STOP TORTURE YOUTH ACTION TOUR GUIDE APRIL 2016 What s in this kit? What is the Tour all about? General Questions about the Stop Torture Campaign Torture Keywords and Definitions Speaking Points Handling Challenging Questions Effective Public Speaking Tips Workshop Guidelines and Resources
THE YOUTH ACTION TOUR Thanks for joining the! You are now part of an exciting project created by youth leaders working to engage young activists across Canada. Together we are marking the end of a two-year campaign to end torture and encourage Canada to help end torture around the world. The tour consists of school based, youth-led events across the country throughout the month of April and will include everything from workshops to assembly presentations, photo exhibits, organizing information tables, and more. Let us know what you are planning! The kick-off date will be April 5 th and the end date will be April 29 th. Our goal is to raise awareness about torture and gather as many signatures for the OPCAT petition as possible. What is OPCAT, you say? It s the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture. Its purpose is to prevent torture from happening by putting into place regular national and international inspections of detention centres. Torture often takes place in detention centres. Inspections help ensure that people are safe and that the detention centres meet international standards. We want Canada to join OPCAT, and we need your help to do this! We re inviting schools across the country to join in the Stop Torture campaign by holding assemblies, presentations, signing parties anything in order to gather signatures and raise awareness on this issue. While schools across the country hold their own events, youth in five cities will tour around their own city for 2-4 days with the same goal. These cities are Ottawa, Toronto, Kitchener-Waterloo, Montreal, and St. John s. The school that gathers the most signatures will win a special prize: a guest visitor from Amnesty International Canada. Follow the movement on our website and see what s going on around the country with our virtual tour. Post your own pictures on social media with the hashtag #ChangemakersVSTorture and they ll show up on our website! You could also include #youth and #stoptorture. You can find our webpage here: https://www.amnesty.ca/stoptorturetour. Are you wondering what the big finale is? On May 3 we will gather on Parliament Hill to hand over all of the signatures we ve collected over the past two years to the federal government. Our goal is to collect 50,000 signatures, so we need your help to get closer to that goal. This kit has all the tools and resources you need to get your school, club, or classmates involved and excited. The tour is Amnesty International Canada s first youth-led event of this magnitude, and we re so happy that you will be a part of it. So, let s get going! Read on for more information and resources so you can bring the Stop Torture You Action Tour movement to your school. Getting involved with the Stop Torture campaign is easy! Here are a few ways that you can bring the campaign to your school or community: Gather signatures at lunch Ask your teacher if you can visit classes and collect signatures Have an assembly coming up? Ask to speak at the beginning and set up a table with petitions for people to sign at the back OR hold your own assembly and bring in a guest speaker! Hold a workshop (included in this kit) during one of your classes or at a club meeting Meet with your local Member of Parliament and encourage them to sign the petition and join the rally on May 3 1
CANADA Schools across the country will be invited to host events Competition for collecting the most signatures Prize: Visitor from Amnesty Virtual tour will show events across the country YOUTH ORGANIZER CITIES Ottawa, Toronto, Kitchener- Waterloo, Montreal, St. John s 2-4 days of touring schools Led by Youth Organizer teams Want to host a visit at your school? Contact us at youth@amnesty.ca for more information!
Youth from across Ontario and Quebec will spend the last two days of the campaign in Ottawa, participating in a youth leadership conference and a meet-and-greet with torture survivors who live in Canada and are powerful advocates calling for an end to torture around the world. The big event, the petition handover, is on May 3. On this day, Amnesty International Canada will meet with Members of Parliament and we, along with youth, Amnesty supporters, and torture survivor advocates will participate in a rally on Parliament Hill. The conference will take place at our national office from May 2 from 1-9PM and May 3 from 9AM 1PM. The signature handover will take place on May 3 at 10AM. Keep an eye on our webpage for live updates on May 3! MAY 3: OTTAWA MONTREAL OTTAWA YOUR CITY OTTAWA YOUTH WORKSHOP YOUR CITY KITCHENER- WATERLOO YOUR CITY TORONTO Want more information on the tour? Need help getting to Ottawa? Write to us at youth@amnesty.ca with all of your questions! Want to host a similar training in your city? Contact us at youth@amnesty.ca and we will try our best to connect you with a local leader or speaker in your community.
GENERAL QUESTIONS ABOUT THE STOP TORTURE CAMPAIGN Why are governments torturing people? - To extract information, force confessions, silence dissent, terrorize opponents, or simply as a cruel punishment; - To show progress on addressing national security threats or organized crime; because police and security officials lack the training to conduct proper investigations; to humiliate and extort money from victims; - Many at risk are already members of disadvantaged groups: women, children, members of ethnic minorities, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people, and people living in poverty. Do you have any facts and figures about the use of torture? - 159 the number of countries that have joined the United Nations Convention against Torture - 141 The number of countries in which Amnesty has reported on torture or other ill-treatment in the past five years. In some countries it s a rarity, in others it s widespread. 4
Torture by numbers 1,505 The number of reported complaints of torture and other ill-treatment in Mexico in 2013, 600% more than in 2003 50% of people in Nigeria would not feel safe from torture if they were held in custody. 21 The number of survivors who were tortured as children in the Philippines who spoke to Amnesty International, out of a total of 55 torture survivors interviewed. 13 The number of pending requests from UN human rights experts to visit Uzbekistan to assess the human rights situation in the country since 2002. 8 The number of people prosecuted after complaining about or reporting torture in Morocco since May 2014 on charges including slanderous denunciation, false reporting, public insult and defamation. 7 The number of torture convictions achieved at federal level in Mexico since 1991, when torture was made a crime. Thousands of complaints are filed every year. 1 The number of torture convictions secured under the Philippines Anti Torture Act since it was adopted in 2009. What is OPCAT? - It s the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture. It acts as an addition to the Convention against Torture, which was adopted by the United Nations in 1984. 159 countries have joined the treaty (82% of UN member states). Although Canada has joined the Convention against Torture, it has not joined the Optional Protocol. Only 98 states have joined OPCAT. - Its purpose is to prevent torture from happening by putting in place regular national and international inspections of detention centres to ensure that they are safe and meet international standards. 5
Why is Canada Involved? - You may ask why this campaign is important right now. Over the past five years, Amnesty has reported on torture or other ill-treatment in 141 countries. That s 79% of all countries! Although it s a rarity in some countries, no use of torture is acceptable. - We want countries to ban torture, but that s not enough. We want measures put in place to prevent torture from happening at all. For example, having lawyers present at interrogations, allowing doctors, lawyers, and family members to access prisoners, or barring the use of information obtained from torture in court. OPCAT is all about preventing the use of torture. It s a crucial step for the journey towards ending torture for good. Why are we focusing on just 5 countries? Why aren t we focusing on the US, China, Iran, etc.? - We know that our two-year campaign can make a real difference and help end torture in these five countries: Mexico, Morocco, Nigeria, the Philippines, and Uzbekistan - We believe that reform in each of these places in terms of legislation, policy, and practice will have a positive impact on their region as well - Campaigning isn t always about the so-called worst offenders ; it is equally important to focus on those who are open to or already taking steps along the path to change and/or whose leadership will have a multiplier effect - There may be times where it is effective to draw the spotlight to other countries to highlight events or cases, particularly where those are relevant to Canadians. Example - In 2014, our campaigning helped to free torture survivor Angel Colon from a prison in Mexico, and to have charges against torture survivor Claudia Medina dropped. Our advocacy helped to ensure that authorities in the Philippines and Morocco launched investigations into allegations of torture made by Alfreda Disbarro and Ali Aarrass. 6
Intentionally inflicted Based on discrimination of any kind Act causing severe physical or mental pain or suffering DEFINITIONS/ KEYWORDS OF TORTURE For obtaining information or a confession Intimidating or coercing Causing physical or mental suffering Punishing for an action committed or is suspected of having committed
STOP TORTURE SPEAKING POINTS Talking with classmates and others about the Stop Torture campaign is easy. Here are some handy speaking points you can use to engage others in your activity and help them understand why we are working on this issue - How many countries do you think are torturing their citizens? 141! That s 79% of all countries. And the number keeps getting higher. - Governments torture to keep people silent, to make them talk, to punish, and sometimes for no reason. - We want countries to ban torture. But that s not enough. We need governments to put in place practical measures to make sure that there is no place and no situation where torture could occur. We need to make sure that people aren t held incommunicado, because when no one knows where you are it s easy for authorities to get away with torturing you. We want lawyers to be present at interrogations. We want doctors, lawyers, and family members to have access to prisoners. We must insist that courts don t use information obtained after someone has been tortured, because people will say anything to make the pain stop. - Torture is never justified. Never. Not under any circumstances. We can and we are stopping torture. Want to join us? 8
HANDLING CHALLENGING QUESTIONS Speaking to members of the public about Amnesty s campaigns can be rewarding. Most people are willing to listen, eager to learn more, and ready to take action. Occasionally, you may encounter challenging questions about the campaign. Here are some tips on how to deal with them. Can torture be justified? To force a terrorist to reveal the location of a bomb that could kill civilians? - Torture is always illegal. It is wrong, self-defeating, cruel and inhumane. - It can never be justified, not even during a state of emergency or armed conflict. It replaces the rule of law with terror. No one is safe when governments allow its use. - Information extracted under torture is not reliable. Prisoners in torment will confess to any allegation, even acts that they have not committed. Is Canada torturing its citizens? - The simple answer is no. The more complicated answer is that there could be isolated cases of ill-treatment. Why should Canada care about this issue if we aren t torturing? - We are part of the global community. What we do impacts others around the world, and likewise, what happens around the world impacts us here, such as when torture survivors seek refuge in Canada. - The importance of walking the walk is important. It s not enough to say torture is wrong (and really, who is going to disagree with that?!). We need to say that it is wrong to torture anywhere for any reason and we as a country believe this with such conviction that we will raise it with our international partners. - Torture thrives when no one is watching and when no one is calling countries out for torturing. If we aren t part of the solution we re part of the problem. Want more answers? Check out our www.amnesty.ca/ourwork/campaigns/stop-torture-tools 9
EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING 1. Preparing your speech - Clarify the purpose of your speech - Find out about your audience - Create a focused, clear, and concise speech o Open with strength (e.g. a story) o Explain argument in 3 or 4 clear points o Help your audience feel your personal commitment to human rights o Put a human face on human rights o Use facts, figures, and concrete examples o Introduce repetition o Summarize o Close the speech with strength and emotion (e.g. a story) - Rehearse rehearse rehearse! - Prepare an appeal action and display - Leave a lasting impression; identify opportunities for getting involved 5. Creating opportunities to give presentations - Identify possible audiences - Develop relations with target audiences - Focus on special strategic opportunities for public presentations o Specific occasions to speak on specific topics to specific audiences - Develop a diverse pool of skilled, confident Amnesty International speakers 2. Delivering your speech - Grab the audience s attention o Thank host for opportunity - Hold the audience s attention o Speak slowly, clearly, and pause often, make eye contact o Avoid distracting behaviour like checking your watch or fiddling with the microphone o Finish with strength (e.g. a story) 3. Set-up arrangements at your venue - Check out the set-up beforehand o What kind of room will it be? o Is there a microphone that may require adjusting? o Will drinking water be provided? 4. Using visual aids - PowerPoint, overhead transparencies, video clips - Instead of a talk, you could show Amnesty International video and facilitate Q+A session afterwards
WORKSHOP INTRODUCTION TO THE STOP TORTURE CAMPAIGN This workshop introduces participants to Amnesty International s Stop Torture campaign. It gives an introductory activity to examine examples of the Priority Action Cases of the campaign and explores the human rights issues related to torture. The purposes of this workshop are: for participants to identify and define torture; for participants to know details of individual examples of torture through the human stories at the centre of the Stop Torture campaign; and for participants to understand what torture is and to identify human rights violations relating to torture. Group size: 5-30 participants Time required: 45-60 minutes Preparation: Read through the procedure and worksheets because you will need to facilitate some discussion. Print off all the worksheets and cut up Worksheet 1: Case Studies into five pieces, one for each case study. Workshop outline: Introducing the Issue 1: Ask participants to consider the following questions: Imagine you are arrested Do you feel you would be treated fairly? Would you be given access to a lawyer? Would your family or friends be informed? Would you feel safe? 11
Take a few answers. Ask some of the participants to explain the reasons for their responses, but do not start any discussion about their answers. 2: Inform the participants about this fact: In 2013 Amnesty International conducted a survey of 30,000 people in 21 countries across all continents. 44% of respondents said they do not feel safe from torture and fear torture if they were arrested. That is approximately 13,200 people in this survey who do not feel safe. Explain to participants that today they will explore what torture is and that they will be divided into groups to discuss some examples and to look at the impacts of torture. Case Studies 3: Divide the participants into no more than five groups, one for each case study. Participants need to sit together with their groups and all groups need to stay in the same room for combined discussions. 4. Hand out the cut-outs of Worksheet 1: Case Studies. Give each group a different case study. Explain that each group has a case study that is a Priority Action Case in Amnesty International s Stop Torture campaign. Inform participants that these are about real people and real cases. Give 5 minutes for participants to read their case study with their group. 5: Once they have read the case study, give each group 5 minutes to identify three emotions which the person in the case study might be feeling. Ask each group to nominate a representative who can give a summary of the group discussion to everyone. The representatives should be prepared to explain about the emotions of their case in two or three sentences. 6: After the five minutes of group discussion, ask the representatives in turn to present the three emotions their group identified and why they identified these. 7: Ask each group to discuss if they think anything is wrong with the situation in the case study. Give the groups 2 to 3 minutes to discuss among themselves. 12
Human Rights 8: Next, hand out Worksheet 2: Human Rights and Torture. Tell the groups that the worksheet has a list of some of the articles from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) relevant to their case. Ask them if they have heard of the Declaration. Try to keep this discussion short. 9: Give the groups 5 minutes to use Worksheet 2 to suggest which human rights are violated, and select three that they find the most relevant to their case. Ask groups to nominate a new representative from each group to summarize their answer as before and give each of them time to briefly tell the other groups when they have finished their discussion. 10: Hand out Worksheet 3: Keywords - Definition of Torture to each group and ask the groups to choose keywords in the definition of torture and match them up to specific examples in their case study. Ask each group to identify two or three examples of how the keywords match their case. Give the groups 2 to 3 minutes to discuss among themselves and ask them to nominate representatives to give feedback when they have all finished discussing. 11: Distribute flip charts and pens to all groups and ask them to either nominate one or two writers or ask them to all take turns writing. Give groups 5 10 minutes to brainstorm their responses about how the human rights violations in their cases can be prevented. Ask them to identify who would be responsible for putting in place such preventions. 12: Ask all the groups to present their brainstorm and encourage discussion of the ideas and questions raised. Debrief 13: Ask everyone to come back together as one big group and discuss the cases with everyone. You can use debrief questions such as: How do you feel having completed this activity, knowing that these are real cases? What is torture? What have you learnt about human rights and torture? To what extent do any of the keywords defining torture relate to your everyday life? If you are or were a citizen of a country in the case studies, would you feel safe if you were arrested? When considering the issue of torture, does it matter what the person is accused of? Why or Why not? 13
Could you imagine yourself in a situation like this? Why or why not? Do you have any thoughts you want to share about the activities? Tips for facilitators: If the group you are presenting to has no, or limited, knowledge of human rights you may wish to do a short presentation about human rights either before the session, or when you introduce the UDHR Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The case studies use real cases. However, they are not verbatim accounts given by the person in the case. They describe the facts as related to Amnesty International and have been written in the first person as a way to narrate the personal account. Workshop Resources Worksheets (included): Worksheet 1: Case studies (1 copy to be cut into 5 sections) Worksheet 2: Human Rights and Torture (5 copies/one for each group) Worksheet 3: Keywords - Definition of Torture (5 copies/one for each group Video Listen to Canadian torture survivors Marina Nemat, Abdullah Malmalki and Naser al-raas, who bravely share their personal stories https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqrfx8k1ans Online photo exhibit This exhibition features eight torture survivors who live in Canada. Some were tortured and others lives were forever changed by the torture of a close loved one. Half were Canadian citizens at the time of their torture. http://www.amnesty.ca/stoptorture/torture-survivors Stop Torture Campaign Tools Page http://www.amnesty.ca/our-work/campaigns/stop-torture-tools 14
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