Please Support the Global Online Freedom Act

Repressive governments are making Internet and technology companies allies in their efforts to censor the Internet. Without any U.S. regulation to specifically prevent this, companies like Google, Yahoo! and Microsoft have sacrificed international human rights standards, and their own corporate missions, in pursuit of new and lucrative markets. Ask your Representative to support H.R. 2271, the Global Online Freedom Act, which would prevent U.S. companies from carrying out or facilitating the suppression of online speech in repressive countries.

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Guantanamo - new zip code, no human rights

There are troubling rumors flying around Washington that President Obama is on the verge of cutting a political deal with Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC). The President is actually considering rolling back Attorney General Eric Holder's decision to prosecute terror suspects using fair trials in U.S. federal court.

The result would mean that while the Guantanamo prison facility would finally be closed, detainees would continue to be held indefinitely without charge and denied fair trials, but just in a new location on U.S. soil.

» Call Senator Graham's office – tell him why you oppose military courts and indefinite detention
» Call the White House and urge Obama to support fair trials for Guantanamo detainees
» Send an email to urge your member of Congress to stand up for fair trials

Pressure Indonesian President to Release Papuan Prisoners of Conscience

Please urge the President of Indonesia to bring about the immediate and unconditional release of Filep Karma and Yusak Pakage. For peacefully raising a flag, Filep Karma and Yusak Pakage may spend the next decade or more in prison in Indonesia. In December 2004, about 200 people participated in a nonviolent ceremony outside Abepura in Papua, Indonesia. Part of the annual ceremony was raising the "Morning Star" flag, a traditional Papuan symbol of independence. Police fired on the crowd and Karma was beaten on the way to the police station. Filep Karma and Yusak Pakage were sentenced to 15 and 10 years respectively. Amnesty International considers Filep Karma and Yusak Pakage to be prisoners of conscience who have been detained for the peaceful and legitimate exercise of their right to freedom of expression.

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Human rights in Iran

February 11th is known as Victory of the Revolution Day – equivalent to the Fourth of July in the United States; it is meant to symbolize liberty, independence and freedom. Instead, it only reminds us of how far Iran has to go in its progress toward human rights.

Just weeks ago, two men became the "fall guys" for the post-Presidential election violence that consumed the streets of Iran last summer and were hanged as punishment. Now the lives of 9 more men hang in the balance based on similarly outrageous charges.

We are asking everyone to show their solidarity online this week – whether it's on your blog, website, or social networking profile – for all the people at risk of human rights abuses in Iran. Help us raise the voices of those calling for freedom and justice inside Iran.

» Urge Iran to stop executing people for peacefully expressing their views

» Find out what you can do on Facebook, Twitter and other websites to support the people of Iran

» Read AI's comments on the National Report presented by the Islamic Republic of Iran for the Universal Periodic Review

Call on Chevron to address the human rights of Amazon communities

For over four decades, Indigenous communities have witnessed multinational oil companies cut through their ancestral lands in search of the country's vast petroleum resources. According to the report "Amazon Crude", Texaco alone was responsible for dumping 19 billion gallons of toxic wastewater into the region contaminating the drinking water of Ecuador's Amazon communities.

For more information please click here
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Stop Child Offender Executions in Iran

Iran is one of the only countries in the world that still executes children and child offenders. At least 15 child offenders have been executed in Iran in the last two years. On October 16, 2008, The Government of Iran announced an end to this shameful practice, but on October 18 Iran clarified that this directive would not apply to child offenders sentenced to qesas or retribution. The vast majority of the more than 130 juveniles sentenced to death in Iran still face execution.

To learn more about this issue, read Juveniles still to face the noose in Iran. Download this action in PDF or MS Word formats.

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Howard Zinn - a gift to the movement

We mourn the passing of historian, author and activist Howard Zinn, who recently passed away at the age of 87. His lifelong dedication to reframing history to include the voices and struggles of the poor, the oppressed and the forgotten inspired untold numbers of students, activists and citizens around the world in the struggle for social justice.

His seminal 1980 work, A People's History of the United States, drew on voices seldom heard in the historical record: African Americans, women, Native Americans and laborers.

Mr. Zinn was scheduled to speak at our "All Rights for All People" conference in April. In light of his passing, we will dedicate space in commemoration of his work and legacy.

» Learn more about Howard Zinn

» Honor his memory during our "All Rights for All People" conference

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Giving life, risking death in Burkina Faso

Hamidou did not know that his wife should have delivered her baby at the health clinic in Burkina Faso. By the time they realized something was terribly wrong, it was already too late.

Every year, more than 2,000 women die in Burkina Faso from complications of pregnancy and childbirth. Our researchers have recently documented over 50 cases about women who lacked access to basic maternal care.

Our new report Giving Life, Risking Death exposes the need for better information and services for family planning as well as the removal of financial barriers.

» Ensure that the women of Burkina Faso receive access to proper health care!
» Read the report Giving Life, Risking Death (PDF)
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