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Issue 3, Volume 1, December 2000
Message from the Director | Program News | Program Updates | Case Updates | Hot Spots | FAQs | Action Updates
Student Groups Organize Speaking Events in Minnesota and Iowa
By Joe Kirchoff
Just Earth! Actionworker
Jennifer Molina of the Twin Cities Anti-War Committee and Lisa Sock of Amnesty's Human Rights and the Environment program spoke in Minneapolis, Minnesota and Ames, Iowa on December 2 and 3. At both events, Jennifer discussed the human rights and environmental situations in Colombia, and Lisa spoke on globalization, human rights, and the environment on a wider level.
In Colombia, as Jennifer discussed, several factors are combining to produce a deadly and destructive human rights and environmental situation. The decades-old civil war continues to kill people involved in the war and those who are not. Additionally, the U.S. recently approved nearly $1.7 billion of (mostly) military aid packages to Colombia. While the money's declared purpose is to fight the drug war, separation of it from the civil war is, at best, nearly impossible. Colombia's human rights record does not provide much hope that human rights will consistently be remembered. Adding to the problems, Colombia is thought to have vast reserves of oil. Drilling is harming the environment and the lives of many people living near drill sites.
Lisa's presentation addressed the implications of globalization around the world. Soliciting the audience's input, Lisa discussed the potential benefits of globalization, but also the manner in which the global pursuit of profit leads to environmental degradation and human rights abuses, as exemplified in Colombia and the Just Earth! campaign report. Lisa also explained how letter writing, shareholder resolutions, and raising public awareness can influence companies to support human rights and the environment in their business practices.
The Minneapolis event was organized by the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities Amnesty International group. For mp3 audio files of Jennifer and Lisa's presentations, go to http://minneapolis.indymedia.org/ and search for "human rights" in the search field. The presentations at Iowa State University in Ames were organized by the student Amnesty group there.
