One year later: #BringBackOurGirls

One year later:  #BringBackOurGirls

Dear Tracy, Last April, the armed group Boko Haram shocked the world when it kidnapped 276 schoolgirls from their school in Chibok, Nigeria. Boko Haram continues to terrorize the people of Nigeria through killings, bombings, abductions and looting. They have pillaged villages and attacked churches, mosques, schools and homes. They've greatly damaged health, education and other public services in northeastern Nigeria. Amnesty investigators interviewed 189 eyewitnesses to the brutal violence, including women and girls who escaped captivity. We spoke with lawyers, journalists, government and military officials, and we gathered video, photo and satellite images to corroborate what we learned. Today - on the anniversary of the schoolgirls' kidnapping - we're releasing information that reveals the dimensions of this ongoing threat to human rights in Nigeria and lays out the steps needed to end it. Please donate to support our work defending human rights in Nigeria and all countries where people are suffering abuse and violence. With a new President recently elected, the Nigerian government must fulfill its obligation to safeguard civilians and to fully investigate crimes against humanity and war crimes committed by Boko Haram and by the Nigerian military. In the United States, Amnesty International and other groups are engaged in activities to make sure that neither the girls abducted from Chibok nor the hundreds of others kidnapped from other villages are forgotten. We are working together to try to shape U.S. policy toward Nigeria to more effectively address human rights issues in the country. Please donate to support our efforts to protect the people of Nigeria from Boko Haram and all who violate human rights. Thank you for your support. Sincerely, Adotei Akwei Managing Director of Government Relations Amnesty International USA