Please join The Whatcom Human Rights Task Force and Amnesty International Group 270 on Saturday, December 10th at 1:30pm for our Annual Gathering to commemorate International Human Rights Day. The event will be held in person at the Squalicum Boathouse. Doors open at 1:00.

Amnesty International Group 270 will share information about the annual Write for Rights Campaign.  The theme of the 2022 campaign is Protect the Protest. Members of AI Group 270 will highlight some of this year’s featured cases and share ways we can support their efforts. Every year, cases are positively impacted by petitions signed. 

The Whatcom Human Rights Task Force will share news about exciting changes that are afoot within our organizational structure that are intended to create space and support for emerging groups in our community.

Since WHRTF was incorporated in 1996 to push back against overt instances of white supremacist violence in the region, the shape of human rights activism in Whatcom County has evolved to embrace more voices and a broader range of issues. Our goal is to move away from a traditional “charity model” that perpetuates white supremacy to a more inclusive collective framework that centers our community’s well-being.  To that end, we have recently become the fiscal sponsor for the Whatcom Coalition for Anti-Racist Education and the Birchwood Food Desert Fighters, and we continue our long-time relationship with the Bellingham Unity Committee.  

Leaders from each of these organizations have joined the WHRTF board, and representatives will be present to share information about their work. 

Light refreshments will be served. This event is free and open to all. Donations gratefully accepted.

For ASL accommodations, please email whatcomhrtf@gmail.com by Thursday, Dec. 1st at 5pm.

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International Human Rights Day is observed every year on December 10th — the day the United Nations General Assembly adopted, in 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The UDHR proclaims the inalienable rights which everyone is entitled to as a human being – regardless of race, color, religion, sex, language, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Available in more than 500 languages, it remains the most translated document in the world (un.org).