Thank you for your commitment to improving human rights and making human rights a part of the public debate. As the 2012 Presidential election approaches, there will be opportunities for you to play a major role in highlighting a variety of important human rights issues. As an AIUSA activist, you may be perceived as speaking for the entire organization when you speak about Amnesty’s human rights concerns in public environments such as political rallies, debates, press conferences, or print, broadcast, or online media.

As a nonprofit, nonpartisan, international human rights organization with a tax exempt 501 (c) (3) status, AIUSA neither supports nor opposes any political party or any candidate for public office. Amnesty does not seek to influence elections. It is critical that you be aware of the legal framework for our work and carefully follow the Activist Do’s and Don’ts listed below.

Do’s and Don’ts

Amnesty International seeks to provide public information and education on a broad range of human rights issues. Founded as a human rights organization in 1961, Amnesty International has a long history of working on a wide variety of human rights issues. We have prepared a series of questions on several important human rights issues. If you choose to raise these human rights issues from the perspective of Amnesty International USA, here are some helpful pointers:

  • Do not indicate support or opposition for any political candidate or party. This is critical.
  • Do introduce AIUSA as a nonpartisan organization that monitors over 150 countries and territories around the worldand a variety of issues, including immigrant rights, torture, the death penalty, violence against women, and prisoners of conscience.
  • Do try to adhere closely to the script below if you identify yourself as being part of Amnesty International.
  • Do thank the candidate for his or her response.
  • Do not follow up with opinions and commentary after the candidate responds to your question(s).

Background Information for Activists

The uprisings that have swept through North Africa and the Middle East have come out of decades of struggle bylocal human rights defenders and civil society actors against human rights violations. While the circumstances and types of government are very different, the human rights abuses documented by Amnesty International are similar across the region: inequality of access to essential public services, executions, torture, impunity for abuses by security forces and police, discrimination against women, limits on political speech and participation, and judicial systems marked by unfair trials and government interference. The uprisings that have resulted are the most obviousmanifestation of people seeking their fundamental rights. These movements of social and political activism that rocked the Middle East and North Africa, offer an unprecedented opportunity for sweeping changes in social, political, and economic policy that could significantly improve the condition of human rights in the region. However, serious concerns are emerging regarding the inclusion of women in the plans for new governance and the actions of the transitional governments and the governments facing mass protests. In both Egypt and Bahrain, as well as in other countries across the region, governments have responded to protesters with lethal force, violating the human rights of their own people. In both cases, the United States provided weapons and military assistance to state security forces.

In Egypt, for example, The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), has been slow to deliver on its promises of change. It is still operating under emergency law, which was often used by ousted President Mubarak to silence protestors. It is also using military courts that do not meet the minimum international standards of fairness to try citizens of the country. The rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly have been promised, but criticism of the authorities has been suppressed, activists targeted, NGOs threatened with criminal investigation, and demonstrators arbitrarily arrested and forcibly dispersed using small arms, ammunition, and tear gas bought from the United States and other countries. Millions of people in slums are still waiting for their voices to be heard.

In Egypt, expectations of gender equality created by the uprising have yet to be realized. Greater political participation has been promised, but women have been marginalized. No women were allowed to be part of Egypt’s constitutional reform committee, and with only one female cabinet member, they have received little representation in the new government. In addition, Amnesty International is aware of severe violations of women’s human rights since the uprising began. For example, on March 9, 2011, 18 women protestors in Tahrir Square were detained, beaten, given electric shocks, strip searched, forced to submit to “virginity tests,” and threatened with prostitution charges. Virginity tests are considered torture when forced or coerced.

In Bahrain, political protests, which started in February, have been met with a harsh response by the Bahraini government. Following the treatment of injured prisoners, 20 health professionals, six of whom were women, were sentenced by military courts. In addition to the jailing of medical professionals, the Sunni Khalifa royal family has been suppressing members of the Shi’ite majority and Sunni reformers. Teachers have also been targeted, as in the case of Jalila al-Salman and Mahdi ‘Issa Mahdi Abu Dheeb, former leaders of the Bahrain Teachers’ Association, who were detained after their association reportedly supported a teachers’ strike amid pro-reform protests in Bahrain. In September, a military court sentenced Jalila and Mahdi to prison terms of 3 years and 10 years, respectively, for various offenses, including “inciting hatred towards the regime.” Amnesty International is concerned that they may have been convicted solely for exercising their right to freedom of expression and association.At least 34 Bahrainis, including at least two policemen, lost their lives during or as a result of the protests and their suppression. Despite an ongoing history of human rights abuses in Bahrain, the U.S. government has proposed a $53 million sale of military equipment and weapons to its government.

The global community has an obligation to ensure that the aspirations of the popular uprisings in the Middle East and North Africareach fruition. Within this community, the United States plays a crucial role. The challenges the countries in the region face are great. However, with the support of the United States and the international community, the hopes that ignited the uprisingscan be fulfilled.

Sample Question

Hi my name is ______and I am a member of Amnesty International USA. Amnesty International is a grassroots human rights organization with more than 3 million members worldwide, including 300,000 in the United States. Repressive governments across the Middle East and North Africa are under pressure and face surging demands for political, economic and social reform. Unfortunately, many governments have responded to these demands with lethal force. In Bahrain, Yemen, and Egypt, the United States has provided weapons and military equipment to governments that have violated the human rights of their own people.

As President, would you stop the flow of U.S. weapons and military aid to governments in the Middle East and North Africa when it is likely that such weapons will be used to violate human rights?

(Candidate responds)

Thank you, I appreciate your candid response.

or

Thank you, we will agree and disagree at times on various issues but I do appreciate your response.

Amnesty International USA is a nonpartisan, 501(c)(3), international human rights organization registered in New York. We do not favor or oppose any candidate for public office. The information stated here does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of Amnesty International USA.