Amnesty International is urging people to write letters to advocate for Human Rights. File photo.
Photo: 123rf
A human rights organisation wants people to use their holiday downtime to write letters advocating for the release of people imprisoned unfairly.
Amnesty International’s ‘Write for Rights’ campaign has helped more than a hundred people globally.
Executive director Shaun Greaves said people under authoritarian regimes could be imprisoned for something as simple as a Facebook post, and New Zealanders had a responsibilty to advocate for others who were not able speak as freely.
“We know it impacts,” he said.
“We can write letters of solidarity, also we can write letters to the governments and authorities of these places.
“They know when they receive email after email, or letter after letter, that actually people in New Zealand and around the world are watching.”
New Zealanders took 17,000 actions under the campaign last year, and Greaves hoped that would increase this summer. However, human rights violations are not limited to overseas countries, he said.
One of the biggest humans rights issues in New Zealand is the age of criminal responsibility, Greaves said.
“At the moment it’s the age of 10 and I would say to people, just imagine if you’ve got children, a grandchild, someone at school, you know, niece, nephew, being arrested at the age of 10.”
Amnesty International wanted to see the threshold raised to 14, in line with recommendations made by the United Nations. The organisation was also focussing on making sure that people who came to New Zealand, including asylum-seekers and refugees, were fairly treated.
Another way New Zealanders could help to end human rights abuses was by using their vote in the upcoming national election, Greaves said.
“We would just ask people to make sure they’re speaking to any representatives or anyone wanting to be their representative, that they’ve got human rights at the forefront of their mind – and that’s human rights both here in New Zealand and globally – to ensure that everyone has the same protections that most of us enjoy everyday.”
