Campaigns supported by Sarah

On this page you can find information about NGOs and campaigns currently supported by Sarah, links to recent related press releases and to campaign websites. Please use the drop-down menu below, or scroll down.

NGOs

Justice

Sarah is Vice Chair of Justice, an all-party, law reform and human rights organisation. Justice works to improve the legal system and the quality of justice, in particular by: promoting human rights; improving the legal system and access to justice; improving criminal justice; raising standards of EU justice and home affairs. Sarah is also Liberal Democrat European Justice Spokesperson and an active member of the European Parliament's Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

Liberty

Sarah is a council member of Liberty, a campaign group which believes in a society based on the democratic participation of all its members and the principles of justice, openness, the right to dissent and respect for diversity. Liberty aims to secure the equal rights of everyone (as long as they do not infringe the rights and freedoms of others) and oppose any abuse or excessive power by the state against its people. Sarah is a leading campaigner for the protection of civil liberties and fundamental freedoms, including through her work on the European Parliament's Civil Liberties Committee and as Vice-Chair of the Anti-Racism and Diversity Intergroup.

No torture, no compromise. .

Data retention deal will erode citizens' trust. .

European Reform Campaigns

Send2Women

Sarah supports the send2women campaign, which recognises the high importance of having a gender balance in the top EU posts. There will probably be four top EU jobs to be filled: the President of the European Council, the President of the Commission, the President of the European Parliament and the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. However, every one of the potential candidates named to date is male. The send2women campaign calls for the appointment of at least one woman to the top four posts. If you agree that it is important that in the 21st century the EU is representative of the population it serves then do sign the online petition.

send2women.

One Seat

Sarah supports the campaign to end the practise of maintaining two official parliamentary seats for the European Union.

Sarah signs up for one seat in European Parliament! .

Roof must fall in permanently on Strasbourg .

MEPs: "Scrap Strasbourg - one seat is enough!".

Mission Statement for the European Union

The negative referenda results in 2005 on the European Constitution sparked much discussion. Members of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) in the Committee of the Regions believe that the fundamental problem lies in the fact that for an increasing number of Europeans, the purpose of the European Union in the 21st century is not clear. A Mission Statement for the European Union has thus been drafted which would allow the EU to state clearly what its purpose is, without depending on the outcome of the Constitution.

Guantanamo Bay

Sarah has repeatedly called for the closure of the legal black hole that is Camp Delta at Guantanamo Bay, calling it both a scandal and a setback in the fight against terrorism. Sarah is Vice-Chair of the European Parliament committee investigating CIA torture flights in Europe.

Court ruling releasing Uighur Guantanamo detainees welcomed.

Closing Guantanamo - Congressional leader accepts Brussels invitation.

Guantanamo prisoners must not be trapped by inaction.

UK MEP urges Canada to repatriate its 'Guantanamo' citizen.

MEPs call on EU to take lead on Guantanamo resettlement.

US Court halt to Guantanamo prisoner transfer recognises dangers.

Europe must help resettle Guantanamo prisoners.

Sarah at Guantanamo vigil.

London Guantanamo protest - MEP support.

Guantanamo must be on EU-US agenda.

Guantanamo suicides 'wake-up call' to EU governments.

Guantanamo Bay must close.

Euro-MP welcomes request for al-Rawi release.

Other Campaigns

Consumer Pact

In support of the European Consumers' Organisation (BEUC), Sarah Ludford MEP has signed a pact help win back consumer confidence. The pact covers the eight areas of energy and sustainability, financial services, consumer contracts, food, the digital world, health, safety and group action.

To read more visit http://www.consumerpact.eu/

You can read the pact here.

Control Arms

Lack of controls on the international arms trade fuels conflict, poverty and human rights abuses worldwide. Every government is responsible. The Control Arms campaign is asking governments to toughen up controls on the arms trade. Sarah signed the Control Arms petition in March 2006, and has been urging Londoners to join her in adding their face to the "million faces" petition ever since. Recently in 2008 Sarah signed up to the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) Parliamentary declaration. The ATT will help to prevent irresponsible transfers of conventional weapons

UK sets poor example on EU arms sales corruption. .

A million faces against the arm trade.

Euro-MP joins million faces fighting arms trade.

Embargoed!

Embargoed! is a human rights group campaigning to bring an immediate and unconditional end to all embargoes against the people of North Cyprus. Embargoed! thus aims to restore the fundamental political, economic and social rights of all North Cypriots. Sarah campaigns vigorously for the EU to honour its commitments by providing aid for economic development in North Cyprus and is calling for an immediate end to the isolation of Turkish Cypriots.

Cyprus elections offer chance to restart talks.

European LibDems press EU governments on Turkish-Cypriot isolation.

Cyprus: resolving property issues to build confidence. .

EU north Cyprus aid 'better late than never' .

Failure to act on Northern Cyprus damages EU credibility.

End HIV Discrimination

The EU is set to negotiate with the United States the extension of US visa waiver (visa-free travel) to the citizens of all EU countries instead of just some. But since 1993 the US government has denied visa waiver to people with HIV or AIDS and made the obtaining of any visa very difficult and laden with conditions.

Sarah believes this is discriminatory and lacking in any objective justification. The aim of the 'End HIV Discrimination' petition is to persuade the European Commission, governments of the 27 EU member states and MEPs that abolition of HIV/AIDS discrimination should be included in those EU visa negotiations with the United States. Please sign the petition today, and add your voice to the campaign to allow people with HIV or AIDs to lead lives free of unjustified discrimination.

Sign the petition against HIV discrimination.

Fair Trials Abroad

Sarah is a patron of Fair Trials International which seeks to help citizens from the European Union accused of a crime in a country other than their own, to assert their rights to due administration of justice. Sarah fights for EU citizens facing miscarriages of justice and has successfully campaigned for the release of wrongfully detained constituents.

Last Londoner in Guantanamo must get fair trial or freedom .

London MEP fights for release of British citizen held in Azerbaijan. .

Gary McKinnon

Gary McKinnon was indicted in 2002 on charges of hacking into United States' Military computer networks, and is currently fighting an extradition request in the European Court of Human Rights. Sarah has written to the Home Secretary in support of McKinnon against being extradited to the USA, on the grounds that he is a sufferer of Asperger's syndrome, and committed the alleged crimes in the U.K.

Letter from Sarah and Chris Huhne MP.

McKinnon Should Be Tried Here. .

Gurkha Justice Campaign

Sarah supports the Gurkha Justice Campaign, demanding that the Gurkhas are granted the same status as UK and Commonwealth soldiers and their families. This includes the automatic right to settle in the UK and fair pension settlements for Gurkha veterans. Please sign the online petition to express your support for the Gurkhas.

Sign the online petition here.

Sarah supports Gurkha justice.

ILGA-Europe's 2009 European Election Pledge

Sarah has signed the ILGA-Europe 2009 European Election pledge to promote equality and to combat discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression. You can the pledges in detail at the link below:

Ilga-Europe 2009 European Election Pledge.

Irrepressible.info

Efforts to try and control the Internet are growing. Internet repression is reported in countries like China, Vietnam, Tunisia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Syria. People are persecuted and imprisoned simply for criticising their government, calling for democracy and greater press freedom, or exposing human rights abuses, online. IT companies have helped build the systems that enable surveillance and censorship to take place. Sarah is supporting Amnesty International's Irrepressible.info campaign to show that online or offline, the human voice and human rights are impossible to repress.

Irrepressible.info website.

Moscow Pride

Sarah is a supporter of the campaign against the systematic breach of the right to freedom of assembly for the LGBT community in Russia by the Russian government. Since May 2006 Russian officials have banned 167 public events that LGBT communities had planned across the country.

Ahead of the planned 2009 Moscow Pride event, Sarah has co-signed a letter from several MEPs requesting that the Russian government enter a dialogue with the organisers of Moscow Pride to ensure that the event, planned for May 16th, can be conducted in accordance with the Russian constitution and the European Human Rights Convention (ECHR).

One Hour Bus Ticket

Sarah has signed the petition in suppor of Lib Dem London Assembley Member Caroline Pidgeon's recently launched campaign for a one hour bus ticket in London. The proposal is that when bus passengers touch in with their Oyster cards, they can make unlimited additional bus journeys in the next 60 minutes without further deductions from their card. Similar schemes are in place in Paris, Brussels and Rome - so why not London?

Please sign the petition at the link below.

One Hour Bus Ticket for London.

One Million Signatures Demanding Changes to Discriminatory Laws

Sarah has signed a petition launched by a group of women's rights activists in Iran demanding changes to discriminatory laws against women.

The 'One Million Signatures Demanding Changes to Discriminatory Laws' campaign is a follow-up to the peaceful protest which took place in June in Tehran. The instigators point out that their demands for reform do not clash with Islamic law but call on the Iranian government to eliminate discrimination in accordance with its commitments under the UN Convention on Civil and Political Rights.

Demand changes to Iran's discriminatory laws. .

Polish Federation for Women and Family Planning

Sarah has signed up to add her voice in opposition to the initiative of the League of Polish Families (LPR) political party to totally ban the termination of pregnancy. This initiative creates a serious menace for all girls and women. The victims of rape, as well as women, who are conscious that the fetus is seriously and fatally damaged will be forced to give a birth. The pregnancy would not be even terminated if the life or health of a women is threatened.

Protect Innocent People's DNA

Sarah is supporting the Liberal Democrats' campaign against police retention of the DNA records of innocent people. Five times more people in the UK have their DNA records stored on central government records than in any other country in the world. Liberal Democrat home affairs spokespeople Lynne Featherstone and Nick Clegg have launched a petition on the party website.

Human rights court damns UK fingerprint and DNA storage .

Sign the petition against over-the-top DNA database.

'Say NO' to Child Sex Tourism

Every year thousands of European tourists travel to countries in Southeast Asia, South America and Africa with the specific intention of having sex with children, a shocking form of abuse and exploitation. The chance that offenders get caught is almost zero. That's why European Liberal Democrat MEPs including Sarah have initiated a campaign to "Say No" to child sex tourism. The online petition, which you can sign from 27th June, pleads for more powers for the European police agency Europol to fight sexual exploitation of children by Europeans travelling abroad.

"Say NO" to child sex tourism by signing the online petition here. .

Situation of child sex tourism in Cambodia and Thailand is alarming. More and more children are used as sex slaves. .

Read Sarah's full press release here.

Stop Corruption

Sarah supports the Stop Corruption campaign to get the EU to address the problem of corruption both in general, and through its relations with third world countries. High level corruption undermines the ability of developing countries to ensure the right to food, housing, health and education. This cross-party campaign urges the EU to put in place mechanisms to address the problems of bribery, embezzlement and money laundering that cause to poverty and conflict. Please join Sarah in signing the petition:

Stop Corruption.

The Big Trident Debate

Sarah is supporting The Big Trident Debate - calling on the government to facilitate a thorough national consultation to inform the decision-making process on the future of the UK's Trident nuclear weapons system. The Government must allocate sufficient time for a full Parliamentary debate, and the substantive decision on whether or not Britain retains nuclear weapons must be made by Parliament.

Sarah's letter to the Guardian regarding Trident.