Amnesty International

Your voice matters. You have the right to say what you think and demand a better world. You also have the right to agree or disagree with those in power, and to express these opinions in peaceful protests. Freedom of expression is a human right. Everywhere.

What does a day in the life filming a video for a campaign at Amnesty International look like? Last month, we filmed a video as part of our 1000 Ways to Support Abortion Rights campaign, as part of our goal to build a future where abortion rights are respected everywhere. As part of our video, we came up with creative ways to tell the world that abortion rights are human rights, including: writing it on a mirror, embroidering on a cushion, baking a cake and changing your Spotify playlist name. Check out the full video, and more information about the campaign here: http://amn.st/60439MpEL With special thanks to Mario Alvarado Lucena, Alex Vasquez, Marta Lobo and Eleshea Williams for featuring! Video by Samantha Steele.

Did you know that three out five young activists face online harassment globally for posting human rights content? They faced harassment in the form of hateful comments, threats, hacking and doxing which is often linked to offline abuse and political persecution often perpetrated by state actors with little or no response from Big Tech platforms resulting in the silencing of young people. The highest rates of online harassment were reported by young activists in Nigeria and Argentina. Protest is a human right. Amnesty's #ProtectTheProtest survey is out now. Take a look for yourself 👇

Peaceful protest is a human right that MUST be protected. Anytime. Anywhere. We have to #ProtectTheProtest.

It's time to introduce another one of our star colleagues, Hashas Rage - our interim Global Youth Engagement lead and Global Youth Campaigner! Hashas works with young people across the movement - find out more about her role below 👇 🧠 What is your role, and what does it involve? My name is Hashas Rage. I am the Global Youth Campaigner and interim Global Youth Engagement Lead at Amnesty International. I work collaboratively with children, young people and colleagues across the Amnesty International movement. In my role, I work on both campaigns and research. As part of the RIGHTS Click programme of work, I co-led on the participatory development of a child and youth-led research methodology called RightUp. RightUp aims to include children and young people meaningfully as rightsholders in Amnesty International’s research processes. It is a project that challenges who gets to generate knowledge within Amnesty International and contest the belief that research can only be carried out by adults with a specific educational skillset or career background. In 2024, as the Global Youth Engagement Lead, I led in the delivery of the RightUp research pilot in the Philippines with Amnesty Philippines and a group of 9 amazing young researchers. We are currently in the data collection phase. The research will focus on the surveillance of young human rights defenders in the Philippines and will launch in January 2025. 💛 What is your favourite part about working at Amnesty? I love that I get to focus on both campaigns and research in my role. As someone who has a passion for both, I’m glad I don’t have to pick one but can instead utilise my skills to shape Amnesty’s campaigns AND research! I also love that I get to experience different cultures and travel around the world. Because of my role at Amnesty, I was able to travel to Kenya, the Philippines, Belgium, Rwanda and Argentina. During these travels, I got to meet the most inspiring young human rights activists which fill me with so much joy and hope. 📢 What advice would you give to someone who wants to work in the NGO industry? Keep going ❤ Follow your dreams and keep pushing boundaries. You will make a difference! There will be moments of doubt and confusion but keep going. I’ve always wanted to work in human rights, so I started off with volunteering at NGOs I was passionate about before applying to roles. Even if you think you don’t have the experience for an Amnesty role, apply anyway! As long as you’re passionate and want to make a difference it will shine through.

This International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, Amnesty reiterates its calls to end all forms of torture and other ill-treatment and ensure independent and impartial investigations into all deaths in custody, including those resulting from torture or medical neglect. It's been 37 years since the UN Convention Against Torture came into force. It’s imperative now more than ever to amplify the voices of victims and survivors of these crimes, and demand accountability, justice and reparation.

Gender Apartheid must be recognized as a crime under international law in order to strengthen efforts to combat institutionalized regimes of systematic oppression and domination imposed on the grounds of gender. I am proud to announce that following months of in-depth consultation, the @amnesty global movement has decided to join the calls of courageous trailblazers, including women of Afghanistan, Iran and beyond, who have led the way in demanding recognition of gender apartheid in international law. The international community has failed to adequately recognize, acknowledge and address the institutionalized and systematic domination and oppression of women, girls and LGBTI people. Generations upon generations of women and girls, the world over, have been subjected to institutionalized and systematic violence, domination and oppression. Incalculable numbers have been killed, with many more denied dignity, freedom and equality in their daily lives. It is truly shameful that the world has failed both to recognize systematic oppression and domination on the basis of gender as a crime under international law and failed to respond appropriately to its gravity. We are calling for the recognition of gender apartheid under international law to fill a major gap in our global legal framework. No one should ever be permitted to violate, segregate, silence or exclude people because of their gender. States must heed this call. This form of institutionalized oppression must be named. A mandate for its investigation and prosecution must be affirmed, and due penalty for its commission set. We owe that recognition, rigour and respect to the activists on the frontlines of the struggle for gender rights and equality, and we owe that justice to the victims and survivors of gender apartheid. The world must finally recognize gender apartheid under international law to fully extend the shield of law to women, girls and LGBTQI people and to rally and support efforts for the eradication of this heinous crime, wherever it occurs. The draft Crimes Against Humanity Convention, a major treaty effort currently under discussion at the UN, represents an important opportunity to invigorate the fight for gender justice. UN Member States must seize this chance to incorporate gender apartheid into international law, as well as seeking other opportunities, such as at the Human Rights Council, to reinforce the concept.

“Every person’s autonomy is on the line. And we are going to continue to show up to that fight every day, even when it’s not the front page of the news.” In our latest perspective piece, Amnesty USA’s Tarah Demant shares her experience on what it’s like to #ShowUpForAbortionRights in the US in 2024 👇

For the past 13 years, Maryam has been tirelessly campaigning for her father's freedom release ever since he was arbitrarily imprisoned in Bahrain 13 years ago. Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja is a prisoner of conscience, serving a life sentence for his peaceful human rights activities during Bahrain’s popular uprisings in 2011. To this day, even while courageously battling for her own health, she continues her fight for his freedom. As we send our best wishes for Maryam’s full recovery, let's unite in demanding Abdulhadi’s immediate and unconditional release.

I am immensely proud of the job of my colleagues, especially Lauren Aarons, to get our movement to join this global call for recognizing institutionalized and systematic domination and oppression of women, girls and LGBTI people. We are calling for the recognition of gender apartheid under international law to fill a major gap in our global legal framework. No one should ever be permitted to violate, segregate, silence or exclude people because of their gender