Amnesty International

Join us on our trip to the Hague on Thursday 24th of May!

We will visit the Special Court for Sierra Leone in the morning (10-12 o'clock). After a two hour break you can choose to either visit the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (2-4:30 pm) or EUROJUST (2-4 pm), an EU agency dealing with co-ordination of investigations of serious cross-border and organised crime.
The visits include presentations with background information and Q&A, tours to court rooms and if we are lucky also a hearing. Of course you will also have time to discover the city and to get to know other people.
We will go to The Hague by bus, leaving at 6:30 in the morning and returning in the evening. The whole trip will cost 17 Euros, covering the bus ride to The Hague and back and the visit to the institutions.
So if you are interested in Human Rights and would also enjoy getting out of Maastricht for a day you are very welcome to come along!

You can register and pay on the following dates:
Friday 11th of May: 11am-1pm at Jules&You
Monday 14th of May: 12am-4pm at Jules&You
Tuesday 15th of May: Foodnight at the Landhuis (7pm onwards)
Wednesday 16th of May: 12am-3pm at Randwijk

For the registration we need the full names, passport/ID card number and nationalties as well as the 17 Euros in cash.

For more information on the institutions here some links:
Special Court for Sierra Leone: http://www.sc-sl.org/
EUROJUST: www.eurojust.europa.eu
ICTY: http://www.icty.org

Abdoullah Al-Mansouri was a strong defender of the rights of Ahwazi minorities in Iran. In 1989, he fled from Iran to the Netherlands where he settled in Maastricht. While in the Netherlands, he became an active member for Amnesty International.

On May 11th 2006, he was arrested in Syria where he was supposed to meet Ahwazi refugees. Syria had then handed him over to Iranian authorities where he has since been held imprisoned without due process. There is great concern and uncertainty about about his health, his right to a fair trial and the fairness of his sentence. However all hope is not lost!

This Thursday, 10th May at 18.30h there will be a silent protest of 30 minutes. Come show your support  for Abdoullah Al-Mansouri at the St. Servaasbrug in Maastricht.

At 19.30h there will be a debate evening in the Feestzaal of the Law faculty under the title: "Iran and the Arab spring". Al-Mansouri's son will give a small speech and we will watch a documentary on Iran.

Thursday, 10th May, 21.30, in front of the Filmtheater Lumière, Bogaardenstraat 40b

The last Movie that Matters of this season is gonna be special:
First of all, we will have an outdoor-screening at the Lumière and secondly, there will be no entrance fee this time!
"JUSTICE FOR SALE follows Claudine, a young and courageous human rights lawyer, in her struggle against injustice and widespread impunity in Congo.

She investigates the case of Masamba, a soldier who was convicted of rape, and discovers that his trial was corrupt and unfair. He was jailed without any concrete evidence. In Claudine’s journey to obtain justice, she uncovers a system where the basic principles of law are virtually ignored."

Of course we will also have a speaker: Florence Liégois from the organization "Justice & Démocratie" is coming all the way from Brussels to answer your questions!

This movie is part of the WE-Festival, taking place from 8th-13th May with various activities such as yoga, workshops, lectures and a daily dinner-have a look at the website for the full program: http://we-festival.org/

IN CASE OF RAIN THE MOVIE WILL BE SCREENED INSIDE, BUT IS STILL FOR FREE!
 

Tuesday, 8th May, 17:00h, Mondiaal Centrum, Cortenstraat 4

Instead of our "normal" General Meeting upcoming Tuesday we want to invite you to a workshop concerning human rights violations in the Niger Delta.

In 2009 Amnesty International published its report Petroleum, Pollution and Poverty in the Niger Delta Report after extensive research in the region. Local communities are suffering severe human rights abuses for decades due to oil spills and gas flaring caused by multinational extraction companies such as Shell, which has been drilling for oil in the region for more than fifty years. Shell, the main oil company in the area, has still not cleaned up the pollution it caused and the people continue to suffer.

Participants of this workshop will not only receive information on this case and Amnesty's Demand Dignity campaign on economic, social and cultural rights, but will also experience first hand what it means to campaign and lobby for an organisation such as Amnesty International. During this workshop participants will explore possible solutions to mend and prevent human rights violations in the Niger Delta through a mock stake holders meeting (a simulation lobby game) about this subject.

Are you enthusiastic about human rights?
And are you in Maastricht the next academic year?
Then this might be something for you!

You can apply for the following positions:
President, Secretary, External Contact Person, Promotion, Treasurer

Although the main tasks are defined by the different board positions, this still is very flexible. Some concrete tasks: Organizing library stands or creating flyers and posters for promotion, establishing and maintaining contact with other (student) organizations, organizing internal events, workshops...

We want to stress here again that AIMS is mainly shaped by its members, so there's always space to develop the group further and bring in your own ideas!

The deadline for sending in your application has been extended to Sunday, 29th April, 2012! Afterwards you will be invited for a small interview - don't worry, we don't want to "test" you but just get to know you better :)

What should be in your application?

Your motivation letter should be half a page to a page long and contain the following information:

- Your name, age and languages you speak (Dutch is an advantage, but not necessary!)
- What do you study, where (Hogeschool, UM...) and what year are you in?
- How long will you stay in Maastricht (before you finish your studies, go abroad...)?
- Why do you want to apply for a board-position? Why do you think you're a suitable candidate?
- Optional: previous experience, if you have, and new ideas how to shape AIMS, what projects you want to do, subgroups that could be established etc. pp.

It is not that important to have previous experience with working in a board, your motivation counts most!

We are looking forward to hearing from you, just contact us if you have any further questions!