Cinda Lawrence - Actress

Important Message from Cinda:

As you may know, I am a long-time volunteer with Amnesty International, an organization which fights for the human rights and dignity of all people around the world.  

The first Saturday of every month members of my local Amnesty International group (AI Group 9/280 in NYC)  gather on the upper west side of Manhattan and write letters urging leaders and governments to release Prisoners of Conscience (POC's).

Please email me at cindalawrence@gmail.com if you live in NYC and would like to join us the first Saturday of each month. I will send you all the details. It is completely free. All you need to bring is yourself and a pen. Envelopes, postage and letters are provided.

Prisoners of Conscience are individuals who have been imprisoned in countries all over the world for standing up for freedom of speech and human rights and equality for all.  Some of these people have been imprisoned for decades under horrible conditions, with no due process and no contact with friends or family.  A person can go to jail for decades for raising a flag in peaceful protest or simply sending an email asking his or her government for democracy....or even simply being gay.   Mr. Jean Claude Roger Mbede is such an example.  He  was a prisoner of conscience in Cameroon.  Mr. Mbede was  in prison for no other reason than the fact that he was  a homosexual in a country where it is illegal to be gay.  He died before he could be saved. Many others still need our help.

If you have come upon this page and you believe that all human beings deserve universal human rights, please click on the links to the online petitions below or print out/sign the letters and add your name to the list of people fighting for universal human rights.

You can also become a member of Amnesty International and keep up to date on their work at www.amnestyusa.org.

Below is the Mission of Amnesty International and the links to online petitions to help Prisoners of  Conscience are at the bottom of this page or at www.amnestyusa.org

Mission of Amnesty International

Members of Amnesty International have a vision of a world in which every person – regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation or gender identity – enjoys all of the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and other internationally recognized human rights standards. The UDHR states that the "the recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights" of all people is "the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world."

How Amnesty Works

Amnesty International unites people from all over the world to fight for human rights using these signature tactics:

Research
Amnesty International keeps vigilant watch on the rights of people around the world and publishes hundreds of independent reports based on our rigorous research, free of corporate and government influence.

Action
Through its dynamic campaigns and long-term casework, Amnesty International members propel key human rights concerns and stories of individuals at risk into the glare of the international media and demand the attention of government officials, corporations, international institutions and policy makers.

Advocacy
Amnesty International combines high-level legislative work, media outreach and grassroots mobilization to shape and promote legislation and policies to advance human rights, protect individuals and free prisoners of conscience.

HERE IS THE LINK TO ALL AMNESTY CASES:  

http://www.amnestyusa.org/our-work/cases