2011 Petition stop violence against women in the Pacific

As you know, we asked all our youth teams to take action on the Pacific as part of International Women’s Day, March 8, but this petition continues till the end of Term 1.

We challenge you to collect signatures from all the people at your school or university: staff and students, everyone! To make it a fun event, why not collect the signatures dressed in Pacific Island clothes, or make a paper lei and get people to sign that?

Whatever you organise, remember it would be great if you took pictures and sent them to us!

To learn more about violence against women in the Pacific, check out these factsheets: Human rights and violence against women in the Pacific and Violence against women in the Pacific: Killer facts.

If it’s easier for you and your team you can also sign the petition online.

Urgent Action - LIBYA

JOURNALISTS DETAINED AND AT RISK IN LIBYA

Four Al Jazeera journalists working in western Libya have been held incommunicado since they
were detained while trying to leave the country two weeks ago. They are at high at risk of torture and other ill-treatment. Many other journalists have been targeted for reporting the unrest.

The team of four Al Jazeera journalists was reportedly arrested by Libyan authorities near Zantan, close to the Tunisian border. The team consists of two correspondents, Mauritanian Ahmed Val Wald-Eddin, 34, and Tunisian Lutfi Al-Massoudi, 34, and two cameraman, Norwegian Ammar Al-Hamdan, 34, and Briton Ammar Al-Tallou. Lutfi Al-Massoudi is believed to have been seen in a Tripoli detention centre by a CNN correspondent who was briefly detained and released on 19 March. However, neither their families nor Al Jazeera have been told of their whereabouts by the Libyan authorities in Tripoli or been able to establish contact with them.

Among the missing are sixLibyan journalists who spoke critically of the situation in Libya or to international media: Atef al-Atrash, Mohamed al-Sahim, Mohamed al-Amin, Idris al-Mismar, Salma al-Shaab and Suad al-Turabouls are all believed to have been arrested by forces loyal to Colonel Mu’ammar al-Gaddafi. Amnesty International is concerned that those who remain in the custody of the Libyan security forces are at high risk of torture and other ill-treatment.
Some detainees are reported to be as young as 14 years old.

Concern for the safety of detained journalists is heightened by reports of severe abuse of other journalists who have recently been released from detention by Colonel al-Gaddafi’s forces. Three BBC journalists who were detained close to Azzawiya on 7 March reported following their release on 9 March that they had been beaten and subjected to mock executions. Four New York Times journalists released yesterday were also subjected to serious abuses.

PLEASE WRITE IMMEDIATELY in Arabic, French or your own language:

* Calling for the immediate and unconditional release of Ahmed Val Wald-Edin, Lufi Al-Massoudi, Ammar Al-Hamdan and Ammar Al-Tallou;
* Calling on the authorities to ensure the release of all detained journalists and to ensure that all journalists are allowed to conduct their work freely and without fear of harassment, intimidation or detention.
* Calling on the authorities to immediately and unconditionally release all those detained on account of their opinions or peaceful activities in support of the protests
* Urging the authorities to ensure that all allegations of torture and other ill-treatment are fully and independently investigated and those responsible for such abuses are brought to justice.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 3 MAY 2011 TO:

Leader of the Revolution
Colonel Mu‘ammar Al-Gaddafi
Office of the Leader of the Revolution, Tripoli
Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
Email:info@algathafi.org
Salutation: Your Excellency


Gaddafi Development Foundation Executive Director
El Fatah Tower, 5th Floor B No.57
PO Box 1101, Tripoli
Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
Salutation: Dear Sir

And copies to:

Secretary of the General People’s Committee for Foreign Liaison and
International Cooperation
Mussa Kussa
Fax +218 21 340 2921
Email:http://www.foreign.gov.ly/online/contactus.php First box: Name;
Second box: email; Third box: pick the 1st choice - Minister of Foreign
Affairs; Last box: text of message
Salutation: Your Excellency

There are no diplomatic representatives accredited to New Zealand. Check
with the Urgent Action team if sending appeals after the above date.

JOURNALISTS DETAINED AND AT RISK IN LIBYA
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Since protests began in mid-February and in the unrest that followed, there have been reports that Libyan authorities and those loyal to Colonel Mu’ammar al-Gaddafi have targeted both international and national journalists.

In a statement made on 23 February, the Libyan Authority for External Communications, responsible for dealing with the international media, said that Libyan authorities are not responsible for the safety of foreign journalists who entered Libya without following necessary procedures such as obtaining government permission and supervision. He further added that
journalists who had entered Libya “illegally” would be considered “outlaws” by the Libyan authorities in Tripoli.

In a previous incident, Al Jazeera cameraman Hassan Al Jaber was killed in an ambush close to Benghazi in eastern Libya on 12 March. He was shot when unknown fighters opened fire on the car in which he and his colleagues were travelling. Another journalist Mohammed al-Nabbous, founder of Libya’s Al-Hurra TV, is reported to have been shot dead while trying to report on an armed clash between pro and anti-al Gaddafi forces in Benghazi on 19 March.

Others who have been arrested and subjected to enforced disappearance are writers and/or pro-democracy advocates who expressed criticism of the repressive practices under Colonel Mu’ammar al-Gaddafi’s rule and who the Libyan authorities in Tripoli apparently suspected of supporting and spreading calls for popular demonstrations against Colonel al-Gaddafi’s rule. Amnesty International has also documented arrests of peaceful protestors, onlookers and fighters.

UA: 82/11 Index: MDE 19/008/2011 Issue Date: 22 March 2011

Ugent Action - MEXICO

FAMILY OF MURDERED ACTIVIST FOUND DEAD

The bodies of Malena Reyes, Elías Reyes and Luisa Ornelas have been found in
Guadalupe Distrito Bravos, northern Mexico, close to where they were
kidnapped on 7 February. Amnesty International is gravely concerned for the
safety of their family.

On 25 February, the bodies of Malena Reyes, Elías Reyes and Luisa Ornelas
were found at a petrol station in Guadalupe Distrito Bravos municipality in
the Valle de Juárez, east of Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua state. Malena Reyes,
Elías Reyes and his wife Luisa Ornelas were abducted on 7 February. The
three were travelling in a truck together with Sara Salazar, the mother of
Malena Reyes, Elías Reyes. Also travelling in the car was the daughter of
murdered human rights defender Josefina Reyes. Armed men stopped the truck
and forced Sara Salazar and the young child to get out of the vehicle. They
then drove off with Malena Reyes, Elías Reyes and Luisa Ornelas, leaving
Sara Salazar and the young child on the side of the road.

Elías Reyes and Malena Reyes are the brother and sister of Josefina Reyes
who was shot and killed on 3 January 2010 by unidentified gunmen. Since
2008, Josefina Reyes had been active in protests against the violence in the
area by organized crime, and human rights violations committed by the
military. Rubén Reyes, another brother of Josefina Reyes, was shot dead on
18 August 2010 on his way to buy food by his home in Guadalupe Distrito
Bravos municipality. The investigation into both killings has not
progressed.

On 15 February, the family home in the town of Guadalupe, outside Ciudad
Juarez in the Valle de Juárez, was burnt down by an armed gang using
homemade petrol bombs.

PLEASE WRITE IMMEDIATELY in Spanish or your own language:
* Call for immediate measures to be taken to protect members of the Reyes
family, to be implemented in accordance with the wishes of those at
risk;
* Calling for a full, prompt and impartial investigation into the killing
of Josefina Reyes, Rubén Reyes, Malena Reyes, Elías Reyes and Luisa
Ornelas with the results made public and those responsible brought to
justice.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 8 APRIL 2011 TO:

Minister of the Interior
Lic. José Francisco Blake Mora
Secretario, Sec. de Gobernación
Bucareli 99, 1er. piso, Col. Juárez,
Delegación Cuauhtémoc,
México D.F., C.P. 06600, MÉXICO
Fax: +52 55 30032900 ext. 32356
Email: secretario@segob.gob.mx
Salutation: Dear Minister/Estimado
Señor Secretario

Attorney General of the Republic
Arturo Chávez Chávez
Procurador General de la República
Procuraduría General de la República
Av. Paseo de la Reforma nº 211-213,
Col. Cuauhtémoc, Del. Cuauhtémoc
México D.F., C.P. 06500, MEXICO
Fax: +52 55 5346 0908
Email: ofproc@pgr.gob.mx
Salutation: Dear Attorney General/Señor Procurador General

State Attorney General
Lic. César Duarte
Gobernador del Estado de Chihuahua,
Palacio de Gobierno, 1er piso, C.
Aldama #901, Col. Centro,
Chihuahua, Estado de Chihuahua, C.P31000, Mexico
Fax: +52 614 429 3300 (then dial extension 11066 when prompted)
Salutation: Señor Gobernador/
Dear Governor

Mr Luis Enrique Franco
Chargé d'Affaires
Embassy of Mexico
Level 2, AMP Chambers, 185-187 Featherston Street, Wellington 6011
PO Box 11-510, Manners Street, Wellington 6142
Fax: (04) 496 3559
Email: mexico@xtra.co.nz
Website: http://bit.ly/fuaT6H

Please check with the Urgent Action team if sending appeals after the above
date. This is the third update of UA 01/10. Further information:
http://bit.ly/e1Vwf1

FAMILY OF MURDERED ACTIVIST FOUND DEAD
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Since 2007, violence linked to organized crime has spiralled in Mexico. The
media has reported more than 30,000 drug cartel related killings. The
majority of these murders have occurred in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua state.

President Calderón’s administration has attempted to combat the drug cartels
by deploying thousands of federal police and over 50,000 military personnel
in the worst affected areas, particularly Ciudad Juárez. However this has
not resulted in a reduction in violence. According to the National Human
Rights Commission (CNDH), reports of abuses by the military, including
unlawful killings, torture, arbitrary detentions and illegal house searches
increased significantly since 2006. These cases are routinely investigated
and tried by the military justice system, which does not guarantee an
impartial and independent investigation, resulting in impunity for the vast
majority of perpetrators. As a result victims and their relatives are denied
an effective recourse to justice, and military officials are aware that they
are extremely unlikely to be held to account.

Further information on UA: 01/10 Index: AMR 41/008/2011 Issue Date: 25
February 2011

Urgent Action- FIJI

TORTURE AND DETENTION OF ACTIVISTS IN FIJI

Human rights and democracy activists in Fiji are at risk of torture and
other ill-treatment in the context of an ongoing crackdown by the military
in response to plans for a peaceful protest.

At least 10 politicians, trade unionists, government critics and other
Fijians have been arbitrarily arrested and subjected to severe beatings and
other forms of torture and ill-treatment in the last two weeks at the hands
of the Fijian military, before being released. It is feared that more people
will be arrested and subjected to torture and ill-treatment in the next few
days as the military attempts to prevent plans for a peaceful protest
demonstration against the government in Fiji's capital, Suva, on 4 March
2011.

On 26 February, at least two politicians were detained and beaten at the
army barracks in Suva and released the next day. On the same day, seven
young men from a settlement on the outskirts of Suva were also reportedly
tortured and ill-treated by the military, because they had been discussing
plans for a peaceful demonstration on 4 March. Some human rights activists
and family members who went to ask for the release of the seven young men
were threatened and beaten by soldiers at the army camp. The soldiers warned
the young men that they will be killed if they spoke to anyone about their
treatment at the camp.

On 25 February, Amnesty International reported on the torture and
ill-treatment of Fijian politician Sam Speight, also known as Samisoni
Tikoinasau, who was detained for three days. During that time no information
regarding his detention and treatment was given to his family. Speight’s
detention and torture followed the recent arrests of a number of trade
unionists and politicians who were also threatened and beaten by military
officers at the Queen Elizabeth Barracks. They have subsequently been
released, but there are continuing fears for their safety.

Amnesty International is gravely concerned for the safety of activists and
government critics. No military officers have been officially investigated
or charged over these beatings and neither the military nor the Ministry of
Information answered any overseas media queries regarding these cases.

PLEASE WRITE IMMEDIATELY in English or your own language:

* Calling for the Fijian authorities to stop the arbitrary detention,
torture and other ill-treatment of critics, activists and members of the
public and allow people to gather together in a peaceful manner on 04
March 2011;
* Calling for the authorities to immediately suspend the Public Emergency
Regulations and allow for peaceful assembly and freedom of expression;
* Calling for the authorities to immediately initiate an independent
impartial investigation into the arbitrary detention, torture and other
ill-treatment of opposition politicians, government critics, trade
unionists, and young people, and ensure that those military officers
suspected of involvement in these acts, irrespective of rank, are
brought to justice.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 31 MARCH 2011 TO:

President of the Republic of the Fiji Islands
Ratu Epeli Nailatikau
Office of the President
Government House
Berkley Crescent
P.O. Box 2513, Government Buildings
Suva
Fax: +679 3301 645
Salutation: Your Excellency

Prime Minister & Commander of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces
Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama
Prime Minister’s Office
Government Buildings
Fax: +679 3306 034
Email:pmsoffice@connect.com.fj
Salutation: Dear Prime Minister

And copies to:
Minister for Foreign Affairs
Ratu Inoke Kubuabola
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
PO Box 2220,
Government Buildings, Suva, Fiji
Fax: +679 3301 741
Salutation: Dear Minister

First Secretary/Acting Head of Mission
Ms Mere Tora
High Commission for the Republic of the Fiji Islands, Wellington
PO Box 3940, Wellington 6140
Fax: (04) 499 1011
Email:viti@paradise.net.nz
Website:http://www.fiji.org.nz

Check with the Urgent Action team if sending appeals after the above date.

TORTURE AND DETENTION OF ACTIVISTS IN FIJI
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

In April 2009, the President of Fiji, President Ratu Iloilo, abolished the
Constitution, sacked the judiciary and declared a state of emergency using
the Public Emergency Regulations (PER). The PER greatly restricts freedom
of expression and peaceful assembly and the Fijian government continues to
use it as a tool of repression. Ongoing censorship of the media and threats,
intimidation and attacks against government critics continue to evoke a
climate of fear in Fiji. Amnesty International has reported of ongoing human
rights violations in Fiji since the military coup d’etat in 2006 and a
prevailing culture of impunity amongst members of the security forces.

UA:51/11 Index: ASA 18/002/2011 Issue Date: 01 March 2011