We are waiting for all our volunteers for the march and rally organised by ‘Palestine Solidarity Campaign’ for Free Palestine. May this year marks the 75th anniversary of the NAKBA, a process of ‘ethnic cleansing, colonisation and dispossession’ in which more than 750,000 Palestinians were expelled and more than 500 towns and villages were wiped off the map. The NAKBA is characterised not only as a historical event, but also as a process of oppression through ‘territorial colonisation, apartheid and military occupation’ that has continued for the last 75 years.
Human Rights Solidarity (HRS) supports the march and rally for a ‘Free Palestine’ organised by the ‘Palestine Solidarity Campaign’ and some human rights organisations. The Palestinian people need our solidarity more than ever. We invite all HRS volunteers to join us in this meaningful event.
Date:Saturday, 13 May 2023 Time:12.00 pm Location:BBC, Portland Place W1A, London
Fridays for Future is a dynamic global student movement pushing for immediate action on climate change through active campaigning and advocacy. We believe that listening to and following the best available science should be at the heart of our government’s policies and actions. As one of our core slogans indicates, we are here to defend the rights of the next generation. We believe that continued ignorance of environmental issues and warnings of the scientists on these issues will have tragic consequences for the whole world. Therefore, we wanted to raise awareness on climate crisis and called all the elected officials to listen to the science and fight to protect our and next generations’ futures.
Here is the speech HRS volunteers made during the protest:
Dear friends,
We’re gathered here today, to once again ask for change.
To, once again, ask our policy makers to react, to act; about the climate crisis.
Up until now, our calls have been ignored.
And you may ask: What is the use of coming together and protesting?
But we cannot give up! We don’t have that luxury.
Because the climate crisis won’t ignore us like our politicians do.
Because the climate crisis does not act slow and sluggish as our politicians do.
The Climate crisis is here, now!
For a few decades scientists have been warning: Our planet is warming!
And you, the politicians, have chosen to ignore this warning.
You’ve chosen your rotten economies over our futures.
As long as you do nothing, the Climate crisis will stay here…
As long as you do nothing, we, the activists will stand here…
Skipping our schools and works, shouting at the top of our lungs:
We are here, because you have left us with no other choices.
Because you won’t listen!
Dear politicians,
We are suffering the consequences of your delayed actions, of your ignorance, of your unwillingness to act.
Dear Politicians,
Our planet is warming, causing the worse heat waves of our history. We saw more droughts and floods, higher sea levels, and switching seasons all over the world!
More than a hundred global fires have taken place in the last three months. More than 200 floods have spread all over Europe.
Dear politicians,
You have failed us. You have failed our futures.
The climate crisis is happening now!
The times we were used to say “we have only this much years left” are over.
We have no more years left.
Today is the last moment where action holds any meaning.
And this time, you will listen.
We demand Action. The future generations command you to act.
From China to Turkey, from Russia to Saudi Arabia illiberal countries are known to have engaged in enforced disappearances of opposition voices. Starting with the thwarted Coup attempt of 2016, Turkish government authorized its intelligence agency to engage in cross-border abduction operations and the officers of the Turkish National Intelligence Agency were protected with legal impunity.
On the occasion of the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances (30 August) we were opposite Number 10, Downing Street, calling our government to be more proactive in preventing such practices and securing that the perpetrators of such violations of human rights be brought in front of justice.
Here is the speech HRS spokesperson delivered during the day of the protest:
Tool of Terror?
Dear Friends,
We are gathered today to observe the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances.
This day was promulgated by the United Nations, as an international observance in December 2010. The aim was to draw attention to the fate of individuals imprisoned at places unknown to their relatives. A decade later, we are here today, to raise our voices, and to remind our governments that nothing has changed…
Ten years of work has given no meaningful result.
Dear Friends,
In October 2020 the daily number of enforced disappearances surpassed 1,000 people worldwide. A majority of these people went missing during attempts of migration from a zone of conflict.
The Missing Migrants Project of the International Organization for Migration has counted more than 35,000 migrants who lost their lives or went missing since 2014.
Only a little proportion of abductions are reported. The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project reported in the 18 months before August 2020, more than 3,200 abductions and forced disappearances worldwide. More than half of these abductions took place in only four countries: China, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mexico and Syria.
In later years, European countries were involved in abductions of opposition figures. Turkish intelligence agents found cooperating partners in Moldovo and Kosovo in kidnapping of their nationals.
Despite all revelations on disappearing Uyghurs at the Chinese concentration camps, our governments continue on favoring China as a trade partner.
We have seen how Western governments are contracting the task of their border protection against waves of immigration to dictators.
Our governments are at best silent on the face of these enforced disappearances.
The missing Uyghurs in China, families demanding information about their missing family members in Islamabad, funerals held after 3 decades in Afghanistan, and international abductions regime that turned Turkey into a pirate state…
All call for action!
And there is no action at the side of our governments.
Let us raise our voice for the victims of enforced disappearances all around the world.
Let us demand justice for them.
We demand our government to sign and ratify the International Convention on the Protection of all persons from Enforced Disappearance.
We demand our government to enhance the Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime to include the perpetrators of enforced disappearances.
We demand our government to prioritize a complete stop to state run abduction campaigns as a precondition of friendly relations.
Let there be no more kidnappings!
Let there be no more enforced disappearances! No more abductions by state agents!
For 20 years, Afghanistan was bombarded continuously to get rid of Taliban, and yet in the end the country was abandoned to their rule. Afghans who cooperated with the NATO forces were largely left to the mercy of the Taliban Regime.
The UK Government has to take action for the current conflict in Afghanistan. The Taliban are taking over provinces in the area and attacking and slaughtering Afghan people who previously gave aid and support (militarily and otherwise) to NATO forces. This travesty against humanity cannot be tolerated.
The volunteers of The Justice Corner gathered on 28 August 2021, in front of the Parliament House, to call our government to evacuate Afghans to third countries and ensure their safety there, or to provide them with asylum and permanent citizenship in the UK.
