Amnesty International: If we don't do it, who will?

As anyone who reads this blog knows, I am very interested in First Nations issues and have attempted to offer my communications services to various groups -- all to no avail. Apparently, the while girl isn't welcome. And I get that. But I'm not giving up; I will continue to try to find a way in.

I am meeting with the regional coordinator for Amnesty International (AI) this afternoon to discuss pulling together a communication plan for Nova Scotia/New Brunswick. The central issues for AI include Indigenous land issues and action on violence against women. Since Canada is not a country where AI volunteers are at risk, Canadians are able to work on Canadian issues. (In many other countries, AI volunteers focus on issues outside their borders for their own security.)

Maybe I have found my backdoor.

AI's Mission is as follows:

• Protect physical and mental integrity: Every person has a human right to physical and mental integrity: the safety and well-being of one’s body, mind and whole person.
• Freedom from discrimination: The right to enjoy human rights without discrimination - Article 2 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights - is one of the most fundamental principles underlying international human rights law.
• Justice for all -- end impunity: The failure to bring to justice those responsible for human rights violations is called “impunity” - and it’s one of the greatest obstacles to stopping human rights abuses today.
• Fair trials for political prisoners: Amnesty International calls for fair and prompt trials for all political prisoners - or else their release from prison. Amnesty does not work for fair trials in most criminal cases, unless the accusation of having committed an “ordinary” crime is an excuse for political imprisonment.
• Protect refugees: There are many different circumstances that lead people to seek refuge. Amnesty International’s refugee work is focused on people who are escaping human rights violations associated with our mission.
• Abolish the death penalty: Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception.
• End political killings: Political killings are extrajudicial executions - that is, killings outside the official legal system. They are unlawful and deliberate.
• End disappearances: The term “disappearance” is used when a person is detained or kidnapped by government agents, and where the authorities then deny they are detaining the person or know of their whereabouts. “Disappeared” individuals are often tortured or killed.
• Stop torture: Amnesty International condemns torture in all cases. One of our key goals is to see torture abolished.

One of Amnesty's missions in Canada is at Grassy Narrows (Reference was made to this issue in a comment by fellow-blogger Katou here.)

From the IA website:

"The flooding of their lands. The poisoning of their waters. And now the clear cutting of their traditional hunting and trapping territories.

"The people of Grassy Narrows — an Anishnabe community in northwest Ontario, Canada — have repeatedly suffered the impact of government decisions made without their consent, or even adequate consultation.

"In 2002, community members launched a blockade to stop logging in the area. The blockade, which still stands, is now one of the longest running Indigenous land protests in Canadian history.

"In January, 2007, the community called for a moratorium on further logging or granting of licenses in the area"

You can read about Grassy Narrows here including a historical perspective.

I'll be blogging about my activities with AI over the coming months and seeking a way to work on the issues closest to my heart.

Colleen