We’ve been defending freedom from dictators and bullies around the world for six decades—and we’re not about to stop now. Join Amnesty International USA’s Defend Freedom Campaign to demand that all levels of the U.S. government—including President Trump and his administration, Congress, governors, mayors, state legislators, city councils and law enforcement officers—respect, protect and fulfill human rights.
We demand to be free from racism. We demand the right to be able to protest. We demand freedom of the press. We demand freedom from police violence. We demand freedom from gun violence.
Will you join these youth activists?
Take action — Amnesty International USA (@amnestyusa) October 27, 2020
The right to stay alive—to not be killed—is fundamental. It is the right that makes all of your other human rights possible.
It is the utmost obligation of police to respect and preserve the right to stay alive. Lethal use of firearms may only be justified when it’s “strictly unavoidable in order to protect human life.”
You have the right to a reasonable expectation of safety.
You should not have to fear for your life when interacting with police—and we need robust laws that create an environment of accountability to make that possible.
“At times, the police exercise higher levels of violence against certain groups of people, based on institutional racism or
ethnic discrimination.”
– United Nations officials
You should not be treated differently by law enforcement because of the color of your skin. You have the right to equal treatment under the law—and that includes not having lethal force used against you.
Deadly force should only be used as a last resort, and yet there are currently nine states that permit the use of lethal force in order to “suppress a riot”.
Law enforcement’s role should be to facilitate peaceful protests, not to escalate tensions with the demonstration or exercise of force.
If some protestors engage in violent actions, this does not turn the otherwise peaceful protest into a non-peaceful assembly. In such a situation, police should not use the violent acts of a few to restrict the rights of a majority.
