Obama's 100 days challenge

ABOVE: Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Talk of change is good. Concrete action is better. This past Sunday, President-elect Obama stated in an interview on CBS that he will follow through with his commitment to close Guantanamo.

In the hope of turning words into actions, Amnesty International is calling on President-elect Barack Obama to take concrete steps in his first 100 days in office. This means:

• announcing a plan and date to close Guantanamo
• issuing an executive order to ban torture
• ensuring that an independent commission to investigate abuses committed by the U.S. government in its "war on terror" is set up

Taking these steps would send a clear message to the rest of the world that, once again, the U.S. will be a leader for human rights.

» Call on Obama to demonstrate a commitment to human rights in his first 100 days
» Check out our new blog for the latest on this campaign and others

Today, Protect Civilians in the DRC

A displaced child returns to the ruins at a camp Kibumba, November 2, 2008. © AP/PA Photo/Karel Prinsloo

The situation in the DRC remains on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe.The priority at the moment is reinforcing the capacity of the UN's peacekeeping force, MONUC, to protect civilians and to ensure people have access to humanitarian assistance.

The following days are crucial as the UN Security Council is expected to vote on boosting the peacekeepers any day. Your help is urgently needed to keep on calling on the US government to support the troop increase.

It's high time for regional leaders and the UN Security Council to step up its efforts: At least 250,000 civilians, most of them women and children, were displaced by the recent fighting. These people are in a desperate situation, without sufficient food, water, medical supplies or shelter, and cannot wait any longer.

» Urge the US Government to strengthen UN Peacekeepers
» DRC: Demonstrate leadership to address crisis immediately
» Blog post:"DRC: Protect Civilians Now!"
» Participate in the DRC Action Day, November 23

Catch 22 – The Case of Troy Davis

Dozens of rallies were held around the world on Oct. 23, AI's Global Day of Action for Troy Davis. Atlanta, Paris events shown above. © AI & Laurent HINI

Three times Troy Davis awaited imminent execution and three times his execution was postponed.

The question that the appeals courts have been unwilling to address is whether it is constitutional to execute someone even if they can "establish actual innocence."

Innocence is just one of the factors that go into a decision on whether or not a person can be put to death by the state. For the appeals courts, there are also procedural questions: if a prisoner could have brought up his evidence of innocence sooner, but didn't, then his evidence of innocence doesn't count.

The fact that executing the innocent is up for debate demonstrates how far our system has veered off the path of justice. Amnesty International supports Troy Davis' petition to get a hearing on evidence that he may be innocent.

Urge Governor Perdue of Georgia to prevent the unjust execution of Troy Davis »
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