Defending human rights and ensuring that everyone is treated fairly regardless of who they are, what they look like, or what they believe is a fundamental value of the TRU Students’ Union. The Equity Committee has worked to put this value into practice this summer by participating in Amnesty International’s Urgent Action Network. Since May, the Committee has sent twelve letters to governments around the world to pressure them to intervene to protect the human rights of marginalized groups and communities. 

Unfortunately, we are seeing an alarming trend of governments using the cover of the COVID-19 crisis to undermine human rights, attack activists, and silence their opponents. The Urgent Action Network has ensured that hundreds of thousands of volunteers are able to shine a spotlight on this shady behaviour and pressure oppressive governments to clean up their act.  

For example, the equity committee has written to: the government of Ecuador asking them to take swift action to protect Indigenous communities living in the Amazon who are at high risk from COVID-19, the Indonesian government urging them to release seven Papuan activists imprisoned for engaging in peaceful anti-racism demonstrations, and the Hungarian Commissioner for Human Rights asking him to review recent legislation that bans legal gender recognition for transgender and intersex people thereby violating their human rights.  

Click here to see all twelve letters we’ve sent this summer! 

If you’re interested in getting involved in the fight for global human rights, you can find more information about joining Amnesty International’s Urgent Action Network here. 

For more information contact:  

About the Equity Committee 

The TRUSU Equity Committee is a group of eight elected and appointed students who work to raise awareness about the systemic oppression of marginalized groups in society, and to challenge that oppression on campus.