School students dressed as peacekeepers and Captain America will be at the forefront of Amnesty International’s campaign on Parliament Lawns this Friday. Amnesty International’s Hobart Justice Action Network, a network of schools from Southern Tasmania, will call on the United States to support peacekeeping forces to halt the ethnic cleansing in the Central African Republic. This event will contribute to a global week of action which marks one year since fighting first broke out in the Central African Republic.
The network will campaign to convince the United Nations Security Council to deploy a strong contingent of peacekeepers before more lives are lost. Amnesty International is calling on the United States in particular, as a permanent member of the Security Council, to use their influence to get peacekeepers on the ground, and stop the slaughter.
“The situation in the Central African Republic is complex. But what is inarguable is that hundreds of thousands of people risk losing their lives in the coming days and weeks unless the rest of the world acts,” said Kirsty Madden, Amnesty TAS Community Organiser.
“We are hearing reports of raping, looting and killing at will in what has become a largely lawless country,” Madden said.
Annie Chessells, the Student Chair of Justice Action Network and Friends School Year 11 student believes that it is important that people stand up to stop this bloodshed.
“We will not let the violence go unnoticed. We have to do what we can to protect human rights in the Central African Republic. We know this well in Tasmania from the stories shared by fellow students from neighbouring South Sudan and Congo”, Chessells said.
When: Friday 28 March, 5pm
Where: Parliament Lawns, Hobart
Event details: https://www.facebook.com/events/654311504605791/
Amnesty International is a worldwide movement of people campaigning to protect human rights. We have a vision of a world in which every person enjoys all the rights stated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights standards.
Kirsty Madden, AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL Hobart Justice Action Network
