Campaign Against Genocide

Following on from the events in Sri Lanka, I found the website "Genocide Watch" that gives a brief update on the situation. It is a site that keeps the general public aware of any genocide issues happening in the world. However, it only really has information and does not allow you to become involved unless you sign up to their pledge.

http://www.genocidewatch.org/

This led me to search even more and I have found a very impressive, user friendly and positive site that is aimed at US citizens but has action tips that we can use all over the world. There are also links to other sites that are covering these issues, some of which I have referred to in previous posts.

http://campaignagainstgenocide.com/
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Sri Lanka

As promised, I have decided to try and write a piece about the recent "ceasefire" in Sri Lanka and the humanitarian tragedy in the recent major battle. I was surprised that it was quite difficult to find any sites that allowed people all over the world to take action on recent events. I decided to stay clear of any organization that potentially could have some political, tribal or religious bias since there are allegations and counter-allegations from all sides. I have therefore decided to take a slightly new approach this week by signposting you to a site that has no public campaigns but which you can use to take your own action. Now you may think that you alone may not be as effective as an organized campaign such as those done by Amnesty. However, I think that there is also the possibility that an independent voice could actually have an effect especially if other people reading this blog do the same. Therefore, the first site gives information about the conflict in Sri Lanka and what they suggest should be done by different factions and organizations (Note the site has not been updated since the ceasefire). You can therefore write to those organizations or politicians and ask them make sure people are treated well, humanitarian aid is given and that war crimes are investigated. You could even write to your local politician or leaders of the major world powers. There have also been issues concerning freedom of speech with several top journalists being threatened or killed according to Amnesty.

http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=6070&l=1

http://www.un.org/en/

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Darfur Update

This week I did want to make a change in direction and concentrate on more environmental issues. However, the situation in Sri Lanka made me think I would continue writing about Human Rights' issues a bit more.

A few posts back I concentrated on Darfur but I have found another site that has several suggestions that you can follow to keep pressure on the international community to take action.

The extra attraction is that it has plenty of information on other humanitarian situations throughout mainly Africa. Although they may not have any particular suggested action in many cases, several of the same campaign proposals for Darfur could be used for the other countries. For the next post I will see if there is anything that can be done in the case of recent happenings in Sri Lanka.

http://www.wagingpeace.info/
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Association for Women's Rights and Ciudad Juarez

After hearing news about the situation in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico regarding the murder and disappearances of hundreds of women over several years, I thought it would be useful to find campaigns regarding this issue. Apparently after all this time, an International Tribunal may hear some of the reports. However, my search unveiled various old campaigns but nothing that seems to be recent. Unfortunately, it is as if the whole affair has been swept under the carpet.

Therefore, I have found a site with much information about issues affecting women throughout the world that dealt with this issue in 2002. It does give some campaigning ideas that you may wish to pursue (Link at the end). Searching on the internet will reveal previous campaigns should you wish to know more and I will put the other links I found in the comments section at a later date.

The site, however, is a very good source of information on a variety of issues facing women all over the world and has action appeals that you can get involved in and it seems to be updated regularly.

http://www.awid.org/

Section of site for Ciudad Juarez:

http://www.awid.org/eng/Issues-and-Analysis/Library/Globalizing-Actions-Against-Impunity-of-Feminicides-in-Ciudad-Juarez
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