Hope for some people

Friday 1 February 2013

     Hi everyone,

  I’m here to talk to you about a non-governmental organisation, Amnesty International.
   Amnesty International, founded in London in 1961, is a global movement of more than 3 million supporters, members and activists in over 150 countries and territories who campaign to end grave abuses of human rights. 

  In the field of international human rights organisations, Amnesty has the longest history.

    There are six key areas which Amnesty deals with: women's, children's, minorities' and indigenous rights; ending torture; abolition of the death penalty; rights of refugees; rights of prisoners of conscience and protection of human dignity. To further these aims, Amnesty International has developed several techniques to publicise information and mobilise public opinion.

   Its vision is of a world in which every person enjoys all the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights instruments.

   Li Yan is one of many people who are being helped by Amnesty International. This woman, with 41 years old, suffered months of abuse at the hands of her violent husband. He cut off one of her fingers and stubbed cigarettes out on her face. On another occasion, he locked Li outside on the balcony of their apartment for several hours with little clothing in the freezing Sichuan winter. She reported the abuse to police, but was told it was a family matter. In November 2010,  to stop him from beating her, she repeatedly hit him over the head with a gun. Li Yan was sentenced to death in August 2011 for murder.
   Roseann Rife, head of East Asia for Amnesty International, said: "Justice is not served by executing Li Yan." Amnesty International called upon the Chinese authorities to commute her death sentence to a term of imprisonment.

    Li Yan still is on death row, in China, for murdering her husband. 

   Here is a powerfull video from Amnesty International - a stunning way to deliver a whole range of important messages.

 

                                                                                               

                                                                                                 Andreia Codeço