Mizzou Amnesty International held its first meeting of the semester Thursday. MU’s chapter of the international organization recapped events from last semester and brainstormed ideas for this semester.
President Trevor Peters called it the largest human rights organization in the world. According to [Mizzou Amnesty International’s website,](http://mizzouamnesty.wordpress.com/about/) Amnesty Internatiosnal has more than 3 million supporters in upward of 150 countries. Peters said Amnesty International is not pressuring MU’s chapter to work on any issue in particular.
But MU’s chapter does have one big thing planned for this semester. Aysha Murad, a Bahrain attaché to the United States, has already agreed to speak on campus about gender equality. Mizzou Amnesty International has already raised the necessary funds and plans to host Murad, provided the Bahrain government gives her permission to visit MU.
Ranya Ahmed, a Bahraini graduate student at MU, met with Murad while visiting the Bahrain embassy in Washington, D.C. last semester. Ahmed has known Murad for a while, Ahmed said.
Ahmed said Murad told her that she has been giving presentations at several campuses around the country. After meeting with Murad, Ahmed made the suggestion to Mizzou Amnesty International to have Murad speak on campus.
The MU chapter also discussed collaborating with MU Stop Traffic and hosting a discussion panel on gun control. Members suggested partnering with more campus organizations as well.
Peters encouraged new members to pitch ideas for Amnesty International. The organization will do events that members want to do, he said.
“Don’t let money be an obstacle,” Peters said. “We can figure it out.”
The organization participates in letter writing campaigns for the release of prisoners who Amnesty International believes were imprisoned in violation of human rights.
Last semester, Mizzou Amnesty International set up a table in the Student Center and asked people to write letters calling for the pardoning of prisoner Jabbar Savalan in Azerbaijan. They were participating in an international campaign organized by Amnesty International. According to Amnesty International’s website, “His case was part of Amnesty International’s annual Write for Rights Global Write-a-thon, during which hundreds of thousands of people in over 80 countries come together and take action to demand that peoples’ rights are respected. Over one million appeals were made as part of the 2011 marathon prior to Jabbar Savalan’s release.” Amnesty International was [successful](http://blog.amnestyusa.org/iar/jabbar-savalan-freed/) in its petition for the prisoner, and he was released in December 2011.
Mizzou Amnesty International also hosted a panel on education rights last semester by showing the movie, “Education Under Fire.” Nick Okamoto, a graduate student in mathematics, was looking for an organization on campus to sponsor the video. Mizzou Amnesty International agreed to show it, and more 70 people attended the screening. Okamoto has been an active member with Amnesty International since “Education Under Fire” was shown.
Peters and senior Jaime Henry-White started MU’s Amnesty International chapter on campus in 2011. Peters belonged to an Amnesty International organization in high school, and Henry-White, a transfer student at the time, belonged to the organization at her first college, according to a previous Maneater article.
There used to be an Amnesty International at MU for three or four years, but then it fell through, Peters said.
Sophomore Alicia Tan is new to the organization this year and said she thinks it’s important to be involved in something so proactive.
Sophomore Emily Holtzman returned to the organization after not being able to attend many meetings last semester.
“I like learning about different causes around the world,” she said. “I want to become more informed about them.”
Amnesty International meets at 6 p.m. every other Wednesday in the MU Student Center.
