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 AIUSA ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2002 REFRAMING GLOBALIZATION: THE CHALLENGE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS This year's Annual General Meeting will take place in Seattle, Washington, the site of the now-symbolic protests against the World Trade Organization. Amnesty International members and activists from across the country will come together to discuss creative strategies for confronting today's most pressing human rights challenges. "Globalization" has come to be the accepted terminology for rapid economic change, the transfer of technology, trade and its impact on the nation-state. Such characterization typically shortchanges the social justice component essential to globalization and the advancement of the human rights of all individuals as a measure of global progress. Amnesty International (AI) is positioned to play a key role in bringing social justice into the common notion of globalization. As a global grassroots movement working in solidarity for the protection of human dignity, we stand in a unique position to "reframe" the meaning of globalization and secure human rights in the central vision for global progress. The focus for our conference in Seattle will address the expanding concerns of the international AI movement. The recent decisions of the 2001 International Council Meeting (ICM) in Dakar, Senegal will enable AI to work not only against torture or for prisoners of conscience but against all forms of discrimination, whether they affect political and civil rights or economic, social and cultural (ESC) rights. The AGM will be an opportunity for us to determine how the movement should address ESC rights and consider the effectiveness of our human rights strategies in today's context of rapid change. Human rights is a global movement, with Amnesty International playing a historic and defining role that has inspired millions of individuals to assert their dignity and demand change. At the 2002 AGM, you will confront the issues of a globalized world, their effect on human rights, and how they challenge our movement in issues like trade, the environment, corporate power, and social and economic consequences of rapid change. While continuing to address core AI human rights concerns such as abolition of torture and the death penalty, panelists and featured speakers will also explore these key issues and other from the perspective of how socio-economic injustice and racial inequality make certain groups of individuals more vulnerable to human rights violations. They will help us to understand both the obstacles we face as a globalized society, as well as the opportunities for activism in a worldwide human rights movement. The Annual General Meeting is an exciting weekend with policy discussions for AIUSA members, organizational strategic planning sessions, activist and youth leadership meetings, networking sessions and special gatherings.
Check this site for updates on programming, speakers, registration, and special activities. |
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