Write for Rights: Shoreham & Worthing Amnesty International Group joins world’s biggest human rights campaign

The group will have a stall at Light Up Shoreham on Friday, at Shoreham Methodist Church, Brunswick Road, from 4pm to 8pm, and again on Saturday from 9am to 1pm.

People will be invited to join the global action by sending cards, emails and tweets of solidarity.

Peter Bedwell, secretary, said: “We hope that many Shoreham residents take part in Amnesty International’s Write for Rights campaign this year to make a difference to the lives of 10 individuals who are facing horrific abuses and urgently need support.

“Letters sent from Shoreham will make the noise about the injustices they face even louder and will have a huge impact.”

The global letter-writing campaign is celebrating 20 years of change. It goes back to the roots of Amnesty International, which was founded in 1961 and saw early campaigners writing letters of support to those affected by human rights abuses, as well as letters of concern to governments around the world.

This year, Amnesty International is calling for justice for 10 more brave individuals and groups, including a citizen journalist imprisoned in China for reporting on Covid-19, an environmental activist imprisoned in Guatemala for campaigning against the destruction of one of his country’s sacred rivers, a teenage journalist from the occupied West Bank and a Mexican women’s rights activist who survived a police shooting.

Agnes Callamard, Amnesty International’s secretary general, said: “Every year, Write for Rights offers a lifeline for people around the world whose human rights are under attack, simply because they stood up for what they believe in. They are challenging inequality, discrimination, political repression and campaigning to protect all our rights, whether for environmental justice or against the death penalty.

“The Write for Rights campaign signifies everything Amnesty stands for – people from all over the world coming with one voice, in global solidarity, to challenge injustice.

“They need you to stand with them – whether that’s through a tweet, a signature or a letter to those in authority. Sometimes the smallest act can make the biggest difference. The last 20 years of Write for Rights shows words really do have power.”