This World Cup, Defend the Human Rights Defenders!
Watching the World Cup? Be sure to take action and STAND UP UNITED for Human Rights Defenders Worldwide! Click on the picture below to join the world’s most important team: human rights defenders.
Welcome to Amnesty International St. Louis!
The local chapter of Amnesty International–St. Louis Group #105–welcomes you! Please browse our site for more information, and to join us for upcoming events and meetings.
Here you also can find answers to FAQs about Amnesty International, take action on important human rights issues, and find out how to join Amnesty and become an active member.
We hope that you will consider getting involved at any level to make a difference in human rights!
Women on the Bridge Monday, March 8!
A Bridge for Peace: St. Louis to the Congo
In honor of the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day, Women for Women International and Amnesty International St. Louis partnered to support a global campaign to stand with the women of the Congo.
Coordinated locally by Monica Mills, the event sought to bring attention to the issue of violence against women in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, site of over 5 million deaths and hundreds of thousands of rapes, in a conflict spanning more than a decade.
The women of the Congo say peace means being able to live and to work freely. They see peace as walking to the fields without fear of rape; they envision a more prosperous future, harvesting from the fields the fruits of their own labor. Yet war wages on.
To honor the resilience of these and the millions of other women survivors of war around the world, Women for Women International hosted Join me on the Bridge to unite women (and men!) all over the world in a global movement showing that women can build the bridges of peace and development for the future.
Learn more about how to take action for the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and International Women’s Day to support the human rights of Congolese women and women everywhere!
Women in the Congo
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, women and girls daily suffer gross violations of their human rights. The rates of sexual violence against women in the Congo are some of the highest in the world.
Tens of thousands of women and girls have suffered systematic rape and sexual assault since the devastating conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) began in 1998. Rape, sometimes by groups as large as twenty men, has become a hallmark of the conflict, with armed factions often using it as part of a calculated strategy to destabilize opposition groups, undermine fundamental community values, humiliate the victims and witnesses, and secure control through fear and intimidation.
You can make a difference in the lives of millions of women!
Educate yourself
- Human Rights in the Congo: widespread rape and violence against women is a human rights scandal happening daily in the Congo, but women, girls, men, and boys alike have experienced human rights violations stemming from widespread conflict, disease, and hunger in the country and broader area.
- Violence Against Women in the Congo: read the report by Amnesty International about violence against women in the Congo
- Conflict Minerals in the Congo: many human rights abuses in the Congo, including child slavery, indiscriminate killings, and violence against women, are perpetrated in the race to control Congo’s mineral trade.
- Violence Against Women: Violence Against Women is a global epidemic. Women and girls are often targeted because of their gender or sex for extreme and brutal types of violence.
- The International Violence Against Women Act (I-VAWA): This legislation would create a comprehensive 5-year strategy to reduce violence against women in 10-20 targeted countries worldwide where the United States can make a significant difference in the lives of women and girls.
- Ask your Senators and Representatives to support I-VAWA
- Ask your representatives to co-sponsor the Conflict Minerals Trade Act of 2009
- Take action to support Women’s Human Rights and women’s human rights defenders worldwide
- Join Amnesty International and join the largest grassroots human rights movement in the world to ensure human rights for all people
- Join with Women for Women International to help women worldwide to live lives of dignity and worth, free from fear and violence
- Join the Amnesty International St. Louis local group #105 every 2nd and 4th Tuesday to learn more about human rights and you can do!
What are we reading?
At our last book club, we read The Unheard Truth: Poverty and Human Rights, by Irene Kahn, the first woman, first Asian, and first Muslim to head Amnesty International as Secretary General from 2001-2009. We shared a rousing discussion about poverty and human rights. Our next discussion is not to be missed!
Our next book is still to be determined. If you have any ideas, Contact us or attend a meeting for more info!
2010 Annual General Meeting in New Orleans!
In April, 7 Amnesty St. Louis members drove to the Annual General Meeting (AGM) in New Orleans!
Bernice Reagon Johnson
AIUSA Executive Director Larry Cox
Executive Director of AI Burkina Faso talks about maternal mortality
Amnesty Directors from Sierra Leono and Peru
Nick Cage stops by to say hi to his Amnesty peeps
Amnesty’s Priority Campaigns
Learn about Amnesty International’s priority campaigns:
- ISSUES BY GEOGRAPHY
- Demand Dignity
- Individuals at Risk
- Counter Terror with Justice
- Death Penalty, Missouri, Illinois
- Immigration Detention
- Violence against Women
- Arms Trade
- Business and Human Rights
- International Justice, international criminal court (ICC)
- LBGT Rights
- Military Contractors
- Katrina Survivors
Send Cards of Hope, Tuesday, Dec. 8
Please join us for our upcoming Amnesty St. Louis meeting where we will be writing Cards of Hope to prisoners of conscience and human rights defenders around the world! These cards can shine light into the darkest places, and every card we send goes to a human rights defender who needs to be reminded that she or he is not alone! This year we will have a dessert potluck with our Holiday Card-Writing. Join us!
What: Holiday Card-Writing and Dessert Potluck
When: Tuesday, December 8, 7pm
Where: Bethel Lutheran Church, 7001 Forsyth (corner of Big Bend and Forsyth)
What to Bring: Yourself, a friend, and a pen
If you can, bring a dessert to share and non-religious cards for us to send!
AI StL Group #105 Member Survey
If you’re new to Amnesty St. Louis, we want to know more about you!
Please take the Member Survey so we can keep in touch with you, coordinate group events, and make leadership decisions tailored to your preferences as much as possible.
Art for Amnesty: Exhibit & Silent Auction Nov. 19!
Check out a SNEAK PEAK of the exhibit!
featuring the women of Zimbabwe!
We will feature women in Zimbabwe and the organizations and activists there working for human rights.
For more information:
Human Rights in The Republic of Zimbabwe
Women of Zimbabwe Arise! (WOZA)
COME TO THE SHOW ON THURSDAY TO LEARN MORE!
SqWires Annex, in historic Lafayette Square
Thursday, November 19th, 7p-9p
SqWires Annex, in historic Lafayette Square
1415 South 18th Street, St. Louis, MO 63104
interactive map, larger map
Free hors d’oeuvres will be provided. Proceeds from the auction and a cash bar will facilitate the human rights work of Amnesty International, St. Louis Chapter #105.
