truth to power. From an Indigenous reindeer herder fighting to protect her community’s land in Norway, to a photojournalist jailed for reporting on a cyclone in Myanmar, and a little boy who lost his life after falling into a pit toilet at his pre-school in South Africa, all those featured in this year’s campaign are connected because their human rights have been violated.
“Despite the stark challenges facing humanity, every year Amnesty witnesses countless people from all over the world coming together to demonstrate the importance of activism and the lifechanging power of solidarity. Amongst others, this year’s Write for Rights campaign features people on the frontlines of the climate crisis, fighting to protect their communities from droughts, gas flares, development projects and pollution, who urgently need our collective support,” said Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General.
“We have a choice to make at this critical moment in history: continue to let authoritarian practices erode our freedoms or resist together and stand up for human rights. By taking just a few minutes to write a letter, post on social media or sign a petition, anyone can help change the world and even save a life. Together we will prove that, even in the most adverse of circumstances, humanity can, must and will win out.”
Supporting people at risk
This year, Write for Rights is calling on millions of people to come together to change the lives of individuals whose rights have been violated around the world.
Those featured in this year’s campaign include:
- Damisoa, from Madagascar, who is fighting for climate-displaced people in his country.
- Unecebo Mboteni, a three-year-old boy who died after falling into a pit toilet at his pre-school in South Africa.
- Juan López, from Honduras, shot dead after fighting to protect local rivers and a national park from mining and energy projects.
- Members from Mother Nature Cambodia, jailed for defending Cambodia’s environment from exploitation.
- Photojournalist Sai Zaw Thaike, arrested and sentenced to 20 years in prison with hard labour for reporting on the aftermath of a cyclone in Myanmar.
- Ellinor Guttorm Utsi, fighting to ensure Sámi voices in Norway are heard and their rights are respected.
- Sonia, a Tunisian lawyer who has dedicated her life to defending human rights and is facing years in prison for speaking out.
- The Guerreras por la Amazonía, from Ecuador, who are protecting their communities from gas flares which are causing toxic fumes and environmental degradation in the Ecuadorian Amazon.
For Ellinor Guttorm Utsi, the support she is receiving as part of Write for Rights has given her hope. The reindeer herder’s land and way of life are currently under threat, as the Norwegian Government plans to build several hundred wind turbines, which would disrupt the reindeer’s herding patterns.
While Ellinor is calling for a stop to these wind turbines, in a bid to protect her land and her culture, the 60-year-old is struggling to do it on her own.
“I am so pleased Amnesty International, an organization focused on activism, is supporting my campaign today. I am so happy to have the support of people who do this work every day,” said Ellinor. “This is our life – I don’t know another way of living. We need to fight for our land, to protect future generations.”
Changing lives
Since Write for Rights started in 2001, millions of people have changed the lives of those whose human rights had been stripped from them. Over 100 people featured in the campaign have seen a positive outcome to their case.
In 2023, Rocky Myers, a Black man with an intellectual disability, featured in the Write for Rights campaign. Rocky spent three decades on death row in Alabama for murder. He was convicted following testimonies blighted by inconsistencies and alleged police pressure. Hundreds of thousands of Amnesty supporters called for Rocky’s release, writing letters to demand that Alabama’s governor grant him clemency and commute his death sentence. In February 2025, this was granted.
Rocky’s fight is not over, as he seeks justice for violations in his case, but the threat of execution has been stopped.
“Not only did this campaign bring awareness to his case, but it was done in such a way that honoured Rocky as a person, father, and grandfather,” said Miriam Bankston, a member of Rocky Myers’ legal team.
“I know the outpouring of support meant the world to Rocky, and to know that so many people felt called to action is truly inspiring.”
Join this year’s campaign and become part of a community working to make the world a more just and compassionate place. Join Write for Rights today.
