Wolverhampton Amnesty Group Main Meeting 10th June 2012

In Attendance: Ann Moran, Don Gwinnett, Gillian Webb, Jonathan Collings, Maggie Marriott, Maria Bijo, Molly Hale, Rachel Longmore, Cerian Duke, Penny Duke
Welcome: Cerian Duke, Penny Duke
1. / Apologies: Amanda Bevan, Alan Marriott, Julie Dibble, Lesley Adams,
2. / Minutes of last meeting
The minutes of the previous meeting were accepted as an accurate record.
3. / Matters Arising
3.1 / Item 7 May: The stall in Queen Square on May 19th was very successful.
3.2 / Item 4 April: The Paisley motion to AIUK AGM was endorsed by conference.
3.3 / Item 5 May: Several members had received a reply from the Home Office in response to their letters about Overseas Domestic Workers. This provided a resume of the government’s more stringent changes.
4. / Monthly Action
Members were asked to complete the AIUK online email to Lord Coe, the head of the Olympic Games committee, asking him to retract his committee’s defence of Dow Chemical, who have never addressed the ongoing human rights impact of its 1984 Bhopal catastrophe. Ann also provided pre-prepared letters and envelopes to complete.
5. / Human Rights in the UK
5.1 / Ann shared the BIG Amnesty Skillshare on October 6th at AIUK’s London HQ. This is intended to cultivate skills to help counteract persistent attacks against human rights by politicians and the media in the UK. Over the next three years AIUK will be campaigning to ensure that human rights in the UK are understood, valued and supported.
5.2 / Ann summarized extracts from AIUK’s Annual Report including HR violations such as torture and imprisonment, deportation and greater secrecy in the justice system. The report is free online or is available to order from the AIUK website for £23 (full report) £6 (pamphlet) or £10 (memory stick).
6. / Correspondence from HQ – Secretary’s business
6.1 / Jonathan distributed copies of Group News, which has a photo and report from the March film event sent in by Don.
6.2 / Jonathan provided an explanatory leaflet about how to leave a legacy to AIUK in a will.
6.2 / A report about the state of the world’s HR is available free of charge online (AIUK) or in hard copy for £17.25.
7. / Dossier Reports
7.1 / Members of the group said they would like to receive all Urgent Actions sent to dossier holders.
7.2 / Jonathan: 20 Libyan prisoners had suffered prolonged and severe beatings. AI wants independent medical checks on these prisoners and punishment for those responsible.
7.3 / Don: Six recent urgent actions had been completed in respect of Bahrain, Iran, Israel and Gaza.
7.4 / Maria: There are difficulties in getting accurate information from Syria.
7.5 / Maggie: Relatives of the blind activist Chen Guangcheng are in danger of reprisals. Chinese authorities are arresting those who may try to commemorate the Tiananmen Square massacre of June 1989. Assassinations of trade union workers persist in Colombia and also in Guatemala and the Philippines.
7.6 / Ann: Amnesty’s Annual Report on the Death Penalty was published in March. The global trend towards abolition has continued with 20 countries carrying out executions in 2011 compared with 23 in 2010. 140 countries are now abolitionist in law or practice. Whilst the US has one of the highest execution rates, with 43 last year, and is the only country in the G8 to retain the death penalty, the Governor of Ohio had delayed execution of a mentally ill man pending reports. China recently announced (unusually) that it had executed two men. There are frequent Urgent Actions about people on Death Rows throughout the world… It is noteworthy that a woman in Sudan has been sentenced to death by stoning.
8. / Garden Party June 24
Planning is well underway with many items for stalls received. Members specified food items that they would bring.
9. / Further events including Ice and Fire
9.1 / Jonathan summarized the requirements for a possible visit from Ice and Fire Theatre Company. Ann and Don agreed to meet with Jonathan to plan for an event in late October or early November.
9.2 / Daisy Freezer collections are scheduled for Saturday 4th August and Saturday 3rd November.
10. / WOZA
It was not possible to pursue this, as Sisi was unable to attend.
11. / AOB
No items
Date of next meeting: Sunday July 8th 2012
After-thought: There will be a stall at Wolverhampton University Freshers’ Fair on September 19.