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Amnesty International Statement on FiLiA

183 replies

OhHolyJesus · 21/10/2021 21:44

"Amnesty International UK did not organise any protests at the FiLiA conference in Portsmouth which took place on 16 and 17 October 2021.
We have a long history of campaigning against violence against women and this continues to be a vital part of our work.

We are equally committed to campaigning for the rights of transgender people to live freely, authentically, and openly, and to have their gender legally recognised without having to go through a dehumanising, long and costly procedure.

Amnesty International has clear guidelines on how we campaign. We will only support protests by any individuals, groups or communities which are in line with Amnesty’s core values, including not using or advocating violence, hatred or discrimination while protesting; and that the protests themselves should be consistent with international human rights law and standards.

We were approached by the organisers of a Fly the Flag event in Portsmouth at the weekend, who requested that we supply materials which reflect Amnesty International UK’s campaigning positions on the LGBTQ human rights.

Two sets of placards were sent. One set of signs stated the slogan “I AM WHO I SAY I AM: Amnesty International”. The second set of signs stated the slogan “LOVE IS A HUMAN RIGHT: Amnesty International”. The organiser of the Fly the Flag event stated that their protest would be respectful and celebratory and that she would seek dialogue with delegates to the conference. We were happy to support the Fly the Flag event in this way.
However, the event was not an official Amnesty International UK event and a sign that was displayed describing this as an official Amnesty International UK protest event was incorrect.

We have investigated events from the weekend. There were several separate groups holding events and protests outside the Guildhall in Portsmouth. Our understanding remains the case that the Fly the Flag Event was respectful and appropriate and was not connected with the threatening and aggressive language and images that were present in other parts of Guildhall Square that weekend. Photographs of the threatening and aggressive language and images displayed by other protestors present at the Guildhall have been shared with us and we are shocked by it.

We recognise that the FiLiA conference was attended by a number of women who have been the victims of violence and harassment. Amnesty International UK believes there should have been absolutely no place for the use of any threatening or aggressive language or imagery towards any of the attendees of that conference, or indeed towards any women."

www.amnesty.org.uk/statement-section-following-portsmouth-conference-october-2021

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foxgoosefinch · 21/10/2021 23:54

Yeah - it’s crazy to think their whole purpose once was to protest for the right to free speech in regimes where political prisoners or prisoners of conscience were held without trial by oppressive authoritarian regimes. As a student I used to be in an Amnesty letter writing group back in the day.

To see then turn into an organisation bent on enforcing anti-women’s rights ideologies, and protesting the exercise of lawful free speech, is bizarre to say the least. So many organisations have lost their collective heads over this issue.

Just one more of those things that makes me feel like I slid into an alternative dystopian universe some time around 2005, and one day I’ll wake up and find that it was all a dream…

DuckDuckNo · 21/10/2021 23:52

@BlackForestCake

I thought that Amnesty groups didn't campaign on issues in their own countries. When did this change?
It was a rule when I was still active in Amnesty about 25 years ago. My group campaigned against death penalty in the US and we had no contact with American Amnesty groups bc of that.
LonginesPrime · 21/10/2021 23:50

If love is a human right, then does the government have a legal responsibility to provide me with a mail order spouse? Or to run brothels?

Well, that's not far off from Amnesty's thinking if you're a disabled man - one of the arguments they gave a few years ago for approving of women being prostituted was that if women aren't prostituted, then it denies disabled men the right to a sex life.

LobsterNapkin · 21/10/2021 23:45

@BlackForestCake

I thought that Amnesty groups didn't campaign on issues in their own countries. When did this change?
Oh, that's interesting. It makes sense but I didn't realize it.

But they don't seem to spend much time on prisoners of conscience or political prisoners anymore, and they clearly don't believe that citizens should be free to make all kinds of political arguments. So maybe it seems less relevant.

ErrolTheDragon · 21/10/2021 23:43

I AM WHO I SAY I AM: Amnesty International
Are they saying they're con men?Confused

I'll go with, when someone shows you who they are, believe them.

BlackForestCake · 21/10/2021 23:39

I thought that Amnesty groups didn't campaign on issues in their own countries. When did this change?

CompleteGinasaur · 21/10/2021 23:35

That would seem to be the... I don't want to use logical, because I think we left actual logic behind a hell of a long time ago.. shall we say inevitable? end of this line of thought..

Amazing how this sort of altruism, almost sainthood is only demanded of women and never of men.

TinselAngel · 21/10/2021 23:28

@CompleteGinasaur

"Love is a human right". Great slogan, isn't it? You can read it as either idealistically universal or, more cynically, carefully unspecific.

Unspecific until you remember which sex is always tasked with providing the "love" and which always trousers all of the "rights"....

I wonder what the implications of this are for trans widows. When we stopped loving our exes we were breaching their human rights?
2Rebecca · 21/10/2021 23:26

The only "rights" that exist in a society are those that are upheld by law. My right to life only exists if it is illegal to kill me. If I am a soldier in a war like WW1 I don't have a right to life because the other side will be trying to kill me and it is legal for them to try and kill me in war.
A "right to love" implies that the law could compel someone to love someone else even if they didn't and didn't want to. That would obviously be a bad unenforceable law. It makes me think of incels and paedophiles. As a slogan it's pants.

CompleteGinasaur · 21/10/2021 23:25

"Love is a human right". Great slogan, isn't it? You can read it as either idealistically universal or, more cynically, carefully unspecific.

Unspecific until you remember which sex is always tasked with providing the "love" and which always trousers all of the "rights"....

WormYourHonour · 21/10/2021 23:13

Incels behaviour points to a belief of: "sex is a human right"

Amnesty outright say and put on flags: "love is a human right"

They're not a billion miles from each other imo.

LobsterNapkin · 21/10/2021 23:09

@Coyoacan

For an organisation that used to specialise in prisoners, they are remarkably indifferent to what is happening to women in Limerick prison and in Canadian prisons
Well the Elizabeth Fry society has hung them out to dry, so why not AA?
TinselAngel · 21/10/2021 23:08

What actually happened was that the youngsters present at the "protest" didn’t get the memo about pretending to be civilised and said the quiet parts out loud.

LobsterNapkin · 21/10/2021 23:08

The thing with this business about love is that they've taken a conception of love that means something quite different from romantic or sexual love.

The older sense of universal love is not about an emotional response but an attitude to other people. There's a developed set of ethics around this that has been really influential in western society, and still is in a lot of ways.

But applying that to sex and the emotion of romantic love is so shallow it's difficult to even believe anyone would do it.

Lovelyricepudding · 21/10/2021 22:54

There is a good meme of Jimmy Saville wearing a 'I am who I say I am' T-shirt. Do amnesty suggest this is a good message for schools: forget 'stranger danger' childten, if a man wants to show you the puppies in the back of his van then you must believe them. And those sexualised messages you receive from your posts on Tiktok - they ate actually 12 year old girls if that is what they say they are so it is fine to meet up with them in secret...

merrymouse · 21/10/2021 22:50

I did notice they carefully avoided referencing Canada!

Or California!

Ereshkigalangcleg · 21/10/2021 22:50

Quite, Coyoacan

Coyoacan · 21/10/2021 22:48

For an organisation that used to specialise in prisoners, they are remarkably indifferent to what is happening to women in Limerick prison and in Canadian prisons

merrymouse · 21/10/2021 22:47

In countries where self-identification is already the process (Argentina, Ireland) the policy has had absolutely no impact on anyone other than trans people, making their lives easier.

According to Amnesty’s web page on Argentina

According to official data, every four hours a girl aged under 15 gives birth in Argentina. Most are forced to carry to term pregnancies that are the result of sexual violence.

But we are also supposed to believe that they have the infrastructure and will to diligently collect data that shows that women aren’t adversely affected by self ID? Confused

PamDenick · 21/10/2021 22:46

‘I am who I say I am’ makes no sense in a world where our sexed bodies can define if we live or die, if we bear children or not, if we are oppressed or the oppressor, if we can be overpowered by a lone policeman or if we can overpower a lone Walker….

CakeSale · 21/10/2021 22:46

@GrimDamnFanjo

"There is absolutely no evidence that this would happen. In countries where self-identification is already the process (Argentina, Ireland) the policy has had absolutely no impact on anyone other than trans people, making their lives easier."

There is plenty of evidence that this does happen...

I did notice they carefully avoided referencing Canada!
Cheermonger · 21/10/2021 22:42

I cancelled my long-standing regular gift and have tonight set one up for a couple quid more to BPAS. Amnesty can shove their non apologies up their irrelevant woke arseholes.

PamDenick · 21/10/2021 22:39

Craven

PurgatoryOfPotholes · 21/10/2021 22:37

If love is a human right, then does the government have a legal responsibility to provide me with a mail order spouse? Or to run brothels?

GrimDamnFanjo · 21/10/2021 22:36

"There is absolutely no evidence that this would happen. In countries where self-identification is already the process (Argentina, Ireland) the policy has had absolutely no impact on anyone other than trans people, making their lives easier."

There is plenty of evidence that this does happen...

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