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8/13/2019 W4R2013 - All Cases

1/18

Miriam Lpez

Miriam fears showing her fa

after horrendous treatment bysoldiers.

Agencia Reforma

On 2 February 2011, 30-year-oldMiriam Isaura Lpez Vargas droppedher children off at school in Ensenada,Baja California state. Two men wearingbalaclavas suddenly appeared andgrabbed her.

The men, who were later identified assoldiers, tied her up, blindfolded her,

and drove her to a military barracks inthe city of Tijuana. For a week, acivilian prosecutor of the FederalAttorney Generals Office directedintensive questioning of Miriam Lpezand soldiers raped her repeatedly. Thetorture included electric shocks andthreats to her family. It finally stoppedafter she signed a statement thatfalsely implicated her in drug offences.Miriam Lpez spent seven months inprison while waiting for a trial thatnever began. She was released withoutany charges against her.

The National Commission of HumanRights investigated Miriams case andhas called for justice andcompensation. The authorities haveprovided some police protection forMiriam and a few counselling sessions.However, despite the fact that she hasidentified some of the perpetrators andtheir accomplices, no one has been

brought to justice for the sexualviolence and other forms of torture shesuffered.

Miriam Lpez is one of many peoplewho have been similarly captured andtortured. Between 2006 and 2012, theNational Human Rights Commissionrevealed that reports of torture andill-treatment rose by 500 per cent inMexico between 2006 and 2012.Convictions are rare.

MEXICO

No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel,inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Article 3, Universal Declaration of Human Rights

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Activate your pens and your keyboards! Please write aletter to the federal Attorney General.

Start with Dear Attorney General.Describe who you are and what concerns youabout the torture Miriam Lpez experienced andhow the perpetrators have so far gone unpunished.Urge him to carry out a full, prompt and impartialinvestigation into the torture of Miriam Lpez inFebruary of 2011.Ask him to make sure that the results of theinvestigation are made public and that those whowere responsible for torturing her are brought tojustice.

What else can I do?On Miriams Facebook page, bit.ly/miriamlopez, click Like and leave a messagesuch as Miriam, remember that you are not alone in this struggle. I am with you.or Courage, Miriam! Your fight can help others. Include your name and country.

If you do not have access to Facebook, you may mail a greeting to Miriam on a non-religious card. You may mention Amnesty International and you may include yourreturn address. Send your greeting toMiriam LpezComisin Mexicana de Defensa y Promocinde los Derechos HumanosTehuantepec 142Col. Roma Sur, C.P. 06760Mexico City, Mexico

Send your letter to:Jess Murillo KaramProcuradura General de la RepblicaPaseo de la Reforma 211-213Col. Cuauhtmoc, C.P. 06500Mexico City, Mexico Postage: $1.85Fax: 011 52 55 5346 0908(This number is hard to reach. If you are suc- cessful and a voice answers, say Fax por favor.) Email: [email protected]

Please make a copy for: Honourable John BairdMinister of Foreign AffairsHouse of CommonsOttawa, ON K1A 0A6Postage: None requiredEmail: [email protected] Fax: (613) 996-9880(At the top of the copy, write something like Please call for justice for Miriam Lpez. Canadamust help end torture in Mexico.

Learn more about this case,Watch a video and share writeathon.ca/mexico
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8/13/2019 W4R2013 - All Cases

3/18

Village of Nabi Sal

Nariman Tamimi

raises her voice at a

Friday protest.

Welcome to the village of Nabi Saleh. About550 Palestinians live here. As you approach,you notice farmland surrounding the village,where olive trees grow well. And it is blessedwith a natural spring. But there is a problem.

Israeli settlers moved onto the land in 1977without permission from the villagers. Theyestablished their own settlement calledHalamish. The settler population has grown

to 1,600 and they are now using thefarmland. They also turned the spring into atourist attraction and will not let thePalestinians access water from it. The Israeliarmy has established a military base there,as well.

Every Friday since 2009 when they lostaccess to the spring, the villagers haveorganized non-violent demonstrations. Theyprotest against Israels military occupationand the illegal Israeli settlement ofHalamish.

The Israeli army responds to the villagerspeaceful protests with excessive andunnecessary force.

So far they have injured hundreds, includingwomen and children. Two people have died.During a Friday protest in November 2012,Israeli soldiers shot Rushdi Tamimi in theback. Video evidence shows that Israeli sol-diers delayed his familys effort to transporthim to hospital by ambulance. He died twodays later.

A military investigation into the incident

shows that soldiers fired over 80 live roundsat Palestinian protesters that day. MustafaTamimi died in hospital one day after aFriday protest in December 2011. A soldierin an armoured military jeep had fired a teargas canister at his face.

In addition to the excessive force at protests,the Israeli army intimidates the villagers atother times. They occasionally carry out nightraids, arrest children, restrict the residentsmovements by declaring Nabi Saleh a closedmilitary zone, and fire tear gas and otherweapons at homes to cause injury anddamage .

OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN

TERRITORIES:

Everyone has the right tosecurity of person.No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.

Articles 3 and 17, Universal Declaration of Human Rights

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Activate your pens and your keyboards! Please write a letter to Israels Minister of Defence.

Start with Dear Minister.Describe who you are and what concerns you aboutthe intrusion of Israeli settlers and army onPalestinian land.Ask the Minister to stop the excessive andunnecessary force by the Israeli security forcesagainst demonstrators in Nabi Saleh.Urge him to ensure that security officers responsiblefor the killings of Mustafa Tamimi and RushdiTamimi, and for the injury of others in the village,are brought to justice.

What else can I do?Support from abroad boosts the spirits of the villagers. Send a letter or a card tothem via the co-ordinator of the Nabi Saleh Popular Resistance Committee:Naji TamimiNabi Saleh

Birzeit/RamallahPalestine

Apart from religious cards, any card is fine. You may mention Amnesty Internationaland you may include your return address. Here is a sample message: We stand byyou in dignity and for freedom and justice.

Or leave a message of support on the villageFacebook page: bit.ly/nabi-saleh

Send your letter to:Minister of Defence Moshe Yaalon Ministry of Defence37 Kaplan Street, HakiryaTel Aviv 61909, IsraelFax: 011 972 3 691 6940Email: [email protected] Twitter : @bogie_yaalonPostage: $1.85

Please make a copy for:Her Excellency Miriam ZivAmbassador for Israel50 O'Connor Street, Suite 1005Ottawa, Ontario K1P 6L2Postage: $.63Fax: (613) 567-9878E-mail: [email protected]

Learn more about this case,Watch a video and share writeathon.ca/opt
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5/18

The Bolotnaya 3 DetaineesMeet the Bolotnaya 3. We use that namefor them because it was in MoscowsBolotnaya Square that Vladimir Aki-menkov, Artiom Saviolov and MikhailKosenko were detained during anauthorized protest on 6 May 2012.

Authorities soon released the Bolotnaya3, but rearrested them in June 2012.They have been in custody ever since andtheir imprisonment has badly affectedtheir health. Vladimir Akimenkov is losinghis eyesight. Artiom Saviolovs speechimpediment is reportedly getting worse indetention. Mikhail Kosenko is notreceiving medication he needs regularly.

The Bolotnaya 3 have been charged withparticipating in mass riots. Both ArtiomSaviolov and Mikhail Kosenko are also

accused of using force against policeofficers. All three firmly deny thecharges. They also deny acting violentlyor in a disorderly fashion.

Video footage supports their claims.Police statements made against VladimirAkimenkov and Artiom Savelov during theinvestigation differ from what was latersaid in court.

Amnesty International believes that allthree men are prisoners of conscience.

Vladimir Akimenkov may be held onlybecause of his prior political activism.The Bolotnaya Square protest was thefirst time Artiom Saviolov had evergone to a demonstration. He isaccused of breaking through thepolice line and shouting Down withthe police state! something that heexplained would not be possiblebecause of his stutter.Mikhail Kosenko is accused ofseverely beating a police officer. He

remains in custody even thoughanother man has been convicted ofthe beating and even though theofficer later said that he had neverseen Mikhail Kosenko before.

RUSSIA:

No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest Article 9, Universal Declaration of Human Rights

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Activate your pens and your keyboards! Please write a letter to the Prosecutor General.

Start with Dear Prosecutor General.Describe who you are and what concerns youabout the continued detention of VladimirAkimenkov, Artiom Saviolov and Mikhail

Kosenko and about the effects on theirhealth.Ask the Prosecutor General to immediatelyand unconditionally release the three men.

What else can I do?Lift the spirits of Vladimir Akimenkov, Artiom Saviolov and Mikhail Kosenko. Sendeach one a bright card or postcard. Create a short greeting in English. Or translate itinto Russian either by asking a Russian speaker for help or using trans-late.google.com.

Address your message to[Insert name of prisoner]Pre-trial detention facilitySIZO- 2 Butyrka ul. Novoslobodskaya, 45Moscow 127055, Russian Federation

Send your letter to:Yurii Yakovlevich ChaikaProsecutor Generals Officeul. B. Dmitrovka, d.15a125993 Moscow GSP- 3Russian FederationPostage: $1.85

Please make a copy for:His Excellency Georgy MamedovAmbassador for the Russian Federation285 Charlotte StreetOttawa, Ontario K1N 8L5Postage: $.63Fax: (613) 236-6342 Email: [email protected]

Learn more about this case,Watch a video and share writeathon.ca/russia
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8/13/2019 W4R2013 - All Cases

7/18

Jabeur Mejri

Jabeur Mejri is serving a

seven-and-a-half year sentence fcreating Facebook poststhat expressed his views of relig

Private

Jabeur Mejri logged onto Facebookduring the first day or two of March2012. He posted a picture of the prophetMohamed and published articles criticalof Islam.

Punishment was quick. Lawyers saw theposts and filed a complaint. Policeofficers arrested Jabeur Mejri on 5 March

2012. Authorities charged him withharming or insulting others throughpublic telecommunication networks,attacking sacred values through actionsor words and undermining publicmorals. By the end of March, he hadbegun serving a sentence ofseven-and-a-half years in Mahdia prison.

International human rights law protectsthe act of expressing ideas that some

people think are offensive.

The ability to criticize religious and otherbeliefs and ideas is a vital component ofthe right to freedom of expression. WhileJabeur Mejris posts may have offendedsome Muslims, they non-violentlyreflected his views.

Amnesty International considers29-year-old Jabeur Mejri to be a prisoner

of conscience, held for peacefullyexercising his right to freedom of opinionand expression.

Jabeur Mejri is not the first to bepersecuted under Articles 121(3) and226 of the Penal Code and Article 86 ofthe Telecommunications Code. Since2011, Tunisian authorities have used theCodes to restrict freedom of expressionfor journalists, artists and bloggers,

among others.

Please ask the president of Tunisia tofree Jabeur Mejri.

TUNISIA

Everyone has the right to freedom of thought,conscience, religion, opinion and expression.

Articles 18 & 19, Universal Declaration of Human Rights

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Activate your pens and your keyboards! Please write a letter to Tunisias president.

Start with Your Excellency.Describe who you are and what concerns youabout the imprisonment of Jabeur Mejri onlyfor peacefully using his right to freely expresshis views.Ask the president to release Jabeur Mejriwithout delay or any conditions on hisfreedom.

What else can I do?Jabeur Mejris family says he is dispirited and is feeling lonely and forgotten. Sendhim a greeting. Apart from religious cards, any kind of message is fine. You maymention Amnesty International and you may include your return address.

Tell him about your community, your family, your activities. Tell him that you arethinking of him on Human Rights Day. Or write this in your own words:I stand in solidarity with you as a prisoner of conscience, imprisoned only for exer-cising your right to freedom of expression.

Mail your message with $1.85 postage to:Jabeur MejriPrison civile de MahdiaRoute de Chiba 5100

Mahdia, Tunisie

Send your letter to:Prsident Moncef Marzouki *Palais PrsidentielTunisTunisiePostage: $1.85Fax: 011 216 71 744 721Email: [email protected] * Note of interest:President Marzouki used to head the Tunisian League ofHuman Rights and was himself a POC in 1994 .

Please make a copy for:His Excellency Riadh EssidAmbassador for Tunisia 515 OConnor Street Ottawa, Ontario K1S 3P8Postage : $.63Fax: (613) 237-7939Email: [email protected]

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8/13/2019 W4R2013 - All Cases

9/18

Dr. Tun Aung

Amnesty Internationalhas determined that Dr. Tun Aung a prisoner of conscience, targeted

because he is aMuslim community leader.

Private

It was tense in the western Myanmar town ofMaungdaw, Rakhine State on 8 June 2012.Relations between the towns communities the Rakhine Buddhists and the RohingyaMuslims were deteriorating rapidly. Eachgroup suspected that the other group hadkilled some of their people. The policeexpected violence so they called on a re-spected medical doctor in the community tohelp them keep peace. His name is Dr. Tun

Aung.

Rioting did start, and it was violent. Peoplepresent say that Dr. Tun Aung actively triedto calm the crowd. He tried to tell them thatthe government was setting up an investiga-tion into the killing of the Muslims. But thecrowd of thousands, mostly Rohingya Mus-lims, was out of control and many were notprepared to listen.

When Rakhine (pronounced ra-hine) Bud-dhists hurled threats at him, he and his fam-ily felt nervous. They accepted an offer of adrive home from an immigration official butinstead, the official took them to immigrationheadquarters.

Officials there released his family withinhours but held Dr. Tun Aung. They werelikely looking for someone to blame after theviolence ended.

For several weeks no one knew where he was.His family finally learned that he was inRakhine states Sittwe prison, 170km fromhis hometown of Maungdaw. The 65-year-oldgrandfather is still there today. The distance

makes it very difficult for his family to travelfor the 20-minute prison visit they aresometimes allowed. It is also a challenge forthem to provide him with medicine and foodto supplement the inadequate prison diet.

Legal representation was inadequate atDr. Tun Aungs trial. He first received aprison sentence of 11 years but theprosecution appealed and the sentence isnow 17 years.

Dr. Tun Aung suffers from a pituitary tumourfor which he may not be receiving themedication and medical attention required tomanage this condition.

MYANMAR

No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest Article 9, Universal Declaration of Human Rights

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Activate your pens and your keyboards! Please send a letter or fax to the president.

Start with Your Excellency.Describe who you are and what concerns youabout the continued detention of Dr. Tun Aung.Insist on his release, since he is a prisoner ofconscience who has not committed, nor

promoted, any violence. Until he is free, you could ask for proper carefor his pituitary tumour. You could also requesthis transfer to Insein prison so that he is ableto have regular family visits.

What else can I do?Send a greeting to Dr Tun Aungs family. They may be able to share it with him inthe future.Mail it toDr Tun Aungs familyAmnesty International

3-1992 Yonge StreetToronto ON M4S 1Z7Apart from religious cards, any card is fine. You may mention Amnesty International.

Or you could post a video or photo with your message of support on Dr Tun Aungstumblr page where his family will see it: myanmar-w4r.tumblr.com. Tell them whoyou are, where you are writing from, and what action you have taken for Dr TunAung.

Send your letter to

President Thein SeinNay Pyi TawRepublic of the Union of MyanmarPostage: $1.85Email via online contact form:www.president-office.gov.mm/contact

Please send a copy to

His Excellency Hau Do SuanAmbassador for Myanmar336 Island Park DriveOttawa, Ontario K1Y 0A7Postage: $.63Fax: (613) 232-6999

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11/18

Community of Badia E

Bimbo Omowole Osobe is 55

Since the demolition, she has slethe open under a net.

Social and Economic Rights ACenter

Disaster struck the large community ofBadia East on the edge of Lagos on 23February 2013. Shocked residentswatched bulldozers demolish 266 of theirhomes. Most were not allowed to evenrescue their belongings. A few residentstried to resist but police officers beatthem.

Lagos state officials had identified thearea for slum upgrading in a projectfunded by the World Bank. The officialshad ordered the eviction and police werepresent to support the demolition. Oneofficer warned If you love your life, moveout! No one had given the families,small shop owners and traders advancewarning. No one had consulted them. Noone had prepared alternateaccommodation for them.

The anguish has not stopped. Many ofthe residents are still living in the open orcamping in makeshift shelters.

Officials have returned more than once todestroy some of the shelters. In March,officers also arrested five people whowere building an emergency water tankafter a bulldozer had ruptured the pipecarrying water to the community. Theyeventually released the five.

The residents have yet to receive

compensation and the offer of newhomes. They are without access to legalremedies.

Badia East is just one of manycommunities across Nigeria that hasbeen torn apart by forced evictions inrecent years. Large-scale evictions andhouse demolitions have occurred withoutrespect for human rights standards. Manyare living today with the constant threatthat their own homes will be destroyed.Pay a visit to Badia East at www.Amnesty.org/en/ library/info/AFR44/009/2013/en.

NIGERIA

Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the healthand well-being of himself and of his family, includinghousing.

Article 25, Universal Declaration of Human Rights

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Activate your pens and your keyboards! Please write to the governor of Lagos State.

Start with Your Excellency.Describe who you are and what concerns youabout Februarys demolition in Badia East.Ask Governor San to stop all forced evictions.

Insist that all residents evicted from their homesin February 2013 receive compensation andalternative housing.

Send your letter to: Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola SanOffice of the Governor of Lagos StateState Government SecretariatAlausa, IkejaLagos State, Nigeria Postage: $1.85Twitter handle: @tundefasholaSuggested tweet: Compensate #BadiaEast residents after home demolitions in Lagos State,#Nigeria. #endforcedevictions

Please make a copy for:His Excellency Ojo Uma MaduekweHigh Commissioner for Nigeria295 Metcalfe StreetOttawa, Ontario K2P 1R9 Postage: $.63Fax: (613) 236-0529Email via website: http:// www.nigeriahcottawa.ca/nhc2/index.php/ en/welcome-to-nhc/contact-us

Learn more about this case,Watch a video and share writeathon.ca/nigeria

What else can I do?The Badia East residents need to know there is international concern for what has happened tothem. Send letters, cards or photos of yourself with one of these messages.Try your hand at writing in Yoruba!

1. We support the Badia East community.2. Housing is a human right.3. End forced evictions.

Add your name and Canada but do not include your full return address . (If you wish to use a returnaddress, you may use the address for Amnesty Internationals office in Toronto: 3-1992 Yonge,Toronto, Canada M4S 1Z7.) Apart from religious cards, any kind of card is fine. You may mentionAmnesty International.

Mail your message with $1.85 postage toBadia East Technical CommitteeC/o Social and Economic Rights Action CenterPlot 758, Chief Thomas Adeboye DriveOmole Phase 2, Isheri

Lagos State, Nigeria

A w lhn won ar l orn Bdt omo nyn ni il gbgbE fi pin s k fi ip l nyn jde n il

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13/18

Ihar Tsikhanyuk

I dont want to hide myself.I live openly. It is not easy in Belarusbut I want to show people that I am a

person like everybody. With my examI want to show that it is possible to liv

openly.- Ihar Tsikhanyuk

Ihar Tsikhanyuk

Early last February, Ihar Tsikhanyukwas in hospital receiving treatment fora stomach ulcer. Two police officers inplain clothes came into the ward andtook him away to a district policestation. There, officers punched himagain and again. They also made fun ofhim for being gay, and threatened himwith more violence.

Ihar Tsikhanyuk (pronounced EeharTsi-han-yuk) is a 26-year-old openly gayman and gay rights activist who lives inHrodna. He promotes the rights oflesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender andintersex people in Belarus.

Ihar Tsikhanyuks seizure from thehospital and his beating occurred a fewweeks after he tried to formally registerthe existence of the Human RightsCentre Lambda.

The Centre supports the rights ofLGBTI people. He had also attended ameeting of the human rights projectGay Belarus in Minsk in December2012.

The director of the hospital wardphoned the police station anddemanded Ihar Tsikhanyuks return.

A police officer drove him back but noone documented the injuries from hisbeating. He made a formal complaintabout his treatment by police but inmid- March, the Prosecutors officeinformed him that there was notenough evidence to start aninvestigation.

Ihar Tsikhanyuk needs your support tomake sure the police officers whoill-treated him are brought to justice.The attention you give will also help toprotect him and other LGBTI activistsfrom further harassment.

BELARUS

Everyone has the right to peaceful assembly and association.Article 20, Universal Declaration of Human Rights

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14/18

Activate your pens and your keyboards! Please write aletter to the General Prosecutor of Belarus.

Start with Dear General Prosecutor.Describe who you are and what concerns youabout the February 2013 attack on IharTsikhanyuk.

Press General Prosecutor Koniuk to investigatethe ill-treatment of, and threats against, IharTsikhanyuk by police officers at the OctoberDistrict police station in Hrodna. Insist thatthose responsible are brought to justice.

What else can I do?Send a letter or card to Ihar Tsikhanyuk. Tell him that you are writing from Canadaand that you have heard about what happened to him. Add a message of support something like I admire your struggle in such difficult circumstances and wish yousuccess in it! In Belarusian: ! Apart from religious cards, any card isfine. You may put your return address on your envelope but please leave it off thecard . You may mention Amnesty International.

Send your greeting to:Ihar Tsikhanyukc/o Amnesty International3-1992 Yonge StreetToronto ON M4S 1Z7

Send your letter to:

Alyaksandr KoniukGeneralnaya Prokuraturaul. Internatsionalnaya 22220030 Minsk, BelarusPostage: $1.85Fax: 011 375 17 226 4252(If someone answers, say Fax.) Email: [email protected]

Please make a copy for:

Mr Roman SobolevCharg dAffaires,Embassy for Belarus130 Albert Street, Suite 600Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5G4Postage:$.63Fax: (613) 233-8500E-mail: [email protected]

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15/18

Russian riot police scuf e withprotestors in Moscow who op

government policies. Reuters/Denis Sinyakov

Freedoms are under threat in Russia,even though they are guaranteed by theconstitution. Rights to freedom ofexpression, association, and assemblyhave been attacked increasingly sinceVladimir Putin returned to of ce asPresident of the Russian Federation inMarch 2012.

Being out and loud and proud can landyou in prison. In late June,St. Petersburg police broke up a lawfulgathering of people interested in lesbian,gays, bisexual, transgendered andintersex rights. Anti-gay protestors andpolice assaulted them. On June 30,Russia passed a law banning"propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations".

It's getting harder to protest in Russia.Complicated approval procedures make itdif cult to organize events and restrictthe right to freedom of assembly. Manyprotests have been arbitrarily banned ordispersed.

Defamation was re-criminalized on June30th, and new laws on treason andblasphemy were passed. Singing aprotest song in a cathedral can lead totwo years in prison--exactly whathappened to Pussy Riot.

It is more dif cult than ever to operate anon-governmental organization. Russiangroups that receive funding from outsidethe country must describe themselves as"foreign agents" if they engage in loosely-de ned political activity. Freedom ofassociation is under attack as of cialsconduct inspections of organizationsof ces, impose heavy nes and suspendactivities of at least one group. Many fearthey will be shut down.

The Winter Olympic Games are beingheld in Sochi, Russia from February7-23, 2014. The Olympic ame canthrow light on the human rights violationsthat Russia authorities would prefer tohide behind the celebrations.

Freedom under Thre RUS IA

No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrestArticle 9, Universal Declaration of Human Rights

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Activate your pens and your keyboards! Please write a letter to President Putin c/o theembassy in Ottawa.

Start with Dear President Putin.Describe who you are and what concerns you

about the increasing number of attacks on civilsociety and on the rights to freedom of expression,assembly and association.

Ask him to get rid of laws that (choose two orthree)

Re-criminalize libel,Restrict public protests,Broaden the legal de nition of treason and

espionage to target opponents,Oblige NGOs to register as foreign agents,

Make propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations among minors anoffence,Criminalize the act of insulting the religious feelings of believers.

Tell President Putin that you expect him to uphold the rights to freedom ofexpression, association and assembly in Russia.


President Vladamir Putinc/o His Excellency Georgiy MamedovEmbassy of the Russian Federation285 Charlotte StreetOttawa, Ontario K1N 8L5

Postage: $.63Fax: (613) 236-6342E-mail: [email protected]

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17/18

The Right to FPIC Indigenous Peoples have the right tomake their own decisions about how andwhen their lands and resources will beused and developed.

This right of free, prior and informedconsent, or FPIC, provides a vitalsafeguard for distinctive cultures andways of life that have long beenmarginalized and discriminated against.

The right of FPIC is set out in the 2007United Nations Declaration on the Rightsof Indigenous Peoples and in countlessrulings and statements from internationalhuman rights bodies. It has also beenadopted by influential bodies in globalinvestment, including the InternationalFinancial Corporation.

However, the government of Canada actsas though the right does not exist. This isa significant problem for the realizationand protection of human rights becauseCanada is at the center of a global pushto exploit the resources of IndigenousPeoples lands at home and abroad. Canadas Economic Action Plan predicts

that 600 new large-scale resourcedevelopment projects will get underwayacross Canada in the next decade. Manywill impact the lands and territories ofIndigenous Peoples. At the same time,through trade agreements and directsupport to corporations, the federalgovernment is promoting rapid expansionof mining, oil and gas, and otherextractive industries around the world.

Indigenous Peoples in countries likeColombia and Guatemala alreadyexperience widespread and brutalviolations of their rights.

Canadian resource and mining companieshave secured government permits tooperate in Colombia. When IndigenousPeoples raise concerns, their complaintsare ignored. When they expressopposition to projects, they arethreatened, attacked and sometimeskilled. Through the Canada-ColombiaFree Trade Agreement, the Canadiangovernment is promoting furtherexpansion of these operations withouthuman rights guarantees.

CANADA:

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In Guatemala too, a disturbing pattern is emergingof violence and intimidation of human rightsdefenders who oppose mining in theircommunities. United Nations experts note thatGuatemalan human rights defenders faceextremely serious risks when they opposedevelopment projects, including killings and

attempts on their lives. Canadian companies areinvolved in most major mining projects inGuatemala, and receive diplomatic and politicalsupport from the Government of Canada.

Urge Canada to help safeguard the human rights ofIndigenous peoples affected by resource extraction projects at home and abroad.

Activate your pens and your keyboards! Please write a letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Start with Dear Prime Minister.Describe who you are and what concerns you about how Canadian resource andmining companies encroach on Indigenous lands often without respecting theirright to free, prior and informed consent.Ask the federal government to recognize and respect the right to free, priorand informed consent.


Prime Minister Stephen Harper

Office of the Prime Minister80 Wellington StreetOttawa, ON K1A 0A2

Postage: None requiredFax: (613) 941-6900Via website: http://pm.gc.ca/eng/contactpm

Learn more about this case,Watch a video and share writeathon.ca/FPIC
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