Weekly Action + News 31/12/21

Hi Manchester Amnesty

Manchester Amnesty Weekly Action

Please do this action and make a difference.

In many countries it is dangerous and risky to speak out for human rights and expose the truth. Governments often intimidate, harass and arrest people – and increasingly rely on digital surveillance to do it. Governments across the world are buying and allowing the sale of sophisticated and intrusive surveillance technology that can compromise anybody’s digital devices and monitor their activity. These tools are made and sold by private companies who are sometimes making profits off human right abuses.

Governments and companies say that these surveillance tools are only used to target ‘criminals and terrorists’. But in reality, human rights defenders, journalists and many others across the world – including an Amnesty International staff member – have been unlawfully targeted with spyware.

Read more and sign the petition.

Take Action

https://www.amnesty.org/en/petition/targeted-surveillance-human-rights-defenders/

January Group Meeting

Monday January 10^th, 7pm (NOTE TIME CHANGE), online

You will have read about the dismantling of the Pillar of Shame sculpture in memory of Tiananmen Square at the University of Hong Kong - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-59764029. Our chair, Hazel, took part in a recent event in St Peter’s Square organised by HKSpirit (https://hkspirits.weebly.com/hk-spirits.html) to draw attention to the human rights situation in Hong Kong and this featured a model of the statue.

We are delighted that members of HKSpirit will be joining us online during our January meeting to talk more about the curtailing of civic society in Hong Kong.

We will be continuing with our group meetings online for the next few months and will review whether to make any changes at our AGM in March.

Anne Walker

Secretary

Manchester Group of Amnesty International UK