A girl at the demonstration on Pearl roundabout, Manama, Bahrain, 21 February 2011 © Amnesty International

As protests, uprisings, crackdowns and armed attacks continue across the Middle East and North Africa, we bring you up to date on events from a human rights perspective.

Libya
As the conflict in Libya rages on between Colonel al-Gaddafi’s forces, armed rebels based in Benghazi and international forces attacking from the air, we have issued a Q&A examining the human rights issues at stake.

Our crisis researcher based in Libya, Donatella Rovera, has published a new blog in which she describes how the situation has significantly deteriorated in Benghazi and elsewhere in eastern Libya in the past few days. You can also read our press team’s most recent blogs about Libya.

We have also issued a public statement calling on the Libyan authorities to release four Al Jazeera journalists held incommunicado since they were detained while trying to leave the country two weeks ago.

Hundreds of thousands of people are fleeing violence and persecution in Libya and desperately seeking safety in neighbouring countries. Take action to protect refugees fleeing Libya.

UK arms might have played a role in the brutal crackdown in Libya and elsewhere in the region. Write to the foreign secretary to call for a robust arms trade treaty.

Bahrain
We have urged the Bahraini authorities to ensure the safety of people participating in peaceful protests and of all detainees after allegations of torture by demonstrators.

We have also called for the immediate release of eight prominent Bahraini opposition activists who were arrested following a violent dispersal of demonstrators in Manama. The eight activists, mainly leading members of Shi’a opposition groups prominent in the ongoing protests for reform, were arrested last Thursday in armed raids on their homes. The security forces did not produce arrest warrants and the authorities have not revealed where the detainees have been taken, or allowed them access to lawyers or their families.

Read our report on Bahrain – Bloodied but unbowed, or read our press team’s blog posts about this country.

Egypt
We have issued a statement calling on Egyptian authorities to investigate serious allegations of torture, including forced ‘virginity tests’, inflicted by the army on women protesters arrested in Tahrir Square earlier this month.

Egyptians have strongly backed constitutional changes that will allow the country to move quickly on to elections since the resignation of President Mubarak in February. Official results show that 77% of voters in Saturday’s referendum backed the changes. Pro-democracy activists said the changes did not go far enough.

Yemen
We have called on Yemen to stop its security forces using excessive force as protesters and journalists continue to be attacked at peaceful demonstrations around the country, and targeted in ‘night raids’ and sniper attacks.

Syria
We have called on Syrian authorities to launch an independent investigation into the deaths of at least six anti-government protesters during continuing unrest in the southern city of Dera’a. Protestors were calling for political freedoms, an end to corruption and the release of political prisoners. Scores more have been injured by bullets and tear gas and many more have been detained.

When we started talking about the sleepout action last month, I was honestly not quite sure what to expect.

Were students going to brave the cold to sleep out in the streets? Would they manage to raise awareness about the right to work for asylum seekers? Would more MPs come on board and sign the declaration which gives asylum seekers the right to work?

The answer was YES!

Students slept out on the streets all over the UK. In total 32 sleepouts were held from Plymouth to Aberdeen and many towns in between. Stories were reported in the local press, as for the Manchester sleepout, and… the declaration was signed by 20 more MPs!!

All of this was possible thanks to some amazing young activists from Amnesty UK and STAR (Student Action for Refugees). They put a massive amount of energy into raising awareness of the issues facing asylum seekers in the UK. They invited speakers from various refugee organisations to the sleepout nights, and also got asylum seekers to come and share their stories with people.

I personally went to my first sleepout in London.  It was a truly inspiring evening where I met lots of people working to improve the situation of asylum seekers in the UK. I  had  a conversation with Patson Mazua from the Zimbabwe Association. He told me how hard it is to live as an asylum seeker and how important it is to try to change the current situation regarding the right to work.  I was also impressed by the emotional street performance given by the Hidden Theatre.

Here’s a short clip about the night in London:

Want to find out more or help with our campaign?

www.amnesty.org.uk/refugees

www.facebook.com/studentsleepouts2011

www.protectthehuman.com/tags/sleepout2011

We still need to get a large number of MPs on board, so check today if your local MP has signed our declaration.

Towards the end of February, between the 21st and 27th, around 1000 Amnesty and STAR activists will be taking to the streets with their sleeping bags and spending an uncomfortable night on the pavement. We’re doing this to highlight the plight of asylum seekers who are refused the right to work in the UK and, as a result, forced into poverty and destitution.

The groups sleeping out will also be asking their MPs to get behind proposals for more sensible rules on permission to work for asylum seekers. Specifically those who have been waiting for more than six months for their cases to be concluded, or have been refused asylum but cannot be returned, should be allowed to work.

Allowing these vulnerable people to work would reduce the burden on the taxpayer and allow them to support themselves and their families while contributing to the economy.

You can grab everything you need to hold your own sleep out here, or find your nearest sleepout on the map below and join them (even just to take them a flask of hot tea!).

If you can’t make it to one of the events, don’t worry, there’s plenty of warmer ways to support the sleepouts:

1. Take action and email your MP asking them to support the declaration.

2. Take a look at the map below to find your nearest sleep out and send them a message of support via Facebook or Twitter

3. Join the Sleep Out Facebook group

We’ll also be braving the cold in London and joining our courageous street sleepers, you can follow our adventure on Twitter on the night.

‘The Container play is performed to just 28 audience members who are locked inside a shipping container, providing the vivid experience asylum seekers must endure to reach our country. ’

 Literally enclosed in a metal container situated on The Cut outside the Young Vic theatre, you are not just being performed to, you are part of the performance- sharing the space with the actors  in such intensely close proximity that you forget it’s a play and become enthralled in their stories.

All the characters are refugees journeying in a lorry to Britain, but they are all from different countries – as the play unfolds, their stories and reasons for risking their lives to come to Britain become more distinct, from escaping the Taliban to wanting to be with family.  Its a very powerful reminder that refugees are not just a homogeneous group 

The sense of danger is palpable throughout the play, as the characters constantly fear their volatile agent, being found by police and worse – being sent back to where they have escaped from. Whilst all of the characters’ stories involve desperation and grief, perhaps the most tragic part is their hope of being treated well in England - which as we all know is sadly not always the case. 

True to life, some of the characters disclose more about their past than others.  Not to ruin the story for you, if you get to see the play - which I would highly recommend -  but there is an incredible performance by a young girl who plays the part of a Somali refugee with a heartbreaking backstory. Her youth puts a different spin on the play, emphasising her defencelessness and again hitting home the range of people who become refugees. 

So in conclusion, if you are up for a unforgettably powerful performance – or ’experience’ - which explores refugees’ issues, go and see the play for yourself. If you can’t see the play, you can always find out more about refugees and asylum and take action to end the destitution of refused asylum seekers on the Amnesty Refugee and Asylum page