Protect Central Americans Travelling Through Mexico!

Thanks to everyone who has been helping support the DREAM Act by calling Congress. Here is another important opportunity to help immigrants--many of who are robbed, raped, or killed on their way to the U.S. through Mexico.

Please call your Member of the House of Represenatives and urge him to sign a letter to Secretary of State Clinton being circulated by Representative Raul M. Gijalva. It calls on her to regularly incorporate the rights of migrants in Mexico as part of our diplomacy with the Mexican government. You can read a recent Amnesty International news release for background on this important issue!

BOTH NJ Senators Onboard Resolution Against Gender-Based Violence in Guatemala!

I just checked Thomas (the on-line congressional database) and found that Senator Frank Lautenberg has become a cosponsor of S Res 178, the resolution condemnng violence against women in Guatemala! Amnesty International greatly appreciate's Senator Lautenberg's support for this important resolution, as well as Senator Menendez's earlier decision to support it.

Thanks also to everyone who contacted their offices about this issue!

Senator Menendez Cosponsors Resolution on Violence Against Women in Guatemala!

I just spoke with Senator Robert Menendez's office. Although it has not yet appeared on Thomas (the official legislative database on the web), he has signed on as a cosponsor to S Res 178, the resolution condemning the epidemic of gender based violence in Guatemala and calling upon the Guatemalan governemnt to take serious action to protect women and girls!

Amnesty International greatly appreciate's Senator Menendez's support for this important meassure. Thanks also to everyone who contacted his office about this issue!

I will let you know when I hear something from Senator Frank Lautenberg's office.

Article on Gender-Based Violence in Guatemala

As you know, Amnesty is urging the Senate to support S Res 178 on the epidemic of violence against women in Guatemala. You might want to check out Michael Parenti and Lucia Muñoz's article Gender Savagery in Guatemala on the North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA) website. (This is not an Amnesty International document)

Once again, please contact the offices of Senator Lautenburg and Senator Menendez about this important issue!

Support Senate Resolution on Violence Against Women in Guatemala!

This spring, activists from Amnesty International and other groups helped secure passage of H Res 100, a House resolution condemning the epidemic of violence against women in Guatemala and urging the Guatemalan government to take serious measures to protect women and girls.

Senator Bingaman (D-NM) has recently introduced a similar measure, S Res 178. Please call the offices of Senator Lautenberg (202-224-3224) and Senator Menendez (202-224-4744) and make the following points:

1. Over 2,500 women and girls have been murdered in Guatemala since 2001.
2. Many of them were also the victims of sexual violence.
3. Few cases have been investigated, and even fewer have bee brought to trial. Only a handful of cases have resulted in the conviction of the killers.
4. Please cosponsor Senator Binghamton’s S Res 178 to send a strong message to Guatemalan government that the U.S. Senate and its constituents value women’s lives and want to see justice done in these murders.
   

There is also an online action available.

House Passes Resolution on Violence Against Women in Guatemala!

Earlier this week, the U.S. House of Representatives approved H.Res. 100, Congresswoman Hilda Solis's resolution condemning gender-based violence in Guatemala and calling upon the Guatemalan government to take meaningful action to protect women and girls! You can read the press release on Solis's website.

Once again, Amnesty International greatly appreciates New Jersey Congressmen Andrews, Holt, Payne, Rothman, and Sires for cosponsoring this resolution. Thanks also to everyone who made calls to Congress about this issue!

Look for information about the corresponding Senate resolution in the near future!

Representative Sires Joins the Stand Against Gender-Based Violence in Guatemala

Amnesty International is very grateful to learn that Congressman Albio Sires has signed on as a cosponsor to HRes 100, the resolution on violence against women in Guatemala! He joins New Jersey Representatives Andrews, Holt, Payne, and Rothman.

We met with Congressman Sires--Please call YOUR congressional offices!

Yesterday (April 12th), Bill Volonte and I met with a member of Congressman Albio Sires’s staff in his Jersey City office. The meeting went very well and we are optimistic that Congressman Sires will sign the letter urging China to convince the Sudanese government to allow UN peacekeepers into Darfur. Naturally, we expressed our gratitude for the human rights work that Sires has already done, including joining the Human Rights Caucus and cosponsoring HR 1352, the Torture Outsourcing Prevention Act.

We also asked the staff member to follow up on an issue I had previously raised with Sires’s DC office, support for the Solis resolution on violence against women in Guatemala (HRes 100). He said that he would look into this and expressed interest in learning more about gender based violence in Guatemala and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. As you may know, Congressman Sires represents a district with a large Central American population.

Hundreds of other activists across the country are meeting with the offices of their Senators and Representatives to ask them to take action on Darfur. If you have not already done so, please contact the offices of your House member and both NJ Senators to urge them to sign on to these letters. Representatives can do so by contacting Tom Lantos’s office. Senators can contact the offices of Joe Biden and Richard Lugar.

Talking points:

-Fighting has increased in Darfur last year despite the May 2006 peace agreement. Civilians—especially women—continue to bear the brunt of the violence. This includes the widespread use of rape as a weapon.

-Two thirds of the people of Darfur do not have access to humanitarian aid because the warring parties have attacked relief organizations.

-300,000 to 400,000 civilians have died since the conflict began. Over 2.5 million people have been displaced, contributing to regional instability.

-While China has begun to pressure Sudanese President Al-Bashir, it has not done enough. As Sudan’s largest trading partner, China is in a powerful position to convince President Al-Bashir to do allow UN peacekeepers in to protect the people of Darfur and the international organizations that can help them.

AI Easter Actions: You Can Do More!

AIUSA has posted several actions in commemoration of Easter and Passover. They ask that you send letters or postcards of support to several human rights victims and their families.

With regard to two of the actions on the Easter list, however, you can take further action to help by supporting initiatives in Congress. In addition to sending letters to the family of Claudina Velásquez, please call your member of the House of Representatives and ask him to cosponsor HRes 100 on gender-based violence in Guatemala. This will send a strong message to the Guatemalan government that it must do more to protect women and girls like Claudina.

Please also ask your Congressman to sign a letter being circulated by Representatives Mark Steven Kirk and Mark Uduall about the situation in Eritrea. It expresses concern about the reported death of Yohannes Fessahaye in prison and calls upon the Ethiopian government to release all prisoners of conscience, such as imprisoned protestant pastors featured in the Easter action.

Greetings from DC!

I am in Washington this weekend for the annual Legislative Coordinator training. This is my third time, and there are more people here than I have seen before.

Monday morning, we are all heading over to Capitol Hill to do some lobbying! I have meetings scheduled with seven House offices, including those of Congressmen Smith, Sires, LoBiondo, Payne, Ferguson, Pascrell, and Rothman. I plan to focus on violence against women in Guatemala (H Res 100), the restoration of Habeas Corpus (HR 267), and the soon-to-be-reintroduced "Torture Outsourcing Prevention Act."

Payne and Rothman Support the Women of Guatemala!

Congressmen Donald Payne [NJ-10] and Steven Rothman [NJ-9] have signed on as cosponsors of H.Res. 100, a congressional resolution condemning gender-based violence in Guatemala and calling upon the Guatemalan government to protect the nation’s women and girls. They join the other 47 House members who have cosponsored this bill, including Representatives Robert Andrews [NJ-1] and Rush Holt [NJ-12]! Amnesty International greatly appreciates their efforts to stop violence against women.

Update: Rep. Andrews Joins Efforts to Stop Violence Against Women in Guatemala!

Congressman Robert Andrews (NJ-1) has become the second representative from New Jersey to cosponsor H.Res. 100, a resolution condemning the epidemic of gender-based violence in Guatemala and calling upon the Guatamalan government to take serious meassures to protect women and girls. Andrews had previously supported H.Res. 1081, a similar resolution that was introduced in the fall. Amnesty International is very grateful for his support for the victims and their families.

Congressman Rush Holt has already agreed to cosponsor H.Res. 100.

Support House Resolution on Violence Against Women in Guatemala!

Earlier this year, activists across the country helped secure passage of congressional resolutions calling upon the Mexican government to thoroughly investigate the hundreds of unsolved murders of women in Ciudad Juarez and Chihuahua and to punish the perpetrators.

Many U.S. citizens have not been aware, however, of the epidemic of gender-based violence in Mexico’s southern neighbor, Guatemala. OVER TWO THOUSAND Guatemalan women and girls have been abducted, raped, mutilated, and murdered since 2001. Nonetheless, there have been very few arrests—and even fewer convictions—in these cases. In fact, the rate at which women are being killed has increased during the past five years.

The good news is that Congressman Dan Burton has introduced a resolution calling on the Guatemalan government to take meaningful action to stop violence against women. Please call your representative and urge him to cosponsor H.Res.1081. Please call NOW because a vote may take place in less than two weeks. You can find out the contact information for your representative by entering your zip code at www.house.gov.

Amnesty has also set up an online action.

I will let you know if a similar resolution is introduced in the Senate.