And we want to celebrate it with a photo. We were formed not too long after Amnesty International itself was created and we are, sadly, the last group left in Wiltshire.
We shall be assembling at 2:30 near the Guildhall in the market square tomorrow, October 3rd for a group photo. It should only take 30 minutes or so and we are inviting all members and supporters who can make it, to come and join in.
In some ways it is sad that we still need to exist. The hope after the Second World War and the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 was high. People believed human rights would become the norm in societies around the world. It hasn’t turned out that way. Atrocities still continue in Africa, the Uyghurs are still persecuted in China, war rages in Ukraine, bombing continues in Gaza and human rights violations continue around the world in Syria, Iran, Burma and Saudi Arabia.
One of our continuing campaigns is the ending of the death penalty around the world (see our reports on this site). You will also see from our site and elsewhere that the UK is a major supplier of arms to states which are engaged in abusing their citizens. This has been a vexed issue at present concerning arms to Israel. It is an irony of the post war world that the UN Security Council is comprised of the world’s major arms suppliers. So there is still a need for human rights work.
We are pleased to post the current month’s refugee report produced by group member Andrew.
Following the General Election, a new approach to the issue of immigration and asylum seeking has been promised. Straight away the new government declared the deportation of irregular immigrants to Rwanda would no longer be pursued. It is not known whether Rwanda will return the £270 million received in advance. The new Home Secretary will review the position by 1st October following complaints from asylum seekers rounded up in preparation for flights to Rwanda. It was also intimated that changes would be made to the Illegal Migration Act of 2023. On which topic, the House of Lords Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee has published a report noting that the Home Office has been trying to remove some barriers to the processing system under the Act, observing that it was “lamentable that the Home Office put forward an Act of Parliament that it has simply not been able to implement.”
The Prime Minister has announced the creation of a new Border Security Command designed to “smash the gangs” in some undisclosed fashion. The Command would be funded by money previously earmarked for the Rwanda plan and would be responsible for coordinating the activities of Immigration Enforcement, MI5, the Border Force and the National Crime Agency in tackling the gangs.
Latest statistics reveal that 22,000 migrants have arrived by boat this year so far, about the same as last year. The biggest numbers are from Afghanistan (despite some increase in the number of legal arrivals from there), Iran, Vietnam, Turkiye and Syria.
224,000 claimants are still in the system despite efforts to clear the backlog. 40% of them are still awaiting an initial decision (the total number is high because of lower levels of initial acceptance leading to a large number of appeals.)
Also on a non-UK topic, the German government have instituted temporary controls on its borders to prevent the arrival of irregular migrants (and extremists) from other EU countries. This is contrary to the Schengen agreement on free movement within the Union.
Threat to trial by jury March 2026 MPs voted to allow the Courts and Tribunals Bill to proceed to the next stage after significant debate during its second reading. This was over proposals to replace juries in England and Wales with a single judge in cases where a convicted defendant would be jailed for up…
New bill to tackle electoral reform March 2026 A functioning democratic system is vital for human rights. It is about power and how it is wielded. Increasingly, we have witnessed powerful outside interests – whether they be states or wealthy individuals – influencing the political debate. Electoral reform is carried out infrequently partly because political…
War in Middle East and its effects March 2026 Although war reporting generates a lot of commentary on the deaths of those caught up in the conflicts, the effects on refugees and those displaced receives much less attention. With the new war(s) in the Middle East, refugees are again in the news. So far, most…
Ron De Santis continues his campaign of executions March 2026 We have recently drawn attention to individual executions being carried out in Florida as part, it is claimed, of governor De Santis’s desire to show he is tough on crime. Florida is known as the ‘sunshine state’ but a pall is cast over it by…
Report for mid – February to mid – March March 2026 We are pleased to attach this month’s report on the use of the death penalty around the world thanks to group member Lesley for the work in compiling it. It features several US states, Iran, Israel and India. We note as ever that China…
Vigil continues with Israeli and US attacks on Iran March 2026 For 118 weeks now, we have held a vigil in Salisbury with the theme peace in the Middle East. Around 30 attended yesterday (7 March) and the hope must be that one day it would end. Any such hopes were dashed last week when…
Billy Kearse executed on Tuesday in Florida’s killing spree March 2026 Florida is proceeding apace with its execution programme (program) and Billy Kearse was executed on Tuesday 3rd March 2026. Florida seems to have overtaken Texas as the state keenest to use the penalty. Questions have been raised about the use of the drugs and…
Title of a talk organised by the Southampton Amnesty group March 2026 “Sportswashing” has entered the vernacular and is broadly defined as the practice by governments, or other powerful organisations, of sponsoring or hosting a sports team or sporting event in order to promote a positive public image and distract attention from human rights issues…
Governor De Santis breaking records in Florida March 2026 On this day when it has been reported that the death toll in the US/Israel school bombing in Iran has risen to 148 with a further 95 injured, it may seem contrary to mention the death penalty in Florida. Governor De Santis is hell bent on…
Let us not forget the role of Shell Oil in Nigeria March 2026 In this world of fast moving actions, invasions, civil wars and genocide, it is easy to lose sight of past concerns which still resonate today. We are reminded in the Spring edition of the Amnesty News (Issue 228) of the events which…
The 117th vigil took place on the day Israel and US attack Iran March 2026 Reports today (March 1st) that Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is dead killed by an air strike from Israel. President Trump promised to end foreign wars yet here we are with US and Israeli forces engaged in bombing Iran. There…
“Is football a net good for humanity?” February 2026 PAST EVENT: See later post. The Southampton group is hosting this talk on Monday 2nd March at the University and booking is advised. The subtitle is the impact of sport on human rights. The lecture is by Miguel Delaney, the chief sports writer for the Independent.…
February 2026 PAST EVENT The group hosted a coffee morning at St Thomas’s church in the centre of Salisbury. We had a suggested action for people to take concerning a surgeon, Dr Hussam Abu Safiya (pictured), who was seized from a hospital in Gaza and who’s whereabouts in Israel are currently unknown. He has probably…
115th vigil took place following a momentous week in the courts February 2026 We discussed in a previous post the High Court’s decision that the government’s decision to ban Palestine Action was disproportionate. The ban on them has not been lifted as the government seemed determined to appeal and some experts say the Appeal Court…
A talk by Nick Papadopulos describing his time in this city
September 2024
CORRECTED: 14TH September
Nick (pictured below) is the Dean of Salisbury Cathedral and has spent three months in this troubled city earlier in the year. He gave a talk last evening (September 11th) in St Thomas’s Church in the centre of Salisbury. Over 200 attended.
The conflict in the region raises great passions which are not to be seen in the same way with the Ukrainian conflict for example. Russia’s bombing of civilian targets and key infrastructure is seen straightforwardly as a war crime. The destruction of huge chunks of Gaza is not seen in such black and white terms. The increasing settler (and the word ‘settler’ came up in the talk, see below) violence receives only modest attention by news media or politicians. Indeed, Papadopulos commented on the reluctance of politicians in the UK to say or do much seeing the conflict as ‘toxic’ he said. The recent decision by the UK government for a modest reduction in arms sales suggested an effort to assuage those who argue for a total ban and a reluctance to upset the Israeli government. It looks as though they have achieved neither, one of the perils of fence sitting.
‘You can’t be neutral’
He gave a brief history of key events in the recent past starting with 1948, the declaration of the state of Israel and the displacement of three quarters of a million Palestinians which they refer to as the Nakba. He briefly discussed the 6 day war which saw the new state annex large areas of land in the region. These have been given up but they obtained control of Jerusalem, the West Bank, Golan Heights and maintained control of Gaza. Sanai reverted to Egypt. In answer to a question on this he emphasised that it was true that Israel no longer occupied Gaza but they did control it. It became the largest open air prison in the world with no access by sea or air and surrounded by checkpoints.
He described witnessing some of the arbitrary restrictions imposed by Israel on citizens in Jerusalem. One concerned a wish by Moslems to enter parts of the city to pray at the Al-Aqsa mosque. Restrictions were suddenly imposed which included only allowing men over 55 to enter and women over 45 likewise. New ID cards and a permit required giving them no time to acquire them. The result was that almost no one got in.
It was not just Moslems but similar restrictions applied to Christians who wish to celebrate Palm Sunday. 20,000 permits were applied for but only 2,000 issued too late for them to be of use. These events are confirmed by Machsom Watch a locally based women’s group which monitors checkpoints in the country. Freedom of worship is protected by article 37 of the Geneva Convention. We do not know the Israeli response to these events but they happen sufficiently often to appear to be an act of policy rather than a response to a particular threat. Checkpoints are surrounded by heavily armed soldiers with a ‘Skunk Water‘ van in attendance. These are used to drench crowds with an evil smelling fluid. The effect of these actions he said is to ‘weaken Jerusalem’s religious diversity’.
West Bank
A few items have appeared in TV news recently by BBC, ITV and Channel 4 showing the settler violence in the west bank. He described one such where Israelis arrived in the early hours and completely destroyed the Palestinian village. He also described the destruction of solar panels, important where there is no electricity. Pouring raw sewage onto land where children play was also mentioned. The various examples he gave concerned collective punishment which is contrary to article 33 of the Convention. He provided several examples of homes and facilities destroyed.
There was a question about the word ‘settler’ which by itself is a fairly neutral word and implies something small scale. In reality the settlements are almost cities and represent a permanent development. It was important to note he said that the ‘settlers’ were now part of the government.
Another question concerned the Holocaust. He reminded us that no Arab was involved in that atrocity, it was Europeans. He did not think that comparison of the Holocaust with what is going on today was helpful he said.
This was an extremely interesting illustrated talk from someone who has spent time in the region and witnessed first hand some of the oppression Moslems, Christians and Armenians experience on a regular basis. It was a pity he did not mention the ‘Apartheid‘ word which was relevant to his presentation. There seems no end to the violence at the time or writing and it does not appear the various cease fire initiatives have come to anything.
For those unable to get to this presentation, there will be a chance to hear it again on 13th November [not 3rd as we earlier posted] at the Quaker centre on Wilton Road, Salisbury.
There was a Vigil as usual this Saturday 14th September in the market place starting at 5pm for half an hour which attracted 30 people. Last week’s Vigil attracted around 35 people.
We are pleased to attach the latest death penalty report covering the period mid-August to mid-September thanks to group member Lesley for the work in preparing it. Note as ever that China does not appear in the report despite being the world’s largest executioner as details of executions are a state secret.
Amnesty in Salisbury & South Wiltshire 