It’s been a difficult year, but there’s been a lot to celebrate in 2020. From writing letters and taking action to signing petitions and protesting in a safe way, people have come together – despite the most difficult circumstances – to show that change is possible. And if you’re in need of further proof, here are 41 inspiring stories that prove why humanity will win in the end.
Two months after authorities in Thailand lifted severe emergency restrictions on peaceful protest, Amnesty International remains deeply concerned that Thai authorities are continuing to escalate and intensify their crackdown on peaceful protesters and those expressing support for them across the country.
The Cambodian authorities must redouble their efforts to thoroughly, independently and impartially investigate the disappearance of Thai dissident Wanchalearm Satsaksit and determine his fate and whereabouts, said Amnesty International today.
Thursday 3 December 2020 at 14.00, the Friends of Wanchalearm and Amnesty International’s activists have gone to the Cambodian Embassy in Thailand to organize an activity marking six months of Wanchalearm Satsaksit’s disappearance and to submit to Cambodia a name list of 14,157 individuals who urge Cambodian authorities to ensure effective, urgent, thorough and transparent investigation and to restore justice to Wanchalearm’s family. Clad in colorful Hawaiian shirts often worn by Wanchalearm, they put on Wanchalearm masks and urge people to use #6MothsOnWeShallNotForget hashtag to show that they still remember and keep monitoring progress in this case.
A dozen young Hongkongers held incommunicado by the Chinese authorities since they were intercepted while leaving Hong Kong by speedboat must have their human rights respected, Amnesty International Hong Kong said today, 100 days after their arrest.
We, the undersigned organizations, condemn the Thai police’s unnecessary and excessive use of force against peaceful protesters marching to the national parliament in Bangkok on November 17, 2020. We are concerned that authorities could employ similar measures when facing protesters who have declared they will march to the Siam Commercial Bank headquarters on November 25.
Images of thousands of people peacefully rallying in Thailand’s main cities have travelled around the world, in the latest illustration of how youth-led protests are defying growing repression.
n the wake of the lifting of serious emergency situation in Bangkok and attempts to explore solutions by the General Prayut Chan-O-cha government by having the special parliamentary session from 26-27 October 2020 to review recommendations from the parliament, it has failed to ease the onslaught demonstrations put out by school and university students and members of the public as not a single demand of theirs has not been met by the government. Meanwhile, the protest leaders constantly face detention and prosecution triggering the outpouring of assemblies, day in day out and around the country. The nature of the protests around Thailand are now considered as leaderless. From 22 October –7 November 2020, at least 22 public assemblies took place in Bangkok and at least 50 in the province.
Piyanut Kotsan, Director of Amnesty International Thailand, reveals that after more than five months since Wanchalearm Satsaksit was last seen in Cambodia’s Phnom Penh, there has been barely any progress as to the investigation into his enforced disappearance. His family still looks forward to knowing his whereabouts and the reasons for his disappearance, identity of the perpetrators and to having the perpetrators brought to justice.
Following reports that Joe Biden will become the 46th president of the United States of America, Amnesty International USA’s Interim Executive Director, Bob Goodfellow, released the following statement:
สำหรับกรณีความรุนแรง บางทีเราก็ไปสถานีตำรวจกับผู้เสียหายด้วยเลย ทั้งที่เรามองว่ากรณีอาญา กรณีความรุนแรงแบบนี้ ช่องทางที่ควรจะเป็นคือ ตำรวจ อัยการ ศาล เราไม่จำเป็นต้องมีทนายก็ได้ คดีควรจะไปตามช่องทางปกติ แต่ด้วยความที่ผู้เสียหายมีความเปราะบาง ต้องการการเสริมพลัง จึงจำเป็นต้องมีคนคอยสนับสนุนระหว่างทาง บางครั้งเราก็ต้องไปกับผู้เสียหายด้วย วิธีการที่เจ้าหน้าที่พูดกับเรา ทำให้เรารู้สึกแย่ พูดเหมือนกับเรื่องนั้นเป็นเรื่องจิ๊บจ๊อย หรือบางครั้งก็มีการถามว่า เราเป็นใคร เราเป็นผู้มีส่วนได้ส่วนเสียอะไร ทำไมเราถึงต้องมาช่วยเขา อันนี้เจอในระดับปฏิบัติ เราก็มองว่าทำไมถึงเป็นอย่างนั้น เรามองว่าถ้าเราเป็นผู้ชาย เค้าจะใช้คำพูดและท่าทางกับเราแบบนั้นมั้ย
Since I went to work on the ground, or talk about the process of accessing justice in various forums, there was both the issue of sex and the issue of age. If I am not old enough, or have not yet completed a doctorate, important people will not really listen to me much. So I feel that when I talk about access to the judicial process, whether it concerns migrant workers, or the cases of child and female victims, ever since 2017 when I started work and went into the field, I know that important people are not listening, or do not give that much weight to what I say, even though I collect information from people on the ground, and even though I really work at the grassroots level.