Campaigns

ONGOING CAMPAIGNS

JUSTICE FOR EVERYONE! A CAMPAIGN ON THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

I. INTRODUCTION

1. Russian Federation: No Justice and No Accountability
On 30 October 2002, Amnesty International (AI) will launch a campaign to support the struggle for the human rights of all in the Russian Federation (Russia) and to strengthen the accountability of the Russian authorities for human rights violations at home and abroad.

2. Why Campaign?
Justice for everybody is a major international campaign to raise awareness about human rights abuses in Russia and the climate of impunity that allows them to persist, and to exert pressure from different parts of the world to end these violations. It is a campaign for enhancing the protection of the rights of all people in Russia - including those who are often marginalized or made vulnerable. The campaign aims to express the concern of people all over the world about the human rights situation in Russia and solidarity with those in Russia who are seeking to enhance human rights protection. The AI movement will add its voice and action to contribute to a change in the situation.

3. Goals of the Campaign

Goal 1
To contribute to a raised public awareness about human rights abuses in Russia and the climate of impunity that allows them to persist.

Goal 2
To strengthen the human rights community in Russia in working towards ending the climate of impunity for human rights abuses in Russia.

Goal 3
To achieve concrete improvements aimed at facilitating access to justice and redress for victims of human rights abuses in Russia.

AI is campaigning to strengthen the protection of the rights of all people in Russia - in particular those who are often marginalized or made vulnerable - and to make the Russian authorities more accountable for human rights violations.

a. TORTURE AND ILL-TREATMENT
b. CHECHNYA
c. VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
d. CONDITIONS OF DETENTION: JUVENILE JUSTICE
e. RACISM AND DISCRIMINATION: REFUGEES, ASYLUM-SEEKERS, RACIAL AND ETHNIC MINORITIES
f. RUSSIA AND INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS PROTECTION

4. Structure of the Campaign
The Campaign will run from 30 October 2002 till December 2003. The following is the schedule:

a. Launch report Launch: 30 October 2002
b. Universal Children's Day Action Launch: 20 November 2002
c. International Women's Day Action Launch: 8 March 2003
d. Racism and discrimination report Launch: March 2003
e. Dysfunctional justice system report Launch: To be confirmed
f. Signature event Launch: December 2003 (To be confirmed)

CAMPAIGN ACTIVITIES

COALITION FOR THE SUPPORT OF THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT (ICC)

The struggle for international justice has taken a major stride forward. More than sixty countries have now ratified the Rome Statute, triggering the establishment of the International Criminal Court. The Rome Statute entered into force on 1 July 2002 and it is expected that the Court will be operational in the first half of 2003.

Since the adoption of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court in Rome on 17 July 1998, Amnesty International's members around the world have been lobbying their governments to ratify it.

Amnesty International Mongolia successfully lead a Mongolian Public Awareness Campaign for the Support of The ICC that led to the Mongolian ratification of the Rome Statute on 5 April 2002. Mongolia was the second Asian savoring state to ratify the Rome Statute after Tajikistan on 5 May 2000.

Amnesty International Mongolia continues to work very hard on the promotion of the ICC. The following activities have spearheaded our campaign:

Letter Writing

Letters appealing for the ratification of the Rome Statute were sent to some of the following influential individuals;

Media Coverage

The following articles were published by Amnesty International Mongolia board members;

Title: "Needs of the ICC"

Author: D. Tseyen

Published: 12 March 2002

Published in: Zuunii Medee

Title: "Time to Establish the ICC"

Author: D. Tseyen

Published: 1 April 2002

Published in: Onoodor

Title: "Mongolia is amoung the countries that have ratified the Rome Statute"

Author: D. Tseyen

Published: 12 April 2002

Published in: Unen

Title: "Campaign for ICC Membership"

Author: D. Tseyen

Published: 2 April 2002

Published in: Mongolia This Week

A TV discussion dedicated to the Rome Statute, history of the ICC and the importance of ratification of the Rome Statute by Mongolia was held on channel MN-25 in March 2002. The participants were as follows;

On 17 July 1998, at a diplomatic conference in Rome, the international community adopted the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. The treaty has been hailed by governments, legal experts and civil society as the most significant development in international law since the adoption of the United Nations Charter.

The Rome Statute provides for the creation of a permanent international criminal court to prosecute people accused of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. The Court will be established when 60 states have ratified the treaty, this occurred in a special ceremony at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on 11 April 2002.

The Court will be of particular importance because:

Torture is a fundamental violation of human rights, condemned by the General Assembly of the United Nations as an offense to human dignity and prohibited under national and international law.Yet torture persists, daily and across the globe. In Amnesty International's experience, legislative prohibition is not enough. Immediate steps are needed to confront torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment wherever they occur and to eradicate them totally.Amnesty International calls on all governments to implement the following 12-point Program for the Prevention of Torture. It invites concerned individuals and organizations to join in promoting the program. Amnesty International believes that the implementation of these measures is a positive indication of a government?s commitment to abolish torture and to work for its abolition worldwide.

The highest authorities of every country should demonstrate their total opposition to torture. They should make clear to all law enforcement personnel that torture will not be tolerated under any circumstances.

Torture often takes place while the victims are held incommunicado; unable to contact people outside who could help them or find out what is happening to them. Governments should adopt safeguards to ensure that incommunicado detention does not become an opportunity for torture. It is vital that all prisoners be brought before a judicial authority promptly after being taken into custody and that relatives, lawyers and doctors have prompt and regular access to them.

In some countries torture takes place in secret centers, often after the victims are made to "disappear". Governments should ensure that prisoners are held in publicly recognized places, and that accurate information about their whereabouts is made available to relatives and lawyers.

Governments should keep procedures for detention and interrogation under regular review. All prisoners should be promptly told of their rights, including the right to lodge complaints about their treatment. There should be independent visits of inspection to places of detention. An important safeguard against torture would be the separation of authorities responsible for detention from those in charge of interrogation.

Governments should ensure that all complaints and reports of torture are impartially and effectively investigated. The methods and findings of such investigations should be made public. Complainants and witnesses should be protected from intimidation.

Governments should ensure that confessions or other evidence obtained through torture may never be invoked in legal proceedings.

Governments should ensure that acts of torture are punishable offenses under the criminal law. In accordance with international law, the prohibition of torture must not be suspended under any circumstances, including states of war or other public emergency.

Those responsible for torture should be brought to justice. This principle should apply wherever they happen to be, wherever the crime was committed and whatever the nationality of the perpetrators or victims. There should be no "safe haven" for torturers.

It should be made clear during the training of all officials involved in the custody, interrogation or treatment of prisoners that torture is a criminal act. They should be instructed that they are obliged to refuse to obey any order to torture.

Victims of torture and their dependents should be entitled to obtain financial compensation. Victims should be provided with appropriate medical care and rehabilitation.

Governments should use all available channels to intercede with governments accused of torture. Intergovernmental mechanisms should be established and used to investigate reports of torture urgently and to take effective action against it. Governments should ensure that military, security or police transfers or training do not facilitate the practice of torture.

All governments should ratify international instruments containing safeguards and remedies against torture, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and its Optional Protocol which provides for individual complaints.

When you join Amnesty International you join a democratic, self-governing movement. Major policy decisions are taken by an International Council made up of representatives from all the countries where Amnesty International members are organized into groups and national sections. They elect an International Executive Committee of volunteers which carries out their decisions and appoints the movement's Secretary General, who is also head of the International Secretariat.

Let your friends, families, neighbours and coworkers know about your commitment to human rights.

Let them know that each person, in his or her own way, can help shift the balance in favor of human rights. Raise human rights concerns with any organizations you may belong to.

A financial donation to Amnesty International is a vital act of support for human rights. To ensure its independence, Amnesty International does not seek or accept money from governments or political parties for its work in documenting and campaigning against human rights abuses. Instead, Amnesty International?s funding depends on the contributions of its worldwide membership and on donations from the public.

For more than 40 years Amnesty International (AI) members have been campaigning to protect and promote human rights. This manual aims to pass on the experience of these campaigners in an accessible format. We hope it will become a well-thumbed reference book for all those campaigning for human rights.

Although the manual stresses that all parts of AI's work, such as fundraising, campaigning and organization, should be integrated, the book has been divided up into self-contained sections. This will, we hope, make it easier to use and enable activists to photocopy or refer to particular sections as the need arises.

This manual has been written primarily for AI campaigners. However, it should prove useful for all those involved in the movement and perhaps for some people in other campaigning organizations. It is an external document which can be given to people outside AI.

The book has been designed to be relevant for those in small as well as large AI Sections, and for newcomers to campaigning as well as veterans. Crucially, it is not a blueprint for action. Rather, it is a guide. Some techniques may apply to particular campaigns or Sections, some may not. However, many of the guiding principles - such as the need to prepare a strategy in advance and evaluate any action -- are universally applicable.

The Amnesty International Campaigning Manual is the product of a special project at the International Secretariat (IS) carried out by Patrick Earle. Special thanks go to him for preparing, organizing and writing the manual. Thanks also go to the authors of the US Section's Campaigning Manual for Groups, to the Dutch and UK Sections for providing materials, and to the Australian, Polish, South Korean and many other AI structures that offered advice or examples of their work. The Campaigning Program at the IS had overall responsibility for the project.

AI's campaigning is constantly developing and evolving. Its diversity and flexibility help make it effective. Therefore this manual can never be definitive. To find out about any current policy or to obtain advice about campaigning methods or particular actions, consult the appropriate body of AI.

If there is an AI Section or coordinating structure in your country, contact the Section office or the appropriate coordinator. If they cannot answer your question, they will forward it to the IS in London.

Amnesty International,
Campaigning Program,
International Secretariat, 1 Easton Street,
London WC1X 0DW, United Kingdom
Tel: 020 7413 5500
Fax: 020 7956 1157
E-mail: amnestyis@amnesty.org

There are a few simple rules:

1. Always be polite. This rule is essential and invariable. Your aim is to help a prisoner, not to relieve your own feelings. Governments don't respond to abusive or condemnatory letters (however well deserved).

2. Always write your letters on the basis that the government concerned is open to reason and discussion.

3. It is important where possible to stress a country's reputation for moderation and justice, to show respect for its constitution and judicial procedures, and to demonstrate an understanding of current difficulties. This will give more scope to point out ways in which the human rights situation can be improved.

4. Follow strictly the instructions given by Amnesty International in the case in question. For instance if the World Wide Appeal asks you to appeal for medical treatment for a prisoner, make sure that you request this, and not a speedy trial or release which might be appropriate in another case.

5. Never use political jargon. Don't give the impression that you are writing because you are ideologically or politically opposed to the government in question. It is far more effective to stress the fact that your concern for human rights is not politically based in any way, but in keeping with basic principles of international law.

6. If appropriate, please explain who you are and what you do. Some of our sample letters (below) do this. This indicates that the letter is genuine, and also shows that people from varying walks of life are following events in the country concerned.

7. If you have any special interest or link with the country, it is a good idea to mention this in your letter. For instance, you may have visited it or studied its history. (See sample letter H.)

BE BRIEF. A simple, one-line letter is adequate (see sample letters A and B) and is certainly better than no letter at all. Sample letters C and D might be considered the standard length to aim at where you have nothing special to add. A good rule is not to write more than one page (ie one side).

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I write to appeal to you, on humanitarian grounds, to spare the life of......... presently under sentence of death.

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I am writing to you, in the spirit of friendship that has always existed between your country and mine, about the plight of ......... who I understand has been detained for nearly three years under the Internal Security Act without any reason being given. If this information is correct, this would appear to violate Article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which says "No one shall be subject to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile". I therefore appeal to you to look into this case urgently, with a view to releasing ......... .

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I write this letter as a Board Member of the Moravian Friendship Association to appeal to you to ensure that Professor ........., a prisoner held in ......... State Prison, is given the medical treatment she requires and an adequate diet. In view of the seriousness of this case, I would ask you to make inquiries to satisfy yourself personally that the conditions under which she is kept in prison are in keeping with the basic standards expected today by all members of the international community.
I would like to add that our Association, whose function it is to promote friendship and goodwill between the peoples of our two countries, has every confidence that the human rights enshrined in your Constitution are fully observed in your country.

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I am a clerk in government service in Sri Lanka, and I also work in a voluntary Buddhist social service organization. I am deeply concerned at the news that ......... has been sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment in your country for publishing an article critical of the government. If this is true, it appears to be a harsh and unjust punishment. I appeal to you on humanitarian grounds, and in furtherance of the principle of freedom of expression enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to review this case with a view to releasing ..........

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In my capacity as President of the Women's Institute of Toronto, I am writing to you on the subject of the recent arrest of ......... who is, I understand, in detention under the regulations for the Suppression of Rebellion.
In view of the information available to me concerning this case, ......... is deprived of her freedom in violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. May I take the liberty of drawing to your attention the specific violations of the Declaration apparently involved in her case.
Her arrest under the regulations for the Suppression of Rebellion constitutes a violation of Article 9 of the Declaration. She has been held since her arrest without charge (at least as far as is publicly known) and without trial, which constitutes a violation of Articles 9 and 10 of the Declaration.
The only reason which has been given for the arrest of ......... is her role in the legal and legitimate opposition in the public life of your country, not only as a parliamentarian, but as a political worker conducting actions guaranteed the full protection of your Constitution. It therefore appears that the rights proclaimed in Articles 18 and 19 of the Declaration have also been violated.
Motivated solely by respect for human rights, I appeal to you to intervene personally in this case to secure the immediate release of ......... from detention or to grant her the right to an early, fair and open trial.
Please accept, Your Excellency, the assurance of my highest consideration,

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I am an engineer, and I worked on an irrigation project at ......... where the dam was constructed with the expert assistance of technicians from your country. This was truly a memorable experience. The dedication of your engineers, both to the irrigation project and to the development of your country, was really inspiring. Many misconceptions about your country were dispelled, and we became good friends too. It was therefore with special concern that I came to hear of the case of.........
I understand that he was arrested in November for publishing a book critical of some aspects of the government, and has been held since then without charge or trial in contravention of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This matter has been the subject of discussion among my colleagues. If the facts are incorrect, please let me know and I will see that the true version is explained. If, however, they are true, I appeal to you to look into this case with a view to releasing.........

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Some time ago I wrote to you about the case of prisoner of conscience.........
I was delighted to learn that ...... has been released and is now happily reunited with her four young children. I do appreciate very much this act of compassion and humanity on your part.

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Address: Room 410, 3 Mongolian Trade Union Building, Sukhbaatar Square, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia