Visit the ground-breaking site at http://www.eyesonpakistan.org/index.html. We are also re-posting their previous call for submissions to Eyes on Pakistan Writing Contest. Deadline is December 31, 2010.
Eyes on Pakistan Writing Contest
Fighting between Pakistani government forces and Taliban armed groups has devastated civilian populations in northwestern Pakistan. Human rights violations have been committed by all sides in the conflict, as each pursues military strategies that fail to protect civilians. Countless lives have been destroyed and untold damage done to property, leaving millions of civilians homeless and unable to take care of their families.
We're shining a light on these horrific abuses and we need your help. Write a compelling letter, article, blog entry, op-ed or other composition about the human rights impact of the fighting in northwestern Pakistan. Submit your written piece to any newspaper, journal or online publication. If your entry is chosen for publication, then you are eligible to win.
Contest Rules & Details
* Only PUBLISHED news articles, journal entries, letters to the editor, op-eds, or blog entries will be eligible for contest entry
* You must send your PUBLISHED written pieces to the Science for Human Rights Program at Amnesty International's DC Office.
* Entries should address Amnesty International's human rights concerns in northwest Pakistan and raise awareness of the civilian toll of the conflict (see talking points below).
* Five winners will be selected by Amnesty International staff from all submissions received.
* Winners will receive a FLIP HD Camera to support their human rights activism.
* Submissions will be collected until December 31, 2010.
Please send or email submissions to:
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL USA
Science for Human Rights
600 Pennsylvania Avenue, S.E.
Washington, DC 20003
science@aiusa.org
Talking Points
# Over the past two years, millions of civilians have been forced to flee within northwestern Pakistan in advance of or following military operations.
# Pakistani civilians are increasingly attacked on three different fronts – by the Taliban, by the Pakistani army and by U.S. drone strikes.
# Pakistani security forces have often both failed to differentiate between civilians and militants, and used disproportionate force, causing civilian deaths and injuries, and destroying civilian property.
# In April 2009, the Pakistani army launched a major offensive in northwestern Pakistan against the Pakistani Taliban resulting in the displacement of over 2 million people, the largest displacement crisis in Pakistan's history.
# The United States’ use of drones to target insurgents in northwest Pakistan has generated considerable resentment inside Pakistan. The U.S. government has to clarify its chain of command and rules of engagement for the use of drones and ensure proper accountability for civilian casualties.
More information here.
