What is the Urgent Action Network?
The concept is simple: Take Action, Change a Life.
Urgent Actions ask our community of volunteers to flood the mailboxes, inboxes, phones and social media of authorities when someone is in imminent danger of human rights violations. Your letters, emails, phone calls, faxes and Tweets have helped to halt executions, support human rights defenders and free prisoners of conscience—people jailed solely for the peaceful expression of their beliefs and identity.
Please note that the US postal service has suspended service to some countries in light of COVID-19 – reach out to [email protected] if you have any questions.
How Does It Work?
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STEP 1: Sign Up Today!
Sign up to receive Urgent Action emails. You can choose to receive all emails or a more limited number. You can also choose to receive emails on specific issues or regions.
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STEP 2: Take Action Now!
Urgent Action emails specify the case, local and international government officials to contact, their contact information and suggestions about what to write, say or Tweet.
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Our Educator’s Guide
Are you an educator looking for ways to engage your students in human rights? Find out how your students can show their power through letter writing!
In many cases, your action on these cases leads to better conditions for prisoners and their eventual release. Those individuals at the center of these Urgent Actions often send their thanks to Amnesty International, citing that these messages serve as a source of hope.
The reason we could resist the ban and move forward was the international support and solidarity by Amnesty International activists around the world. We could not have gone further without your support.
I am very grateful for all the support I received while I was in prison. Life in prison was very difficult and I was treated badly, but the support of those who believed in me made me strong.
My case once again showed how important solidarity and attention are in protecting the freedom of speech and human rights. I admire your noble work and boundless courage, dear activists.
Browse Urgent Actions
Urgent Action
Urgent Action Update: COVID-19 JOURNALIST HOSPITALIZED, GRAVE CONCERNS (China: UA 170.20)
Citizen journalist Zhang Zhan’s life is at risk, as her health continues to deteriorate at a dramatic rate. Admitted to hospital due to severe malnutrition on July 31, 2021 she…
Urgent Action
Urgent Action: LAWYER GETS 5-YEAR PRISON SENTENCE (Burundi: UA 92.21)
Burundian lawyer Tony Germain Nkina was sentenced to five years in prison on June 15, 2021 by the High Court of Kayanza province, in northern Burundi. He was arrested on…
Urgent Action
Urgent Action Update: GRAVE HEALTH FEARS FOR DETAINED PAPUAN ACTIVIST (Indonesia: UA 58.21)
Victor Yeimo, a pro-independence political activist from Papua and a spokesman for the West Papua National Committee, was arbitrarily arrested on May 9, 2021 and charged with treason for peacefully…
Urgent Action
Urgent Action Update: WATER DEFENDERS CONTINUE IN JAIL (Honduras: UA 133.20)
Eight members of the Municipal Committee for the Defence of Common and Public Assets (CMDBCP) continue in pre-trial prison in Yoro (North Honduras) after two years for standing up in…
Urgent Action
Urgent Action Update: ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISTS FACE ADDITIONAL CHARGES (Cambodia: UA 73.21)
Six youth activists from Mother Nature Cambodia, a well-known environmental group that campaigns against environmental destruction and related human rights abuses, continue to face ongoing persecution. Three of the activists,…
Urgent Action
Urgent Action: JUSTICE FOR ACTIVISTS, PROTECT RELATIVES (Haiti: UA 90.21)
On June 30, 2021 reporter Diego Charles and activist Antoinette Duclaire were shot dead by unknown armed persons outside Diego Charles’ home in Port au Prince. Both had been previously…
Urgent Action
Urgent Action Update: PEACEFUL ACTIVISTS RELEASED ON BAIL (Democratic Republic of Congo – UA 74.21)
On July 24, 2021, human rights defenders Elisée Lwatumba Kasonia and Eric Muhindo Muvumbu were released on bail. They were arrested on April 19, 2021 while calling for a general…
Urgent Action
Urgent Action Update: OPPOSITION POLITICIANS TRIED BY SPECIAL COURT (Egypt: 107.19)
In July 2021, Egyptian politicians and activists Zyad el-Elaimy, Hossam Moanis and Hisham Fouad were referred to trial in front of an Emergency State Security Court over bogus charges, stemming…
Urgent Action
Urgent Action Update: HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS REMAIN IN DETENTION (Belarus: UA 85.21)
Belarusian human rights defenders Ales Bialiatski, Valyantsin Stefanovich and Uladzimir Labkovich remain in pretrial detention and face trumped up charges in retaliation for their human rights work with the Human…
Urgent Action
Urgent Action: ACTIVISTS JAILED FOR ANTI-PRESIDENT T-SHIRTS (Nigeria: UA 89.21)
Activists Larry Emmanuel, Anene Victor Udoka, Samuel Gabriel, Henry Nwodo, and Ben Mannaseh are being arbitrarily detained in connection to their peaceful activism. On July 4, 2021 they attended a…
Urgent Action
Urgent Action: HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER FACES 3 YEARS IN PRISON (Myanmar: UA 87.21)
Prominent human rights defender, Thin Thin Aung is facing three years in prison over materials published and broadcast by the media outlet she co-founded. She is among hundreds facing similar…
Urgent Action
Urgent Action: BARRISTER CHARGED FOR SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS (Hong Kong: UA 86.21)
Chow Hang-tung, a human rights lawyer and an organizer of the annual Hong Kong vigil commemorating the Tiananmen crackdown, was charged for “advertising or publicizing unauthorized assembly”. The arrest came…