By Grace Martin (Editor)

Welcome to the University of Nottingham Amnesty International society! Amnesty International is a volunteer group with over 7 million members worldwide, each and every one making a huge difference. We work together as an organization to fight for human rights by campaigning to end the disparity in economic, social and political inequalities. Despite the leaps and bounds we have made so far, there is still work to do. So, what have we done and most importantly- what will we do?

Amnesty is an apolitical organisation with no affiliation to any religion. Our biggest concerns consist of direct acts of human rights violations, ranging from working to abolish the death penalty in all countries to securing women’s reproductive rights. You may have already seen the impact of Amnesty’s work for a better, more equal world without even knowing it. Recently, the referendum in Northern Ireland voted to overturn the constitutional ban on abortion. This ban was a serious infringement of women’s reproductive rights and the ridding of it has seen a decline in the partaking of unsafe abortions. Amnesty has campaigned for years to give women the freedom to have autonomy of their own bodies, and particularly fought for this referendum which had a positive outcome. However, despite the success of this ban, Northern Ireland is still looking at one of the harshest abortion laws in the world, meaning our job is not yet done. Furthermore, an estimated 45% of all abortions around the world are undertaken in ‘unsafe’ conditions[1]. Autonomy of our own bodies is a basic human right that no law should be able to inhibit, and this is just one of the many things that Amnesty fights for.

Amnesty makes an impact globally, and here’s just a few things our UON society has done to contribute to that. We have helped fight against fast fashion with QMC’s student charity shop where people donated clothes (particularly from fast fashion brands such as PLT and Boohoo) to be rehomed. We set up a write for rights campaign where we sent over 92 letters around the world to the heads of state, people in positions of power and to those who simply needed a letter of hope. These letters demanded justice for those wrongfully imprisoned and give comfort to those who feel forgotten. During the first lockdown back in March, we partook in the #Youarenotalone campaign where we made posters with the National Domestic Abuse helpline number on them. These signs also encouraged people to donate to a charity that worked with survivors of domestic abuse. From our #Letstalkaboutyes sexual consent workshop to our focus on mental health and suicide prevention, we cover many different human rights issues. Our current campaign is Miles for Refugees. We are walking or running significant distances, such as the distance from Calais to London (108 miles), to show our solidarity with refugees who are having to brave dangerous journeys in order to live a safer life. Our goal is £1000, and we have nearly hit it with over £800 so far! Our Facebook page has all the links and information you need to take part or donate.

This term we will be focusing on topics such as racism, homelessness and the refugee crisis. With this October being Black History Month, our first terms focus also centres on the Black Lives Matter movement. We are focusing on showing our support for this important cause and keeping ourselves and others educated on these issues. Amnesty has campaigned against systematic racism for years and our UON society called for people to submit their experiences with racism as a way to both shine a light on the harsh reality POC face every day and as an outlet for people who may not have a platform to share it on. Our weekly meetings this October will also be focusing on racism, with Hope discussing the BLM movement, and the following week of the 21^st I will be hosting a meeting on white privilege (what it means and what we can do about it).

Unfortunately, there are still a lot of human rights violations going on around the world and we encourage everyone to join us in taking a stand. We hold pub quizzes and even gig events to fundraise, so whether socially distanced or online, we are always looking for ways to get everyone together and involved.  No one is expected to be an expert on everything, but we should always be striving to educate and better our understanding of the world we live in. For our new members, I hope this gives you an insight into what we are all about and for any non-members feel free to check out our Facebook page and Amnesty UON blog to stay updated/educated on human rights issues and any ways in which you can help.

[1]https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2018/10/how-many-women-die-illegal-abortions/572638/).

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