Causecast

2009 AGM SPEAKERS

Amnesty International USA is excited to announce the speakers for the 2009 Annual General Meeting.

Confirmed speakers include:

* Matthew Alexander, Former US military interrogator in Iraq,; Author of “How to Break a Terrorist” * Sharon Asetoyer: Executive Director, Native American Women’s Health Education Resource Center * Congressman Michael Capuano * Larry Cox: Executive Director, AIUSA * Sherif Elsayed-Ali: Head, Refugee and Migrants Rights, Amnesty International, International Secretariat * Scott Horton, Distinguished Visiting Professor at Hofstra Law School; Human Rights attorney; Legal affairs contributing editor to Harper’s Magazine * Margaret Huang: Executive Director, Rights Working Group * Juan Melendez, Death Row Exonoree * Eva Millona: Executive Director, Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition * Stephen H. Oleskey, Co-lead counsel in the case of Boumediene v. Bush (a federal habeas corpus suit challenging the imprisonment of six men from Bosnia in Guantanamo Bay); Attorney at WilmerHale * Sarnata Reynolds: Policy Director, Refugee and Migrants Rights, Amnesty International USA * Gouri Sadhwani: Deputy Executive Director, AIUSA * Lhadon Tethong, Students for a Free Tibet * Jenni Williams: Women of Zimbabwe Arise * Ginetta Sagan Human Rights Award Winner (A Colombian Human Rights Defender)

Plan to arrive early on Friday!

Leadership Training: Arrive by 1:00 PM Friday to participate in special training sessions for leaders of all skill levels. Training sessions from 1:00 – 3:15 PM will help build skills, knowledge and leadership to work on AI campaigns. Please see the Program Agenda for more information.

Friday Action: Immigrants’ Rights Rally, 4 PM

Join us in front of the JFK Federal Building in Boston’s Government Center on Friday March 27, AT 4 pm for a rally in defense of immigrants’ rights. It will mark the publication of a new Amnesty International USA report on the detention of immigrants in U.S. jails and prisons.

Ginetta Sagan Award to be announced during AGM Friday evening plenary

The Ginetta Sagan Award recognizes the efforts of women who work to end human rights abuses against women and children. The award honors the work and memory of Ginetta Sagan, a human rights activist who fought for the rights of prisoners of conscience. This year’s recipient will be announced and honored at the 2009 Annual General Meeting in Boston.

The inauguration of the nation’s first African American president is an occasion loaded with both the promise and the pain of our country’s history. Many hope this moment will mark the end of an era during which our own government led the charge to destroy many of the very protections the United Nations established 60 years ago with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We now have an unprecedented opportunity to articulate a positive human rights agenda, hone our strategic advocacy and apply the power of the AI movement toward our goals. Let us come together to plan and achieve aggressive growth in both the scope of our work and the strength of our movement.
Join Us in Boston!

The 2009 AGM will be held in Boston, MA, at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel and Towers, from March 27-29, 2009. We will be posting new information regularly, so make sure to continually check in for updates.