Ways you can support human rights in the time of COVID-19. | View in browser.

Dear John,

You’ve heard a lot lately about the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). We are taking this global pandemic seriously at Amnesty International Canada and we are committed to the safety of our staff, volunteers, and the people with whom we work.

COVID-19 will have serious global human rights impacts that are only just emerging. It will exacerbate existing inequalities and human rights violations. Amnesty International is dedicated to continuing our critical human rights work while doing our best to mitigate transmission of the COVID-19 virus and the panic surrounding it.

This flu-like illness can have significant and even fatal effects for people whose immune systems are weaker or who have pre-existing health conditions. To mitigate this risk, we have taken several control measures as an organization. Our decisions are grounded in the best available scientific evidence and will continue to evolve as the global community moves forward.

WHAT WE ARE DOING

At Amnesty International Canada, we have closed our offices, instituted the ability to work from home for all our staff, and cancelled any organizational travel in the immediate future. We’ve also suspended hosting or participating in events for the time being. Our meetings have moved to online spaces and we’ve directed staff to avoid gatherings to reduce chances of transmission.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Please see this blog post from our Activism Team, which outlines the ways we can practice social solidarity and continue our activism in times of uncertainty and heightened stress about COVID-19 transmission. Some highlights include:

Practice mutual aid and community care—check in on community members who might be more vulnerable
Push back against the racism and xenophobia that come with travel bans
Explore and design creative actions that don’t involve public events

You can take action for human rights anytime by signing our online actions.

Please refer to Amnesty.ca for further updates and Amnesty International’s response measures.

In strength and solidarity,

Alex Neve,
Secretary General,
Amnesty International Canada