International Human Rights Day

7/12/16: International Human Rights Day and AI UK’s Write for Rights Campaign – Parliamentary Reception at Speakers’ House

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The All-Party Parliamentary Human Rights Group (PHRG) and Amnesty International UK (AI UK) hosted a Parliamentary reception in Speaker’s House in Parliament on 7 December to mark International Human Rights Day and highlight AI UK’s annual ‘Write for Rights’ campaign.

We would like to thank PHRG Chair, Ann Clwyd MP, Mr. Speaker and AI UK for co-hosting this event.

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The speakers were:

  • The Rt Hon Baroness Anelay, Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office ;
  • Kate Allen, Director, AI UK;
  • Richard Radcliffe, husband of British Iranian dual national, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe detained in Iran;
  • Sue Turton, TV Journalist.

The main points made included the following:

  • Amnesty International’s Write for Rights campaign has been very successful in supporting those suffering serious rights abuses. At the reception in Speaker’s House, UK Parliamentarians and other attendees were invited to write in connection with individual cases linked to China, Iran, Egypt, Malawi and the UK.
  • A previous ‘Write for Rights’ campaign focused on the case of Albert Woodfox, who was in solitary confinement for 43 years, and who spoke of his experiences after his release at a PHRG event in November. After having received the messages of solidarity in connection with that campaign, Albert said: ‘Your messages from beyond the prison walls have become an enormous strength for me.’    
  • At a ‘Refugees welcome in the UK’ table at the event, attendees could write a message to refugees or asylum seekers telling them about a place they love in the UK, which was then placed on a large map of the country, with the aim of creating a more welcoming UK for refugees.
  • The case of prominent critic of the Chinese Government, Ilham Tohti, was also featured at the event; attendees could send a letter to the prison authorities calling for his unconditional and immediate release.
  • Another case featured was that of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, the dual UK-Iranian national imprisoned in Iran since April, having been accused of plotting the ‘soft overthrow of the Islamic Republic’. Richard Ratcliffe, Nazanin’s husband, spoke at the event. The PHRG has lobbied for months on Nazanin’s case (as well as that of detained dual UK-Iranian national Kamal Foroughi) and PHRG Ann Clwyd MP also raised the case during her speech.
  • FCO Minister Baroness Anelay discussed the FCO’s on-going work on human rights, and why International Human Rights Day is so important.

The PHRG has been a long-standing supporter of AI UK’s Write for Rights campaign and was delighted to co-host this event in parliament.

For more information on AIUK’s Write for Rights campaign, click here.

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07/12/16: International Human Rights Day being celebrated in Parliament today

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

International Human Rights Day being celebrated in Parliament today

London, 07.12.2016

Ann Clwyd MP, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Human Rights Group (PHRG), is delighted to be co-hosting, with Mr. Speaker and Amnesty International UK (AI UK), an International Human Rights Day reception at Speaker’s House today, featuring AI UK’s Write for Rights letter-writing campaign, focusing on five key individual cases linked to China, Iran, Egypt, Malawi and the UK.

At the event, Ann Clwyd MP will be speaking about the work of the PHRG and encouraging more of her Parliamentary colleagues to work together in support of human rights victims and defenders all over the world.

The sad reality is too many people worldwide continue to face serious and systematic human rights violations – and need to be acknowledged and given a voice so their suffering can be brought to an end and the perpetrators held to account.

She looks forward to hearing from the other speakers:

  • The Rt Hon Baroness Anelay, Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office – discussing the importance of the Day and the FCO’s work;
  • Kate Allen, Director, AI UK – highlighting the cases featured and championing the activism undertaken by AI activists all over the UK;
  • Richard Radcliffe, husband of British Iranian dual national, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe detained in Iran – whose case is featured in the Write for Rights campaign and one which the PHRG has been lobbying on; and,
  • Sue Turton, TV Journalist – sharing her personal experience and explaining why taking action for individuals is so important.

The PHRG has backed AI’s Write for Rights campaign for years because it means so much to those receiving messages of solidarity, by keeping their hopes alive for a better future.

As Albert Woodfox, who spent 44 years in solitary confinement in the US and received hundreds of thousands of letters as part of an AI’s ‘Write for Rights’ campaign, has said:  ‘Your messages from beyond the prison walls have become an enormous strength for me.’   

The letters to authorities can also spur them into action – when they know the eyes of the world are watching, they may be moved to do the right thing.

Albert Woodfox is now a free man – thanks in no small part to the many letters sent by AI UK activists to the Louisiana authorities.  The PHRG were honoured to host him and fellow Angola 3 survivor, Robert King, held in solitary for 29 years, recently in Parliament.

Ann Clwyd MP, along with her PHRG colleagues, therefore calls on fellow Parliamentarians to act today, in support of those including:

  • Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian charity worker held in Tehran since April having been accused of plotting the ‘soft overthrow of the Islamic Republic’;
  • Ilham Totti, an outspoken critic of the Chinese government’s policies in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, sentenced to life in prison; and,
  • Mahmoud Abu Zeid, known as Shawkan, a photojournalist, arrested and beaten in Cairo in 2013, who could face the death penalty if convicted of trumped-up charges including ‘joining a criminal gang’ and ‘murder’.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:

Contact office of Ann Clwyd MP at clwyda@parliament.uk

or the PHRG Co-ordinator at pichen@parliament.uk.