Group 37 members hold vigil for Troy Davis

Despite stay, continued action vital

Group 37 members held a vigil at the Lake Street and Marshall Avenue bridge in Minneapolis-Saint Paul on Wednesday, October 22nd, to draw attention to the upcoming execution of Troy Davis, scheduled for October 27th by the State of Georgia (later delayed by a temporary stay of execution issued by a federal Court of Appeals.). Serious concerns about the fairness of his trial have been raised, and Georgia may be preparing to kill an innocent man.

Act to prevent this execution!

Learn more about Troy Davis and how to help prevent his execution at the Amnesty International USA web site.

Read more about the case and view pictures from the October 22nd rally.

Group 37 December meeting: Human Rights Day Write-a-thon

Sunday, December 7th — 2:00 - 4:00 p.m.

Join us for our Human Rights Day Write-a-thon on Sunday, December 7th, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m.

Help celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 10th, 1948, with our traditional December write-a-thon. We will provide human rights actions and and information for our winter Holiday Card Action, in which we send messages of hope and solidarity to threatened and imprisoned human rights defenders worldwide. We'll provide all materials.

Everyone is welcome. Group 37 members are encouraged to bring refreshments to share — Guests need bring only their their enthusiasm (though donations to cover postage are welcome).

Center for Victims of Torture
717 East River Road
Minneapolis, MN

Map & Directions

China: Help Gao Zhisheng

Human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng has not been seen since 22 September of last year. His family has been unable to confirm his whereabouts. It is possible that Gao was detained by members of the State Security Bureau, but the Chinese authorities have made no official announcement of his detention. Amnesty International is concerned that Gao Zhisheng's safety is at grave risk.

Download this action (PDF, 107 KB)

Please note that action is still important, despite the closing date indicated in the document.

Urge Senate support of Child Soldiers Prevention Act

We need your help to help pass bipartisan legislation to stop the use of child soldiers. We want to urge Senators to sign on as co-sponsors to the Child Soldiers Prevention Act (S 1175). Companion legislation has passed the House attached to another bill. If your Senators are currently cosponsors of S 1175 (see link below) please thank them. If they are not, then please consider calling, scheduling meetings with or e-mailing them to help get them on board this legislation by becoming a co-sponsor. Currently, neither Senators Klobuchar nor Coleman have signed on to this important bill.

The legislation would prohibit, with a national interest waiver, funds appropriated or otherwise made available for specified military and related areas from being obligated or otherwise made available to the government of a country identified by the Department of State as having governmental armed forces or government supported armed groups, including paramilitaries, militias, or civil defense forces, that recruit or use child soldiers.

Resources

• Find out more about the bill at the GovTrack web site
• Download additional information and talking points to help you communicate with your Senators (40 KB PDF)

Take action: Sudan

The University of Minnesota Law School Amnesty International Student Chapter has taken up the cause of a fellow classmate and they invite you to join the movement. Gabriel Kou Solomon, a Sudanese expatriate and graduate student at the University, received word that on October 3 his two nieces were abducted from a family home in Southern Sudan.

Find out how you can help.

Hope in a Time of Despair

A celebration of our 30 years defending human rights and a call to action

On Friday, October 27th, 2006, Group 37 members, friends and guests celebrated 30 years of defending human rights in the Twin Cities, recognized and thanked our founder David Weissbrodt and other long-time volunteers, and looked toward the future. A forum devoted to the human rights concerns surrounding the current "War on Terror" featured human rights experts Dr. Steven Miles, Barbara Frey, James Dorsey, and Holly Ziemer.

Pictures and more about the event...

Collaborative Event draws attention to Guantanamo Detainees

On Friday and Saturday, May 5th and 6th, 2006, Amnesty volunteers joined Laura Winton and Crisis Point Theatre for an overnight performance piece at Peavey Plaza in downtown Minneapolis.

Our goal was to raise awareness of the situation faced by hundreds of people held at the US detention facilities at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where they have been held without charge or access to lawyers or their families for five years.

View photos and learn more about the event...

Amnesty International’s vision is of a world in which every person enjoys all of the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights standards.

Amnesty International undertakes research and action focused on preventing and ending grave abuses of the rights to physical and mental integrity, freedom of conscience and expression, and freedom from discrimination, within the context of its work to promote all human rights.