Amnesty International Canada’s Candle has long symbolized our collective resolve to confront human rights abuses with the glow of compassion and activism. As we bring “The Candle” to life in this digital form, we hope to amplify its power to inspire change and drive progress for human rights everywhere. Individual donations power the impactful work described in here – THANK YOU to all our supporters!
Rita and other activists opposing a border agreement with Uzbekistan were detained in 2022 under serious charges, including attempting to overthrow the government, after advocating for peaceful demonstrations and transparency.
Supporters in Canada organized over 200 events upholding human rights, including letter writings with potlucks, games, poetry and art.
On 9 October 2023, Amnesty International lost a dedicated supporter, Frank Flaman. He was an accomplished businessman and a great philanthropist. We spoke to his daughter, Crystal Flaman, about his lasting legacy.
“He advocated for those who couldn’t advocate for themselves, which is really, I think, part of the vision of Amnesty”
Be There is an Amnesty International program that supports people around the world whose lives have been torn apart by conflict and crisis since World War II.
Amnesty International’s Urgent Action Network has been one of our most effective campaign tools. Read about the successes of different actions taken around the globe.
“When the group formed in 1984 it was pre internet, pre e-mail delivery, most volunteers were in the concentrated part of the city, urgent actions were faxed from AI Canada, then photocopied, and dropped in mailboxes throughout eight blocks where there was a hub of active human rights advocates.”
Did you know that under Canadian law, a non-citizen can be incarcerated indefinitely in immigration detention, based solely on administrative grounds? Through the power of the #WelcomeToCanada campaign we launched with Human Rights Watch in 2021, all ten provinces’ have committed to ending immigration detention in their provincial jails. These are human rights victories.
Now, instead of following the provinces’ lead and working to end immigration detention, the federal government plans to use federal prisons for immigration detention.
It is more dangerous than ever before to call out human rights violations. Those who work to expose human rights abuses live with the constant threat of intimidation and violence at the hands of their own governments.
Your support enables us to continue campaigning around the globe for the safety and security of human rights defenders in all countries through Protect the Protest.
Sharing these success stories is only possible thanks to the continued generosity of donors like you
