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WRITE A LETTER, CHANGE A LIFE.

Starting on October 22, 2024, the world’s largest human rights campaign launches in Canada. Whether you write letters or host an event, your words have the power to change lives. Register to join Write for Rights now.

WHAT IS WRITE FOR RIGHTS?

For over 20 years, Amnesty International’s annual Write for Rights campaign has transformed the lives of people whose rights have been wronged.

Using the power of their words, hundreds of thousands of Write for Rights supporters in more than 200 countries have united behind a common purpose: together, we can change lives for the better.

WRITE FOR RIGHTS CASES

Wet'suwet'en Nation Canada graphic
  CLIMATE CHANGE  
  CANADA   

Fighting to save their ancestral lands

Neth Nahara graphic
  CENSORSHIP & FREEDOM OF  
  EXPRESSION  

Help release TikTok influencer Neth Nahara

  ANGOLA  
  CENSORSHIP & FREEDOM OF  
  EXPRESSION  

Abducted and jailed for demanding change 

  BELARUS  
Joel Paredes Argentina graphic
  PROTECT THE PROTEST 

Blinded by a rubber bullet while peacefully protesting 

  ARGENTINA   
  HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS  

Defend Şebnem against intimidation and harassment

  TÜRKIYE   
  CLIMATE CHANGE   

Free environmental lawyer Dang Dinh Bach

  VIET NAM   
Manahel al Otaibi Saudi Arabia graphic
  WOMEN’S RIGHTS  

Jailed for supporting women’s rights

  SAUDI ARABIA   
Oqba Hashad Egypt Graphic
  TORTURE & ABUSE  

Free Egyptian student Oqba Hashad

  EGYPT   
Kyung Seok Park South Korea graphic
  DISCRIMINATION  

Create a world where no one is left behind

  SOUTH KOREA   

HOW DOES WRITE FOR RIGHTS WORK?

Whether you want to write a letter, join an event or organize something of your own, there are many ways to participate in Write for Rights.

HOST AN EVENT

Sign up to host an event in your community or classroom.

ATTEND AN EVENT

Find an event near you and connect with others.

WRITE LETTERS

Get everything you need to write letters or sign petitions.

GET THE WRITE FOR RIGHTS KIT

Featuring template letters, case cards and more.

JOHN LEGEND: “I WRITE BECAUSE…”

Real letters can bring hope to people in the direst of situations. When letters arrive in huge numbers, they are also an unmistakable reminder to prison authorities and others that the world is watching.

For every case, there are two types of messages you can write – one to the person in authority and one to the person we are fighting for, or their family, so they know we will never forget them.

HOW LETTERS CHANGED A LIFE

Letter writing has always been at the heart of Amnesty International’s work, and over 60 years of activism shows us that words have power.

Last year, we took over 4.6 million actions, and our members hosted events in more than 200 countries, including more than 200 events in Canada. Together, we wrote millions of letters, emails, and tweets and signed petitions.

YOUR WORDS ARE POWERFUL

SHOW YOUR SUPPORT

Send support to people who’ve been harassed, threatened and jailed just for who they are and what they do.

COLLECTIVE ACTION

Put pressure on governments, leaders and decision-makers. Tell them the world is watching.

MAKE CHANGE

Release activists and journalists, fight injustice and protect people who advocate for change.

SUCCESS STORIES

Bernardo Caal Xol defended communities affected by hydroelectric projects on the Cahabón river in Guatemala. In November 2018, he was sentenced to over seven years in prison on bogus charges aimed at preventing his human rights work. During Write for Rights 2021, over half a million actions were taken for Bernardo and in March 2022 he was released.

BERNARDO CAAL XOL

In June 2021, NGO worker and human rights defender Germain Rukuki was released from prison after being found guilty of a slew of sham charges and sentenced to 32 years in prison in Burundi. He was jailed before getting a chance to hold his youngest child, born just weeks after he was taken in July 2017. His family fled the country for fear of reprisals. Germain will soon be reunited with his family, after more than 400,000 actions calling for his release.

Germain Rukuki

Magai Matiop Ngong was only 15 when he was sentenced to death. But thanks to the amazing support of people like you, his death sentence was cancelled in July 2020. People around the world wrote an incredible 765,000 actions, including letters and tweets, calling for Magai’s life to be spared –and it worked

Magai Matiop Ngong

Gulzar Duishenova’s campaign for disability rights paid off in March 2019 when Kyrgyzstan finally signed up to the Disability Rights Convention. Supporters wrote nearly 250,000 messages backing her calls.

Gulzar Duishenova

Father of seven and online activist Mahadine was freed in April 2018 after more than 18 months in a Chad prison on fabricated charges. 690,000 people wrote for his freedom.

Mahadine

US whistle-blower Chelsea Manning was freed in May 2017, after her 35-year prison sentence was cut short by outgoing President Barack Obama. More than a quarter of a million people wrote for her release.

Chelsea Manning

Albert Woodfox finally walked free in February after nearly 44 years in solitary confinement in a US prison. “I can’t emphasise enough how important getting letters from people around the world is. “It gave me a sense of worth…[and] strength.”

Albert Woodfox

Moses Akatugba was granted a full pardon in Nigeria after pressure from Amnesty supporters. He had been wrongfully sentenced to death for a crime committed when he was 16. “The story changed when Amnesty International came in.

Moses Akatugba

Ales Bialiatski, a political prisoner in Belarus, was released in 2014 after receiving 40,000 letters. “The huge quantity of letters gave me a powerful sense of optimism. When I received them I was very, very happy.”

Ales Bialiatski

Vladimir Akimenkov was released in December 2013 after being detained following a protest in Bolotnaya Square, Moscow, Russia. “I want to express my deep gratitude. Your letters influenced my release.”

Vladimir Akimenkov

The Mexican government accepted responsibility for the rape by soldiers of Valentina Rosendo Cantú and Inés Fernández Ortega. “Without your letters, your action and your solidarity, we would have not achieved this moment,” Valentina said.

Valentina Rosendo Cantú and Inés Fernández Ortega

Jabbar Savalan, a youth activist jailed in Azerbaijan, was pardoned and released in 2011 within days of your letters arriving in the country. “The support I received was so great that I did not feel like I was imprisoned.”

Jabbar Savalan

Ethiopian opposition leader Birtukan Mideksa was released from jail in 2010 after featuring in Write for Rights the year before. “Your letters kept hope alive at the darkest hours of need.

Birtukan Mideksa

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

In some cases, it may not be safe for the person to receive mail, or the postal service in their country may be unreliable. Also, some prison authorities limit the amount of mail inmates can receive. In every case, we work with the individual to determine the safest and most effective way to share messages with them. If we suggest a method that you are unable to use – such as social media – please send a message to another individual in the campaign.

It is for the safety of the recipient. In some cases, association with a particular faith or Amnesty’s human rights work could put them at greater risk.

Cards illustrated with things like snowy scenes, fir trees and robins, or a postcard of your local area. The message ‘Season’s Greetings’ is not religious.

Yes, as long as their work cannot be considered political and the card follows the general guidance on the case.

The 10 cases are carefully picked to have maximum impact: they have been developed after a long process that involved obtaining the informed consent of each individual featured, planning each action, developing a strategy and assessing the risks. On all the cases, we map out what action activists can take to achieve the changes we want to see. 

Please send a letter instead. The fax and email may have been switched off because the addressee has been overwhelmed by appeals or the inbox is full.

Please send a copy to the Write for Rights team at writeathon@amnesty.ca, as it will help us assess the impact of the campaign. 

Finding out how many people took part in the campaign, and on which cases, shows us whether our tactics are working or need to be adapted. It also enables us to provide updates about an individual’s changing circumstances. Please report your letters and actions using the link above or by sending an email to writeathon@amnesty.ca.

Yes, in most cases. If you would like to work on a case long term, please let us know so that we can make sure you have the most up to date information: writeathon@amnesty.ca. Or you can join our Urgent Action Network to write letters on behalf of other people at risk of human rights abuses.

You can join our Urgent Action Network, which protects people from torture, helps free people who are wrongly detained and secures access to medical treatment or legal counsel for prisoners. As a member of the network, you will be sent requests – how many is up to you – to take action urgently on behalf of individuals at risk. Find out more at: https://amnesty.ca/what-you-can-do/urgent-action-network/

Yes, solidarity is effective. Thousands of letters arriving at a prison tells the prison authorities that the world is watching. And people who have received solidarity messages have told us how it boosts their spirits and strength.

Yes, if it is cheaper and easier to send them in one envelope, please do so.

We have no record of this happening. Thousands of Amnesty supporters sign their letters without experiencing any problems. However, if you have business or other close links with a country or have concerns, you may wish to choose another case or to not give your full name or address (for example, sign a letter ‘from Jane, Toronto’).

If you don’t feel comfortable hosting an event, join an event near you. Hundreds of events take place in community centres, libraries, schools and cafes across the country each year. Or you can host a small private event at your home with your closest family and friends. If you’d rather start smaller, try writing letters on your own.