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kate-bullivant
17th October 2012

Amnesty International Soc

‘The society is there to inspire students to act, even in very small ways, to improve human rights globally.’ Imogen Greener, Publicity Officer
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TLDR

Amnesty International aims to protect people ‘wherever justice, fairness, freedom and truth are denied.’ Unlike many charities, Amnesty International is not primarily committed to the raising and distributing of financial relief, but instead seeks to prevent and abolish instances of severe human rights violations on an international scale.

The Amnesty International society at Manchester serves to contribute to this cause. Through ‘small acts of resistance’ the society aims to peacefully pressurise governments and big corporations found to be responsible for infringing human rights.

Amnesty is famous for the Letters of Solidarity supporting prisoners of conscience and their campaigns against those in positions of authority thought to be violating human rights laws. The Letters of Solidarity have had a huge impact on political prisoners and campaigners; Ana Maria Pizarro, persecuted for defending women’s rights in Nicaragua, for example, said that the Letters of Solidarity from Amnesty gave her the strength to continue the fight.

The Amnesty International Society in Manchester holds letter-writing events every two weeks, on a drop-in basis, to allow students to get the chance to participate in these modest, yet very effective, acts of resistance against human rights violations.

They also organises peaceful protests in an attempt to raise awareness of contemporary campaigns that are occurring globally. This Wednesday a silent flash mob consisting of thirty participants, gathered to raise awareness of the harrowing reality of the effect of the death penalty in the USA. Carrying a large banner urging for the abolition of the death penalty and wearing masks of the face of Reggie Clemons, members of the Amnesty Society and many passers by who were inspired to get involved, campaigned against the flawed penalty system in the USA.

After the flashmob, I met with Amnesty’s publicity officer, Imogen Greener, to gain a better insight into the aims of the Amnesty International Society. According to Imogen, the society is there to inspire students to act, even in very small ways, to improve human rights globally.

It is very easy to get involved in Amnesty’s work, which promotes involvement on a drop-in basis. The Society will be hosting a fundraising event at the Ram and Shackle on the 18th October offering live music, food, drink, henna and, of course, plenty of campaigning opportunities. This offers a great way to have a positive impact on global human rights and provide assistance to those whose basic rights have been violated.  Check out Manchester’s Amnesty International Facebook page in order to get involved or come down to the Ram to unshackle.

 


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