{"id":1824,"date":"2018-12-19T01:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-12-18T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/this-years-epic-human-rights-wins\/"},"modified":"2024-10-21T14:43:09","modified_gmt":"2024-10-21T07:43:09","slug":"this-years-epic-human-rights-wins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.amnesty.or.th\/en\/blog\/2018\/12\/this-years-epic-human-rights-wins\/","title":{"rendered":"THIS YEAR\u2019S EPIC HUMAN RIGHTS WINS"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Over the last year, almost seven million Amnesty International supporters have taken action – protesting, writing, petitioning and much more – to defend and advance human rights everywhere.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s had a huge impact: people who have been unfairly imprisoned have been released; laws have been changed and brave people around the world have stood up and taken action!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prepared to be inspired by our end-of-year-round-up of 2018\u2019s epic human rights wins\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

February<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In February, Teodora del Carmen Vasquez was finally freed from jail<\/a> in El Salvador, when a court reduced her outrageous 30-year sentence. She had already spent a decade behind bars after having a stillbirth, which led to her being accused and convicted for having an abortion – illegal in El Salvador. From petitions to protests, we had been campaigning for Teodora to be freed since 2015. Amnesty Norway even took over the airwaves to broadcast a distress signal<\/a> to raise awareness of her case. Amnesty International continues to campaign for decriminalization of abortion in El Salvador to prevent future cases like Teodora\u2019s, where women are punished rather than having their reproductive rights protected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"Teodora Vasquez<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Mexico, Sergio S\u00e1nchez was released from prison <\/a>after spending almost eight years jailed for murder based on false and inconsistent evidence and following his conviction in a flawed trial. His lawyers believe that the work of Amnesty supporters, who participated in marches and demonstrations, was fundamental to achieving his release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"Sergio S\u00e1nchez following his release<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We also saw the release of detained activists, journalists and bloggers in Ethiopia, including Amnesty International Prisoner of Conscience Eskinder Nega<\/a>. Amnesty supporters wrote numerous letters to Eskinder and it didn\u2019t go unnoticed.<\/p>\n\n\n

I received letters of support from Amnesty International through my family. It helped keep my morale up, and it lifted the spirits of my family<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n

In Ukraine, the government approved a new curriculum for primary schools which, for the first time, includes a human rights component. Amnesty Ukraine\u2019s tireless advocacy and participation in the working group tasked with curriculum development has contributed to such a positive outcome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The death sentences of 14 prisoners in Benin were commuted after concerted advocacy efforts <\/a>by Amnesty. We visited the men in prison, met with the Minister of Justice and President of the National Assembly to call for the commutation of the death sentences, and set up an online and offline petition. This came after positive developments<\/a> in Gambia, where a moratorium on executions was announced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

March<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

We saw the power of solidarity in Ukraine in March, after police pandered to groups who used threats and violence against demonstrations for women\u2019s rights to mark International Women\u2019s Day. They falsely accused one of the organizers, Olena Shevchenko<\/a>, of breaching rules of public assembly for a \u201cprovocative\u201d banner carried by some of the demonstrators. By the time she went to court on 15 March, Amnesty Ukraine had issued a social media call which reached thousands of people, and the courtroom was packed with journalists and supporters, as well as people from foreign embassies. The court ruled she had committed no offence and closed the case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

April<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

We had some rare good news from Myanmar<\/a> in April, when numerous prisoners of conscience were among 8,000 people released in a prisoner amnesty announced by the new President Win Myint. We had been campaigning for the release of Kachin pastors Dumdaw Nawng Lat and Langjaw Gam Seng and Lahpai Gam, who were among those released.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In early April, Bosnia and Herzegovina\u2019s Constitutional Court ruled that victims of wartime rape and other civilian victims of war should not be required to pay court fees in cases when their reparation claims are rejected. Together with TRIAL International, we have long been advocating for the abolition of fees in such cases, and this move may encourage other survivors to seek justice and reparation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

May<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The amazing result of the Irish referendum which overturned the constitutional ban on abortions marks a big victory for women\u2019s rights<\/a>. It was an outcome arising from years of dedicated work by activists, including Amnesty International. In 2015, we released the report, Ireland: She is not a criminal \u2013 The Impact of Ireland\u2019s Abortion Law<\/a>, where we documented the barriers and stigmas associated with abortion through personal testimonies from women. In 2018, the importance of people power was highlighted yet again, as men and women travelled back to Ireland to vote and make their voices heard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"Ireland Votes In Favour of Law Reform In the Abortion Referendum<\/p>\n\n\n

This is a campaign about hope, this is about realising and prioritising women\u2019s health and safety. That, in itself, is a fantastic turning point<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n

It was great to see the release of opposition leader and prisoner of conscience Anwar Ibrahim<\/a> after the surprising election result in Malaysia, which saw Najib Razak defeated by his political mentor Mahathir Mohamad. His release is a landmark moment for human rights in the country and offers a real hope of more reforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the end of May, Burkina Faso’s parliament adopted a new penal code that abolishes the death penalty in the penal code.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moldova\u2019s Ministry of Education adopted a human rights education<\/a> curriculum developed by Amnesty Moldova for primary and high schools. This success \u2013 a first in the region \u2013 follows a pilot initiative, in which close to 700 students from 22 schools participated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

June<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Following our extensive work on Syria, the US-led Coalition finally announced its re-evaluation of previously closed cases regarding accusations of civilian casualties. They initially denied and condemned our findings on the civilian casualties in Raqqa<\/a>, before further new evidence from our investigations came to light. At the end of July, the Coalition actually admitted to 77 of the 79 cases<\/a> we documented on our June report, and upped their civilian death figures in Raqqa by 300%. We still believe this is only the tip of the iceberg, and we\u2019ve launched a new Decoders project called \u201cStrike Tracker\u201d<\/a> and will be partnering with other organizations, including Airwars, to build a much more comprehensive picture of the civilian deaths caused during the offensive. We\u2019ll make our findings public in early 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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