Guantanamo Protest Video

Check out the YouTube video of our recent flash mob and action against Guantanamo:

Thank you to everybody who came out and supported us during this event! Let's keep fighting against human rights violations like this one around the world.

End the Death Penalty: SAFE California

This Winter Quarter, Amnesty @ UCLA is working towards ending the death penalty in California by gathering signatures for the SAFE Act.

Some facts you might not know about the death penalty:

• The death penalty costs California well over $100 million every year.
• There have only been 13 executions in California in the past 33 years, costing $308 million each.
• Approximately 88% of the nation's leading criminologists do not believe the death penalty is an effective deterrent to crime.
• Meanwhile 46% of murders and 56% of rapes go unsolved every year.

For more information visit SAFECalifornia.org. The SAFE California Act is a ballot initiative that would replace the death penalty with life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. It would save California taxpayers money and allocate a portion of these savings to local law enforcement for solving unsolved crimes.

Our deadline is February 15th!

If you would like to help us in any way, we would love to hear from you. Email us at amnestyucla@gmail.com to find out how you can sign a SAFE California petition or to help us gather petitions on campus.

10 Years Too Many: National Day of Action Against Guantanamo

January 11th | 12PM - 1PM | Bruin Plaza

To mark the 10th anniversary of unlawful counter-terrorism detentions at Guantanamo and to call for an end to indefinite detention and unfair trials, we will be standing in solidarity with other Amnesty members around the world. Currently, 2,700 people are still unlawfully held by the US government at Guantanamo and Bagram and these injustices cannot continue to occur.

Amnesty International at UCLA will be using social media and video to bring to life, in the form of a dance (flash mob) and commentary, the students' opinions on the human rights violation that is Guantanamo. With the recent signing of indefinite detention into law, there is no better time to unite our voices of concern - for something that has gone on too long. Take action with us. (More info here: http://www.facebook.com/events/252112584852359/)

A Very Happy New Year from Amnesty @ UCLA

2011 was an exciting year for Amnesty and for human rights! A quick update on December's Global Write for Rights Write-a-thon from Amnesty International: "Tens of thousands of committed volunteers pledged an amazing 265,000 letters demanding basic human rights for individuals at risk. Your words are already shaking loose the shackles of injustice -- Jabbar Savalan, an Azerbaijani student and Write for Rights case whose Facebook post landed him in prison, has been released!"

But we think we can make 2012 an even more exciting year. We have a lot of wonderful things planned for the upcoming quarter, starting with the National Day of Action Against GITMO (and a flash mob!), so stay tuned and have a wonderful New Year.