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img src=http://www.amnesty.org/sites/impact.amnesty.org/files/imagecache/previewsize/sites/impact.amnesty.org/files/PUBLIC/Regions/ECA/climate-train-100×100.jpg alt= title= /br/Ten million people have signed a petition calling for a quot;fair, ambitious and binding climate treatyquot; to be signed by world leaders at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen this week.br /
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The petition, which was delivered to key figures at the start of the conference on Monday was organized by TckTckTck, campaigning hub for over 50 international organizations.br /
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Amnesty International has been campaigning as part of the Tck Tck Tck coalition and helped collect signatures for the petition. A delegation from the organization will be taking part in COP15.br /
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At a conference organized by Amnesty International on 30 November to discuss the impact of climate change on human rights, Secretary General Irene Khan issued a joint statement with Mary Robinson ndash; former President of Ireland, former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and President of the Ethical Globalization Initiative.br /
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The statement said that if governments fail to act at Copenhagen, quot;basic human rights for the world’s poorest and most marginalised communities will hang in the balance. The rights to food, water, shelter and health all risk being undermined by climate change.quot;br /
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Observed and projected changes attributable to climate change include the contraction of snow-covered areas; shrinking of sea ice and melting of polar ice caps; rise of sea levels; increased frequency of hot extremes and heat waves; increase in areas affected by drought; and increased intensity of tropical cyclones. br /
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There is link between such environmental impacts and the ability to realize a range of human rights. br /
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Acute water shortages and decreased crop yields in the poorer region of the world, to take just two examples, would have grave implications for the rights of millions of people.br /
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The petition was handed over to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Executive Secretary Yvo de Boer, Danish Prime Minister Lars Loslash;kke Rasmussen and COP 15 President and Danish Climate Minster Connie Hedegaard.br /
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At the handover, 15 young people from all over the world held up large scale quot;building blocksquot; which spelled out quot;10 million people expect a fair, ambitious and binding dealquot; to show leaders that all the elements required for an effective climate treaty are present.br /
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TckTckTck chair Kumi Naidoo said the size of the petition demonstrated the huge groundswell of support for world leaders to deal with the climate crisis.br /
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Amnesty International’s Demand Dignity campaign aims to end the human rights violations that drive and deepen global poverty.br /
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The campaign is mobilizing people all over the world to demand that governments, corporations and others, who have power, listen to the voices of those living in poverty and recognize and protect their rights.

img src=http://www.amnesty.org/sites/impact.amnesty.org/files/imagecache/previewsize/sites/impact.amnesty.org/files/PUBLIC/Regions/ECA/germany-berlin-wall-100.jpg alt= title= /br/Twenty years after the fall of the Berlin wall, European governments must act urgently to tackle human rights abuses against migrants, asylum seekers, detainees and minorities, Amnesty International said on Friday. br /
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quot;While the fall of the Berlin wall symbolized the opening of borders, the signature response of Europe now to the challenges of migration is to turn the continent into a fortress,quot; said Nicola Duckworth, Europe and Central Asia Programme Director at Amnesty International. br /
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quot;People fleeing poverty, violence or persecution in other parts of the world have literally been pushed back into the sea.quot; br /
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In May this year, the lives and safety of hundreds of migrants and asylum-seekers on three vessels in the Mediterranean were placed at risk first by a squabble between the Italian and Maltese authorities over their obligations to respond to maritime distress calls, and then by the Italian government’s decision to send them to Libya, without assessing their protection needs. br /
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European governments must also do more to investigate allegations of torture, ill-treatment and wrongful detention during the US-led war on terror, Amnesty International said. br /
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quot;In the new, post Berlin Wall Europe, human rights are under attack again. This time they are victim to states’ claims that even the most fundamental human rights, including to be free from torture, must be sacrificed in order to counter terrorist threats,quot; Nicola Duckworth said. br /
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In the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, Europe was host to secret prisons run by the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), where detainees were victims of enforced disappearance, held in conditions that amounted to torture, and were subjected to abusive interrogation techniques.nbsp; nbsp;br /
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Revelations emerging last August have prompted calls to the Polish and Lithuanian authorities to investigate allegations that in detention facilities on their territories quot;high valuequot; detainees were held and questioned in secret by the CIA until late 2005. br /
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But not all of today’s challenges regarding human rights in Europe are new. br /
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quot;Shamefully, the fruits of 20 years of economic growth and greater political unity since the fall of the Berlin Wall have not been shared equally by all. Serious and deep-rooted problems of racism and discrimination remain at the heart of modern Europe,quot; Nicola Duckworth said br /
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One of the most profound illustrations of systemic discrimination in Europe is against Roma, who remain largely excluded from public life in all countries. br /
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Roma in Eastern Europe were often the first to be excluded from employment as state owned enterprises were privatised. Unlawful forced evictions are driving them deeper into poverty. br /
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In some countries such as Slovakia and the Czech Republic, Romani children continue to be overrepresented in schools for pupils with mental disabilities, and to be segregated in Roma-only schools and classes offering substandard education. The authorities have failed to take effective and unambiguous measures to eliminate racial segregation in education.nbsp; nbsp;br /
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And 20 years after the fall of the Berlin wall, Amnesty International still recognizes as Prisoners of Conscience journalists and human rights activists arrested for seeking to exercise their fundamental freedoms of expression, association and religion in Azerbaijan, Belarus, Moldova, Russia, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.nbsp; nbsp;br /
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quot;In Berlin today, there’s little left of the physical wall that 20 years ago was a symbol of division and repression. There still continue to be, though, walls making some people more equal than others when it comes to the enjoyment of the full spectrum of human rights,quot; Nicola Duckworth said. br /
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quot;However, in spite of threats, intimidation and detention, human rights defenders across Europe, fuelled by the energy that brought down the Berlin wall, continue to strive for the vision of a region where all human rights are upheld for all.quot;