Who are we?
Amnesty International is a global movement of more than 10 million people who campaign to end human rights abuses wherever they occur. To do this we investigate and expose abuses, educate and mobilise the public, and help transform societies to create a safer, more just world. We strive to achieve this through the power of collective action and organized campaigning.
At UCL's Amnesty International society is the university's largest student charity, and it represents Amnesty International's mission amongst the student body. As a society, we provide a platform for students who are passionate about human rights and building a fairer world to come together and make a difference. To do this, we organize all sorts of meaningful and fun events throughout the year, often with other UCL societies, or even other London Amnesty societies!
What we do?
Our main objectives are raising awareness about key human rights violations around the world, and supporting victims in any way we can. To do this, we regularly:
- Organize informative sessions or stalls.
- Coordinate student campaigns.
- Run letter writing workshops.
- Set up fundraisers and support groups.
We are also very committed to educating our members with a wide range of skills, particularly those relevant to human rights campaigning, but transferable to politics, business, and much more! For this, we often run:
- Speaker events with various key figures.
- Debates, or MUN style conferences.
- Outings to relevant businesses and institutions.
Finally, as we all love having fun, we often organize great socials, such as picnics, pub crawls, or quizzes! If you want to make a difference, meet new people and have some fun in doing so then this is the society for you!
WhatsApp Link 2023/24:
https://chat.whatsapp.com/IMYogmILmNKI5pSPjiyRYK
Additional Info:
- Our Journal: The Amnesty
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At the UCL Amnesty Society we are very proud to say we have our very own journal! 'The Amnesty' is a student-run press response to global events and infringements on human rights where we recognise the importance of reasoned debate and conversation. We believe in the power of the written word for its ability to give people a voice, impact individuals and communities, and pressuring groups and institutions.
We are especially interested in providing UCL's student body with a platform where they can publish articles which:
- Raise awareness about a specific human rights abuse.
- Discuss the subtleties and complexities of a particular issue.
- Explore the forces driving controversial views and extreme opinions.
- Discuss potential approaches for the future.
If this sounds like something you would be interested in contributing to, we will be opening writing applications at the end of October, so keep an eye out for that! All the info will be announced on our social media channels.
We will also be taking on assistant editors later on in the year! This is a great opportunity to gain invaluable experience and build up your CV!
In the meantime, check out some of our past articles at 'The Amnesty' here:
https://theamnesty.wordpress.com/welcome-to-the-amnesty/
- 2023/24 Academic Year
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Our 2023/24 Academic Year is packed with impactful, fun, and educating events! The details will all be announced on our social media so make sure to join our WhatsApp group, and follow us on Instagram and Facebook! On top of 'focus weeks', where we focus on a specific human rights issue, and our many socials, some of our key events for this year are:
Killer Robots Campaign:
Killer Robots are fully autonomous weapons which would be able to select and engage targets without meaningful human control. Precursors to these weapons, such as armed drones, are being developed and deployed by nations including China, Israel, South Korea, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States. There are serious doubts that fully autonomous weapons would be capable of meeting international humanitarian law standards, including the rules of distinction, proportionality, and military necessity, while they would threaten the fundamental right to life and principle of human dignity.
At UCL Amnesty International we will be running a series of events during Term 1 so as to provide UCL students with:
- Information on Killer Robots and their implications: film screenings and speaker events.
- Discussions, to consider their implications and the role of policy moving forward: MUN style debates and discussions.
- Campaigning opportunities: letter writing or protests.
Outreach programme:
In Term 2 we will be running an outreach programme to teach local young people about human rights, and how we can fight to protect them! To do this, we organize weekly outings to a local school and run human rights workshops to inspire the next generation of activists! This is a great opportunity to first years to get involved in UCL Amnesty Internationals planning processes and prepare them for Year 2!
More details on this will be released in due time, and applications will open in December!