Amnesty Dundee

The Dundee Amnesty International Local Group. We meet every second Thursday of the month in Dundee Voluntary Action.

[Amnesty India @AIIndia]

We start the year with some good news! Sudhir Dhawale and Rona Wilson who were arrested under the draconian anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in connection with the Bhima Koregaon-Elgar Parishad case were released on bail on 8th January #BhimaKoregaon #BK16 1/5

[Amnesty International South Asia, Regional Office @amnestysasia]

PAKISTAN: In recent years, there has been a rise in ‘technology-facilitated gender-based violence’ (TfGBV) against the Khwajasira and transgender community in Pakistan.
Learn more about online gender-based violence: https://t.co/9Hf8wkmGbd

Khwajasira and transgender people have faced organized hate campaigns that include leaks of their pre-transition images and national identity cards that reveal their personal information and deadnames. Manzil Foundation, a grassroots organization working on transgender rights in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), recorded several incidents of targeting and exploitation of Khwajasira and transgender individuals in the province.

@amnesty calls on the Pakistani authorities to ensure that cases of TfGBV against Khwajasira and transgender people are addressed through prompt and effective investigations in a gender-sensitive manner to ensure justice and reparations to the victims and survivors. The government of Pakistan should also implement comprehensive measures to recognise, prevent, document, investigate and address all forms of TfGBV and provide redress and support for survivors.

[Amnesty International South Asia, Regional Office @amnestysasia]

PAKISTAN: Gender based violence against khwajasira and transgender individuals has resulted in at least 140 deaths in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province since 2016 (source: Manzil Foundation).

The situation is dangerously compounded by the harassment from police officers and discrimination from health workers often faced by khwajasira and transgender survivors.

@amnesty calls on the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to effectively investigate and bring to account the organized groups and law enforcement officials responsible for violence against Khwajasira and transgender individuals and take immediate action to prevent further attacks. The authorities should ensure access to healthcare without discrimination as stipulated under Article 12 of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2018. The Government is also obligated under Article 6c of the Act to ‘institute mechanisms for the periodic sensitization and awareness of the public servants, in particular, but not limited to, law enforcement agencies and medical institutions, relating to the issues involving the Transgender Persons and the requirement of protection and relief of such persons’

Activists in Pakistan have demanded that the authorities establish dedicated, sensitized law enforcement and healthcare units to address gender-based violence against Khwajasira, transgender, and other gender diverse individuals and ensure their safety.

[Amnesty International South Asia, Regional Office @amnestysasia]

PAKISTAN: 20 November is observed annually as Transgender Day of Remembrance. This week, @amnesty pays homage to the 12 transgender persons who have been killed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the last year and who will never get to celebrate their birthdays. As per local Khwajasira tradition, every transgender person celebrates their birthday, usually around their middle age, with a function which is culturally as significant as a wedding day. Anti-trans groups have often attacked these functions--many transgender people have been shot and killed on their own birthdays. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa authorities have refused to grant permission for these birthday functions, demanding no-objection certificates to book venues, also raiding them and using force to disperse participants.

#TransgenderRemembranceDay

[Amnesty India @AIIndia]

Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) is a colonial-era sedition law in a new version. The Ghaziabad police's decision to file section 152 against Mohammed #Zubair is an example of how the law is used to harass journalists in the country.

[Amnesty Dundee @amnesty_dundee]

Indian authorities must end their campaign of harassment and intimidation against dissenting voices. The people of Jammu and Kashmir must be able to exercise their right to fully participate in the decision-making about their future in the run up to, during and after elections.

[Amnesty Dundee @amnesty_dundee]

Indian authorities are using arbitrary restrictions and punitive actions to create a climate of fear. Anyone daring to speak out – faces a clampdown on their rights to freedom of expression and are unable to move freely within and outside the country.

[Amnesty Dundee @amnesty_dundee]

Jammu and Kashmir is voting in state elections for the first time since 2014. Amnesty International urges Indian authorities to stop using travel bans and arbitrary detentions under stringent anti-terror laws to intimidate critical voices.

[Amnesty International @amnesty]

It has been a year since the arson and attacks on churches and Christian neighbourhoods in Jaranwala, Pakistan.

The victims continue to live in fear as the perpetrators of mob violence continue to evade accountability.

[Amnesty International South Asia, Regional Office @amnestysasia]

Pakistan🇵🇰: @amnesty is alarmed at the use of unlawful and unnecessary force against the participants of the Baloch National Gathering by security forces yesterday. It is a blatant violation of people’s right to freedom of peaceful assembly.

On 27 June, Frontier Corps reportedly fired on unarmed and peaceful protestors in Mustang, Balochistan, resulting in 14 injuries, several among them serious. A complete internet shutdown has also been imposed in Gwadar, hindering the flow of information in and outside the region.

Amnesty International calls on the Pakistan authorities to immediately lift the internet shutdown in Balochistan, and fulfil its obligations under domestic and international human rights law to facilitate people’s right to peaceful protest by lifting the road blockades on the way to Gwadar to allow freedom of movement for protestors.

#BalochNationalGathering #ProtectTheProtest

[Amnesty India @AIIndia]

Manipur has been suffering for more than 400 days now. We call on the Indian government to urgently end the violence and to ensure that the victims, including those of gender-based violence in #Manipur, are provided with access to justice and effective remedies.

[Amnesty Dundee @amnesty_dundee]

All authorities including the Election Commission must respect and implement the stipulations as set by the Supreme Court of India. The people of Jammu and Kashmir's right to take part in the conduct of public affairs must be respected.

[Amnesty Dundee @amnesty_dundee]

With five years having passed since the unilateral abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, we urge the Government of India to respect the rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir to take part in the political process and to express their opinions without any fear.

[Amnesty Dundee @amnesty_dundee]

The current climate of fear in Jammu and Kashmir must not become the new normal.
#JammuKashmir #Article370

[Amnesty Dundee @amnesty_dundee]

@Cuba freedom of expression and peaceful assembly is a fundamental human right. Release prisoner of conscience, Pedro Albert, immediately and unconditionally

[Amnesty International South Asia, Regional Office @amnestysasia]

For 1000 days, Afghan girls have been deprived of their right to education, locked out of their schools due to the discriminatory and unjust Taliban policies violating international law. The Taliban must immediately re-open all secondary schools to girls.
#EducationIsNotACrime
#1000Days