Welcome
Founded in 1972, Group 11 of Amnesty International USA (AIUSA), based in Manhattan’s Upper West Side, has been at the forefront of the struggle to protect human rights for decades. We accomplish our mission by writing letters and postcards; signing petitions; tabling at Grand Central Station, street fairs and other events; contacting members of Congress and federal agencies and presenting our positions to foreign government missions in New York and Washington.
Monthly Meetings
Group 11 meets on the fourth Tuesday of each month at 6:30 pm at the Goddard-Riverside Community Center, 647 Columbus between 91st and 92nd Streets
Next meeting: “Write for Rights”, Wed, January 15, 2025 6:30pm
Meetings are located at the Goddard-Riverside Community Center, 593 Columbus Avenue between 88th and 89th Streets. Enter on Columbus Avenue and ask for the Art Room. At these meetings we review the cases and campaigns we are working on, sign prepared letters and petitions on them and discuss current human rights situations. We often have a guest speaker on a pressing human rights issue.
Prospective members are always welcome to our meetings, but we would appreciate hearing in advance if you wish to attend a meeting. You can let us know and also obtain more information about Group 11 by signing up below.
Stay in touch! Subscribe to our meeting announcements (see bottom of page) for updates on upcoming meetings and current cases.
Letter-Writing Campaign
Group 11 members have engaged in a monthly letter-writing campaigns for decades. You can find our latest letters by clicking here.
Featured Letter – Iran
The recently imposed harsh sentence of Narges Mohammadi, a human rights activist, to 80 lashes, 30 months of imprisonment, and two monetary fines for filing a complaint against the prison director for a beating she received inside the Evin Prison is a blatant violation of Iran’s obligations under international law.
Group 11 is on Youtube
Enjoy streams from our video library, including benefit concerts and presentations to the group.
Special Discussion on Human Rights in Iran at the October Meeting
At the October 22 meeting of Group 11, Barry Rosen, a member of Group 11 and a former hostage in Iran, led a discussion of the state of human rights in Iran and its role in the Middle East. He was one of the 52 American hostages in Iran for 444 days when he was the press attache at the U.S. Embassy in Iran from 1979-81. In the last 45 years Barry has been engaged in speaking out and actively attempting to cajole international organizations to act in unity against Iran’s “hostage diplomacy.” During the negotiations for the nuclear agreement in Vienna, Mr. Rosen went on a hunger strike to free American hostages held in Iran. He was able to get a strong commitment from U.S. negotiators that American hostages will not be forgotten.
On October 22, Mr. Rosen spoke about the human rights figures held in Iran, including Narges Mohammadi, Nasrin Sotudeh, Niloofar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi, the two journalists who reported on Mahsa Amini’s death. He addressed the issues of summary executions of more than 87 Iranians reportedly executed in July, the torture, the arrest and detention and activists and attorneys as well as the disproportionate punishment and sexual assault charges involving women and the extreme treatment of minorities—from Kurdistan to Baluchistan. He also discussed the role of the Islamic Republic of Iran and its proxies as the Middle East is on the verge of regional war.
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49th Annual Benefit Concert
Our 2024 benefit concert was held Sun, Nov. 17, 2024. Full program notes thanks to Marcia Eckert.
