Protect civilians in northwest Pakistan from suffering a hellish human rights-free zone

Amnesty International USA: TAKE ACTION NOW!
Abused by the Taliban. Battered by the Pakistani army. Attacked by U.S. drones. 
Protect civilians in northwest Pakistan from suffering in a hellish human rights free zone.

Dear Yeung,

"When I saw people putting the dead bodies of my children, parents, and other relatives in bed I couldn't bear it anymore and fell on the ground. I lost my sense…as if hell fell on me."

This shocking testimony comes from a 25-year old Pakistani man who lost nine family members when two shells, fired by Pakistani security forces, hit his house. 

Far from an isolated incident, the civilian killings took place in the alarmingly violent and lawless tribal areas of northwest Pakistan. 

The residents in these regions are subject to horrific abuses by the Pakistani Taliban and have no legal protection by the Pakistani government. Most disturbing is the fact that they are increasingly attacked on three different fronts - by the Taliban, by the Pakistani army and by U.S. drone strikes.

Yet the suffering of the people of this area has been ignored, sacrificed in the name of geopolitical interests.

Face the crisis

Blow off the veil of silence. Sign our petition urging the U.S. government to face the human right crisis in northwest Pakistan.

Remote and mountainous, northwest Pakistan has become a dangerous place to collect research. At one time, little was known about the overall situation in region.

But we're using our new website, www.eyesonpakistan.org, to help both private citizens and policy makersgain access to these previously inaccessible conflict zones. Using state of the art mapping tools and in-depth research, the site provides concrete visual evidence of destruction and human rights abuse

We also launched a companion report, "As if Hell Fell on Me: The Human Rights Crisis in Northwest Pakistan,"1 which documents the systemic abuses carried out by the Pakistani Taliban. The report is based on nearly 300 interviews with residents in this region, equally as tragic as the young man's account shared at the beginning of this message

And topping off our evidence is a report recently published by the UN which refers to US drone strikes as an "ill-defined license to kill without accountability".

We've got the proof. The pressure is building. Now all we need is for the U.S. government to draw a line and stand on the side of human rights.

Urge the U.S. government to uphold human rights in Pakistan.

In solidarity,


Christoph Koettl 
Crisis Campaigner 
Amnesty International USA


PS: Would you like to do more for human rights in Pakistan? Participate in our Eyes on Pakistan Writing Contest and win a Flip HD camera! 

 Share on Facebook  Share on Twitter
Take Action Donate Blog
DO NOT REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE. Messages sent to this email address are not read. If you have a question or comment, please use our interactive online help system. Subscribe to our RSS feeds.

Find Us On Facebook MySpace YouTube Twitter Change.org

© Copyright 2010 | Amnesty International USA | 5 Penn Plaza | New York, NY 10001 | 212.807.8400

Mr Cameron: Speak out for Children at G8

care2 petitionsite actionAlert

Today the world's wealthiest nations are meeting at a G8 Summit to discuss global challenges. Our most critical and heartbreaking challenges are child mortality and hunger. 

British Prime Minister David Cameron made a commitment to help the world's poorest children and mothers -- TODAY he needs to hear from people like you who want him to keep that promise at the G8 summit » 

Wealthier nations have a humanitarian responsibility to help people in need.

This G8 is Prime Minister Cameron's chance to show leadership. He must put forward plans to address threats facing millions of children like HIV/AIDS, chronic hunger, and more. 

Today IS the day -- the G8 Summit is happening in Canada.

Don't wait! Tell Prime Minister Cameron to do all he can at the G8 Summit to help children around the world »

Thanks for taking action!

Kayla
ThePetitionSite

 

Mr Cameron Needs to Stand Up For Children at the G8
Speak Out for Children at This Year's G8
Take Action!
  
Take action link: http://www.care2.com/go/z/e/AFynk/zk2K/YVR8


Become a fan of Care2 on Facebook Follow Care2 Action Alerts on Twitter

What BP's $20 Billion Penalty REALLY Means...

The $20 billion pledge Obama got from BP won't even begin
to pay a small fraction of the devastation BP is responsible
for...

Not only that, but the case can be made that BP won't
suffer one bit from having to raise this amount of money.

We will.

Video:

http://www.brasschecktv.com/page/873.html

Some of the damages BP is responsible for include:

* A significant US industry - fishing in the Gulf of Mexico
- OBLITERATED!

That's fishermen, boat builders, boat maintenance, fish
processing plants, fish wholesalers, fish transport workers,
fuel dealers, dock facilities, fishing and fish processing
equipment makers and on and on it goes

* The value and appeal of Gulf coast property and tourism
from Louisiana to Florida is heading to zero

That's homeowners, banks that hold loans on Gulf property,
real estate brokers, hotels, restaurants, tourist facilities,
local governments and all the people who supply and work
for these entities.

* Incalculable, long term health liability

Which, of course, is not getting even the slightest mention
in the corporate-owned US news media.

Instead we're being fed pictures of lone birds covered with
oil and beaches with a handful of tar balls on them.

Easier to show than permanent lung and genetic damage to infants,
small children and fetuses.

(Gee, where are the right-to-lifers when you really need them? I guess
the right to life doesn't include the right to be free of being poisoned
in utero by well connected corporations.)

Video:

http://www.brasschecktv.com/page/873.html


- Brasscheck

P.S. Please share Brasscheck TV e-mails and
videos with friends and colleagues.

That's how we grow. Thanks.

Treasure Chest Revealed in Afghanistan...

You'd think the cataclysm in the Gulf of Mexico
might sober up the white collar criminals who
run the US into maybe starting to do the right
thing.

No, instead they're using the catastrophe as cover
to slip in all manner of new fraud and deceit.

Because of this we are at work at a separate
site that covers the BP/US government created
disaster in the Gulf.

Meanwhile, here's their latest scheme to perpetuate
the disaster they're hard at work creating in Afghanistan.

Video:


- Brasscheck

P.S. Please share Brasscheck TV e-mails and
videos with friends and colleagues.

That's how we grow. Thanks.

Help Free an Innocent Man from Death Row.

protect the human
TAKING ACTION 
TOGETHER 
FOR HUMAN 
RIGHTS

Troy Davis: Hearing begins in two days

Troy mosaic pictured outside Amnesty's officeDear Supporter,

A massive thank you to all of you who sent in photos for the giant mosaic of Troy's face. It now contains over 3,000 images! We've made them into a huge poster that we'll be handing into the US Embassy tomorrow evening. 

Please join us to stand in solidarity with Troy – we'll be outside the Embassy in Grosvenor Square, London, between 5 and 7pm tomorrow. You can help us send a powerful message to the Georgia authorities that the world is watching!

The hearing begins on Wednesday in Savannah, Georgia. I will be there and will be blogging to keep you updated as things progress at blogs.amnesty.org.uk/troy. You can also follow my tweets @kimm_c

Thank you for your continued support.

Kim Manning-Cooper
Death Penalty Campaign Manager
 

Background on Troy's case
In 1991, Troy was sentenced to death for the 1989 murder of police officer. No physical evidence links him to the crime and of the nine key non-police witnesses, seven have recanted or contradicted their testimony. Of the two remaining, one is the alternative suspect and the other can only be sure of the colour of the t-shirt of the killer. In August 2009, the US Supreme Court ordered an evidentiary hearing, giving Troy an immense opportunity to bring new testimony and evidence into a court of law. However, this is not a new trial – the legal standard is extremely high. Troy is presumed guilty and the burden rests on him to "clearly establish his innocence". Read more
 
If you have any queries or feedback about this email or Amnesty's work, please get in touch with our Supporter Care team on sct@amnesty.org.uk or on +44 (0)20 7033 1777. 

Amnesty International UK is a company limited by guarantee. Registered in England no 01735872, registered office

[New Post] We need more than topical application to heal this wound. #oilspill #bp

I've heard from various reports now that BP consistently defied logic and took the cheapest, most catastrophic routes to reach where we are now. Either they're incompetent or they're doing something else that the public doesn't know about.

There's a lot of talk about abiotic oil.

I'll stay positive about the future of the ecosystem. I believe that the earth will heal itself even this time around. However, I can't say the same about humanity. It seems we're completely addicted to self-destruction in pursuit of increasing profits. With this mindset, our days are numbered.

Yes - I agree that the situation with BP is a difficult one. How do you chastise a hand that helps rock the cradle? BP and other corporations offer significant donations to pension funds and other areas of the economy. Unfortunately it's poor judgement that has put us in bed with them. The Government needs to somehow sever the cord and reestablish autonomy - at least from corporations.

We need to remember the practice of citizen's arrests.

Corruption in Government / corporate lobbying are the areas I think need addressing the most. How can we expect long term change if we don't first work at the root cause? Blood will be spilled - those in their high chairs won't leave without a fight, but if WE don't fight for the better of our, our children's and our grandchildren's futures...

...Who will?