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Write for Rights is Amnesty's global letter writing campaign, when the world joins together to write letters and make a difference. Write for Rights kicks off at the end of November every year, and every year we see real human rights change for the individuals we write for. In this toolkit you’ll find everything you need to join in with Write for Rights. Make sure you check out the Write for Rights section of the Activist Portal for all your materials.

IN THIS TOOLKIT:

• Your letters change lives

• 2015 cases

• Events: ideas from activists, for activists

• Campaigning tips

• Writing solidarity messages

• Writing to your MP

• Social and regional media

KEY DATES

25 November: International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women

10 December: Human Rights Day and end of Write for Rights

14 December: final day for returning your actions to your action centre

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“While before I felt all hope had gone, the story changed when Amnesty International came in. The messages I received overwhelmed me. I regained hope.” Moses Akatugba

The 2014 Write for Rights campaign broke records, with 3,245,565 actions taken by hundreds of thousands of people in over 200 countries. Even more importantly, we saw human rights change for the people we campaigned for:

In Nigeria, the Governor of Delta State responded to pressure from Amnesty supporters and granted a full pardon to Moses Akatugba, who had been sentenced to death aged 16 for stealing three phones.

In the Philippines, police announced that letters sent by a “human rights organisation” – which we can confidently say is Amnesty International – prompted them to investigate the shocking torture of Jerryme Corre.

In Norway, the government said it will amend the law to establish a process for legal gender recognition following our campaign for John Jeanette Solstad Remø, a transgender woman unable to change her legal gender without medical treatment.

In Saudi Arabia, blogger Raif Badawi has been spared weekly flogging following sustained global pressure.

In China, the daughter of activist Liu Ping has finally been allowed to visit her in prison.

In Uzbekistan, the family of Erkin Musaev have told us your letters gave him “strength, optimism and faith. Erkin passes on a huge thank you to everyone who is not indifferent to his fate.”

In Egypt, Australian Al Jazeera journalist Peter Greste, and recently his colleagues Baher Mohammed and Mohamed Fahmy walked free from Tora prison following international outcry.

YOUR LETTERS CHANGE LIVES“I cannot describe my feeling, to wake up one day and find that the whole world is talking about Raif’s case. It is a very beautiful feeling. At times when Raif called me I conveyed to him the activities of Amnesty ... I even remember that suddenly he started to cry out of joy, and he said to me: ‘Ensaf how can I thank all those people who supported me; I want to thank them one by one.” Ensaf Haider, wife of Raif Badawi

“To all my new supportive Amnesty friends: I wish to meet every one of you to express my gratitude! You are wonderful people. ... This is everything I have dreamt of and hoped for. It was worth the fight. It took a long time, but when the results of our work finally came, it felt great.” John Jeanette Solstad Remø These things happened because we picked up our

pens and stood together for human rights. Just imagine what we can do this year.

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In 2015 you can once again join with hundreds of thousands of others around the world to write letters and change lives. This year the focus is on growing the number of people writing letters so we can achieve more change. To do this your groups can set targets for the amount of actions you want to reach in your community and develop strategies to match. Have a chat to your organiser about how to set targets that are bold and achievable.

For each case you’ll be able to download case sheets, template letters and petitions as well as posters flyers and more for your event on the Activist Portal.

Myanmar: Phyoe Phyoe Aung

Phyoe Phyoe Aung was arrested after organising a largely peaceful protest in Myanmar, during which police attacked students with batons. Phyoe Phyoe, 27, had been leading protests against the newly adopted National Education Law, which curtails academic freedom.

Now Phyoe Phyoe Aung and about 100 other protesters face lengthy jail terms of 9 years and 6 months.

To prove that the country is on the road to reform the Myanmar government must release these prisoners of conscience now.

Join the call for the immediate and unconditional release of Phyoe Phyoe Aung and all the students jailed for protesting peacefully.

Malaysia: Zunar

Zunar is a political cartoonist who faces prison after posting tweets condemning the jailing of the opposition leader in Malaysia.

The charges against Zunar, are part of a clampdown on Freedom of Expression in Malaysia under the 1948 Sedition Act, a draconian, colonial-era law. The law, which is not compliant with International Human Rights Law, grants the government sweeping powers to arrest and lock up critics.

Zunar is facing nine simultaneous charges for 10 tweets that criticised the judiciary after opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim was jailed on what are believed to be politically-motivated, trumped-up charges of sodomy.

The government is going to enormous lengths to silence dissent and debate, and lock up critics.

Call on the Malaysian Government to drop the charges against Zunar and help stop Malaysia’s crackdown on free speech.

2015 CASES

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US: Albert Woodfox

Albert is a prisoner in Louisiana who was placed in solitary confinement over 43 years ago following the murder of a prison guard. He maintains his innocence, claiming he was targeted by the state for his political organising in prison.

The UN Special Rapporteur on Torture has described his decades in solitary confinement as torture, and despite the fact that his conviction has been overturned three times he remains behind bars. There are also serious legal flaws in his case. Were it not for the Attorney General pursuing what Amnesty has called a ‘campaign of vengeance’ against him, Albert would be a free man.

Justice is long overdue. Call on Louisiana’s Attorney General to release Albert now.

Democratic Republic of Congo: Fred and Yves

Fred Baumna and Yves Makwambala are two members of the Filimbi youth peace movement who have been labelled ‘terrorists’ and accused of attempting to overthrow the government. Their crime? Organising an event which encouraged young people to hold the regime to account.

There is no viable evidence against them, and their charges are politically motivated.

Enough is enough. Call on the Congolese authorities to drop these absurd charges and release Fred and Yves immediately.

Burkina Faso: Girls forced into marriage

One in three girls in Burkina Faso is married off before they turn 18. Some are as young as 11. They’re expected to have as many children as their husbands want, regardless of their own wishes or the threat that early pregnancy poses to their health and life. Once married, many are sent to cook, clean, fetch water and work in the fields, dawn to dusk.

Maria* was just 13 when her father forced her to marry a 70-year-old man with five other wives. When she resisted, he told her: “If you don’t go to join your husband, I will kill you.” She walked for three days to seek refuge at a shelter.

Forced and early marriages are banned by Burkina Faso’s Constitution and international law, but the authorities keep turning a blind eye. Urge Burkina Faso to protect girls and young women from forced marriages.

*Name changed.

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El Salvador: Teodora Del Carmen Vasquez

Teodora suffered a still-birth in 2007, after the rapid onset of serious pain while she was at work. Police arrested her as she lay in a pool of blood. She was later sentenced to 30 years in prison for ‘aggravated homicide’, presumed guilty of ‘abortion’ rather than the victim of pregnancy complications. She has spent more than eight years in jail, and has not seen her 11-year old son for over a year, due to extremely limited financial resources.

In El Salvador, women who miscarry or suffer a still-birth during pregnancy are routinely suspected of having had an ‘abortion’. Abortion under any circumstance is a crime, even in cases of rape, incest, or where a woman’s life is at risk. This makes women afraid to seek help with pregnancy-related problems, leading inevitably to more preventable deaths.

Teodora’s trial was deeply flawed. As in all similar cases in El Salvador, she was presumed guilty and, being from a poor family, could not afford an effective legal team to represent her. Her only option now is to appeal for her sentence to be changed so that she is released immediately.

Call on El Salvador’s Minister of Justice to release Teodora immediately.

Saudi Arabia: Waleed Abu Al-Khair

Waleed Abu Al-Khair is a prominent lawyer and human rights defender, Waleed Abu Al-Khair is currently serving a 15-year prison sentence for his peaceful activism, under a dubious new counter-terrorism law.

He has faced ongoing harassment since defending many peaceful activists, including jailed blogger Raif Badawi, whose case featured in Write for Rights 2014, and has challenged the widespread crackdown on human rights across the country.

Waleed is a prisoner of conscience, not a terrorist. Join the call for his immediate release and to drop all charges so he can be reunited with his family.

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EVENTS:

Image: Peter Benenson rekindles the original candle on the movement's 20th anniversary, London, May 1981.© Raoul Shade

INSPIRING IDEAS FROM ACTIVISTS

IDEA: HOLD A TOAST TO FREEDOMYou can make this event as BIG or as small as you like. The idea is to recreate the scene of two students toasting to freedom, that led to the founding of Amnesty.

Something low key? Bring some food and drinks and raise a toast during your letter writing meeting. It’s a lovely way to take action together and celebrate a year of human rights campaigning.

Something bigger? Hosting a dinner party is a great way to involve family and friends. Who can resist a feed and some fun human rights campaigning? You could cook food from the countries of the cases you're working on, create games or keep a tally of the letters and solidarity cards written.

Even bigger? Host a public Toast to Freedom event at a local restaurant or community hall. Promote it in your community and invite some interesting speakers. You could also build games into the event or ask people to dress up as their favourite human rights hero. I bet no-one’s ever had that theme before!

The founding of Amnesty

Amnesty International was started on a letter writing campaign just like Write for Rights.

In 1961, British lawyer Peter Benenson was outraged when two Portuguese students were jailed just for raising a toast to freedom. He wrote an article in The Observer newspaper and launched a campaign that provoked an incredible response. People flooded the Portuguese authorities with letters demanding the release of the students. Reprinted in newspapers across the world, his call to action sparked the idea that people everywhere can unite in solidarity for justice and freedom.

This inspiring moment didn’t just give birth to an extraordinary movement, it was the start of extraordinary social change that we are all part of today.

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If you have big ambitions and a highly committed group then you could hold a Human Rights Day Festival in your community. It’s summertime and people are looking for fun outdoor activities. You could do letter writing, create a community solidarity banner, face painting, stalls and music. You could reach out to other action groups in your area to help, but you’ll need to get started now!

Want to do a stall at a festival rather than organising the whole thing?

You could choose one of the activities above and run it within an existing community event. A letter writing station, community solidarity banner activity or a cupcake-for-letter stall are great activities you could run from your very own stall.

Make it an actual marathon!

Set a target of non-stop letter writing for a period of time and get people to sign onto a roster with their friends to keep the letter writing baton moving. You could even try and have people continuously writing letters for 24 hours! Hire a community hall and invite kids, parents, family, friends and human rights minded people.

Work with others to make your event a success

No matter what event you decide to put on you can increase the participation by partnering with an organisation or community group that is relevant to the cases you’ve picked. Think about women’s rights groups, the Malaysian or another diaspora community or a children’s rights organisation. By reaching out to different communities in your area you’ll not only increase your numbers but you’ll attract people who understand the issues deeply and might start the beginning of a beautiful relationship.

Tip:

This year we are setting regional targets for letters written and actions collected. To reach these targets we need your group to set your own target and create events and activities that inspire people to write as many letters as they can. Have a chat to your organiser about how to decide on a target and achieve it.

Visual representations of targets and progress at your event are a really great way to get people on board. One way could be to draw an image of a thermometer on a huge piece of paper that’s coloured in throughout the course of the event. Get those creative juices flowing!

HUMAN RIGHTS DAY FESTIVAL

These ideas were created for you by activists on the Write for Rights Tactics Group.

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SOLIDARITY CARDS Write solidarity cards at your group meeting or letter writing event. They show the person we’re working for, and their family, that they’re not alone and we are campaigning hard for justice. It also tells the people at the prison that the world is watching, and often the prison conditions for that person improve as a result.

Writing a solidarity card is easy. All you need to do is download the template from the Activist Portal and print them off. You can choose between a pre-designed one or a blank one where you can add your own picture or decoration.

Have a look at the case sheets for suggested messages for each recipient - we are really encouraging postcards and visuals this year as this is what people themselves have asked for from you.

Important:

Attached your postcard to the template and send the cards back to you local action centre. This is so we can make sure these messages are delivered safely, to the right person at the right time and have maximum impact. Sometimes we need to stop actions at short notice because of changes in conditions.

Yorm Bopha with her solidarity messages. © AI

Write to your MP too!Why not write a letter to your MP as part of Write for Rights? It's an easy way to create or continue to build a relationship with them, and many MPs have interests in particular countries or cases. You might just make them a champion of one of this year's Write for Rights cases. You can download and adjust a template letter that’s on the portal for your group and MP. Don't forget to include the casesheets so your MP has all he or she needs to get active in Write for Rights 2015! You could make this your group’s International Human Rights Day (10 Dec) activity.

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REGIONAL MEDIA

Social media can be a really effective tool for campaigning and spreading the word, especially in your community. This year for Write for Rights you could use it in a couple of ways.

• Create a Facebook event to invite people to your letter writing event. Invite all your friends and family and ask them to spread the word.

• Post links to the online actions and information about each case on your group page.

• Create a W4R photo booth at your event. Create a backdrop and make speech bubble props. Participants can take a photo and tweet it. This could be really fun for the happy snappers!

Check out the social media guide for more tips.

SOCIAL MEDIA

This is a great way to promote your event or tell the story of your local group and the type of issues you work on. There are two Write for Rights media release templates on the Activist Portal:

1. promote your event in your community

2. tell the story of your letter writing group.

Who knows, you might get some media coverage along with more people attending your event or new members for your group.

SOCIAL MEDIA

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CAMPAIGNING TIPS

How to motivate others

Sometimes it can be hard to get people to stop and take action.

Think about how you feel when you read the case. The things that stick out to you will likely stick out for people you talk to as well. Think about the individual you’re working for and see if you can answer these questions.

1. Most outraged?

2. What made you connect to the case?

3. What gives you hope?

4. What does their action mean?

Once you’ve done that, talk to people using the answers you’ve come up with in the same order. Use lots of persona' pronouns like “When I read this I felt,” and “if you take action.”

Want to know more about campaigning for freedom of expression?

Amnesty has partnered with edX to deliver our first ever Massive Open Online Course, otherwise known as a MOOC.

The first topic will be Human Rights: The Right to Freedom of Expression which fits perfectly with many of the Write for Rights we’re working on this year. Phyoe Phyoe Aung, Zunar, Waleed Abu Al-Khair and Fred Baumna and Yves Makwambala are all about freedom of expression.

This course runs online for 3 weeks between 17 November to 8 December and will help you build your understanding of freedom of expression and learn from activists across the globe who fight for these rights everyday. It’s open to anyone who wants to join, all you’ll need is an internet connection.

Find out more and register here.

Pennie the Pencil is ready to campaign for 2015

Your action centre has stylish pencil suits read to jump out of the pencil tin and help you with your campaigning this year. Get in touch with your organiser to grab a suit for your event!