Yesterday was President Obama’s 100th day in office, giving many commentators the opportunity to summarise his achievements to date.
As Amnesty, we have compiled our view on his time in office, drawing the conclusion that they have sent ‘mixed messages’ on human rights.
There is no doubt that his early promises to close Guantánamo within a year and end secret CIA detention were real human rights victories. However it is disappointing that only one prisoner, Binyam Mohamed has been released from Guantánamo.
The UK government also has a role to play, and President Obama’s willingness to allow an independent inquiry into torture should be the prompt for our own government to allow one here.
Read our press release and take a moment to watch our video on his first 100 days.
What are your thoughts on his Presidency to date? Do you agree with Amnesty’s conclusions?
It was 98 days ago that I sat with other Amnesty staff to watch a truly historical event: the inauguration of Barack Obama. As human rights campaigners, there was a sense of genuine excitement that hadn’t existed for many years – a real chance that his Presidency would make a break from the previous administration’s policies, particularly those that would be filed under the heading ‘War on Terror’.
Despite our optimism, we launched a 100 days campaign to ensure that Obama’s first 100 days in office delivered real human rights victories.
As you’ll no doubt remember, it started well – as he promised to close Guantanamo Bay, and he suspended military tribunals. But how did it end up? How will history look at Obama’s first 100 days through the lens of human rights? Well, you’ll just have to be patient, as it is only Day 98.
Make sure you pay a visit to these pages later this week, as we give a analysis of his first 100 days in full.
In the meantime, other commentators have some interesting things to say:
Gary Younge in The Guardian talks of people liking Obama more than they like his policies
A recent AP poll reveals that 48% of Americans believe the US is now headed in the right direction, up from just 17% in October last year.
The amusing but insightful 100 days, 100 ways article talks of how Obama is reshaping America. And of course there is the reaction to this with a blogger outlined his percieved 100 days, 100 mistakes.
And finally, The Huffington Post has set out some challenges for his next 100 days.
Interestingly, there seems to be little mention of his decisions on torture and Guantanamo. Have you come across any interesting reviews of Obama’s first 100 days? Any that comment on human rights issues? Do post them below…
As the dust starts to settle on the White House following the whirlwind of activity since Obama’s inauguration, it is easier to take stock of what’s actually happened.
However, whilst this is being celebrated, the conversation on ProtectTheHuman.com is also buzzing around the possible cracks in the new administration that need to be looked at. For example, a Jack Bauer exception which may provide loopholes to the ban on torture - although there are many bloggers who discredit this and put their faith firmly in Obama. The question of ‘when is torture torture and when is it a technique?’ still seems to haunt US authorities.
It’s important to keep positive about the steps that have been taken towards creating a much more human rights friendly US – but remember to keep your eyes peeled and ProtectTheHuman.com updated with all the latest so that we can keep pushing the new administration in the right direction.
We’ve got a great widget for you. it will update you daily with some new simple actions you can take to help spread the word about our 100 Days campaign.
it’s loading up there… wait one more second…
and voila… the widget is here for your to catch and add to your blog, facebook, Myspace, and more.
Thank you for spreading the word and let me know what you think about it.
It’s been a long time coming but Protect The Human finally has its very own blog. This is where you’ll be able to find all of the latest news and activity that we’ve spotted on the site. We’ll also be using the blog to keep you updated on our campaigns and pointing out the most exciting things you can get involved with online. More importantly this blog will be tracking our experiments in campaigning online, particularly in social media, and ensuring that we’re as transparent as possible.
If this sounds good, then make sure you add the blog to your regular reads; you can find a helpful subscribe button just up there to the right.
The blog launches the day after a new President comes into office in the US, and thus it makes sense to use this first update to talk about what’s happening online in President Obama’s first 100 days.
After 7 years of Guantanamo and human rights abuses conducted as part of the ‘war on terror’ we hope that Obama will deliver the change he has promised. At Amnesty we have three challenges we want him to achieve; Announce a plan and date to close Guantánamo; ban torture and other ill-treatment as defined under international law; and ensure that an independent commission on US “war on terror” abuses is set up.
Obama has gotten off to a great start by calling for a suspension of all military tribunals in Guantanamo, but we still need to make sure he acts on his campaign promises and sparks a real change in US policies on human rights in the war on terror. Here is a short list of the first things you can do online to help out:
This blog is where we (Amnesty UK’s webteam) will be keeping you up to date with the latest news about ProtectTheHuman.com and our other online activities.
We’ll also be using this blog to discuss our ongoing adventures in using social media for campaigning, so expect stats and insights to be coming this way soon.
Yesterday was President Obama’s 100th day in office, giving many commentators the opportunity to summarise his achievements to date.
It was 98 days ago that I sat with other Amnesty staff to watch a truly historical event: the inauguration of Barack Obama. As human rights campaigners, there was a sense of genuine excitement that hadn’t existed for many years – a real chance that his Presidency would make a break from the previous administration’s policies, particularly those that would be filed under the heading ‘War on Terror’.
and let me know what you think about it.