Human rights beyond reposting social media trends 
UTM’s Amnesty International chapter shares how it aims to allow students to engage with human rights beyond social media stories.

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Are we aware of what human rights actually mean? Or is it just a trending story we post and forget the next day?

For Natalie Khallouf, human rights is more than a post—it was her driving force to start a chapter of Amnesty International, first at her high school and now at UTM. 

What is Amnesty International?

Amnesty International is a global movement of more than 10 million people working toward a world where human rights are enjoyed by everyone, independent of any political ideology, economic interest, or religion. Their mission is deeply rooted in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, with core values like international solidarity and impartiality. The UTM chapter is a small, student-run piece of this larger picture. 

Amnesty International at UTM aims to exist as an extension of a global name. It strives to make human rights something students can actually connect to, and not something that merely lives as a trendy topic. 

“We’re a student-run human rights and social justice club at UTM,” Khallouf, president of Amnesty UTM, explained. “We host campaigns, events, fundraisers, petitions and advocacy initiatives; we’re working to create positive change on campus and beyond.”

Within the first few weeks of the fall semester, the club has tabled consistently to connect with more people and spread awareness for human rights on campus. 

Amnesty UTM Vice President Salaar Khan shared that on Truth and Reconciliation Day, “A lot of students were able to learn more about the importance and history of Canada and the Indigenous Communities.” The club members wore orange shirts to commemorate the day.

A space for every cause and every student

Khallouf and her fellow executives aim for Amnesty UTM to be a safe space, not just for the causes they advocate for, but for the people who show up to support them. She wants students to find others who share the same idea of humanity, and who are willing to act on it, not just talk about it.

This philosophy extends to how the club positions itself politically. Amnesty UTM operates as completely impartial, committed to prioritizing human rights over political and social divides. It’s a deliberate choice, one that lets the club speak to a wider range of students without being boxed into a single ideological corner. 

Khallouf said, “It’s about making [students] belong to a community that does something meaningful for others.” 

Khan shared that the response on campus so far has been surprising for the team. Many people expressed that UTM had never had a club like this, and the campus needed it. Students on campus appreciate the initiative and have been keen on getting involved with the campaigns and events Amnesty UTM is set to bring.

Signing and sending petitions

Petitions are a core part of the club’s work, and they run year-round. Khallouf shared that the club keeps an ongoing rotation of petitions for causes that matter. Its current flagship campaign calls for safe, portable drinking water for Indigenous communities. 

The method of delivery for petitions that the club may run from time to time may vary. Some are signed on paper, while others are submitted online. Physical petitions can be entered onto an online platform by the club’s team, or passed along to Amnesty Canada’s office when they come from there.

One of the biggest events Amnesty UTM is planning for this year is “Write for Rights,” Amnesty International’s annual global campaign. 

Each year, around International Human Rights Day, Amnesty International highlights around ten human rights cases from around the world, and groups everywhere write letters, sign petitions, and send solidarity messages for the people involved. 

Whichever format is used to raise a voice, the idea is the same: numbers. Khallouf explained, “It shows the governments that the people are not oblivious to what’s going on. And it holds [the governments] accountable for what they’ve done.”

The more signatures a petition collects, the more people participate, and the more pressure it puts on governments to act. As a former participant, Kallouf shared that supporting the cause feels like exerting “mass pressure [on the government] and you feel like you’re a part of something much bigger.”

Amnesty UTM functions as a platform as much as a club, a space where students’ voices are meant to matter and people can speak openly about the issues they care about without fear of judgment.

The club reminds us that making real differences in human rights requires consistent efforts. As the school year continues, the Amnesty UTM club plans to bring in more events, charity fundraisers, and petitions that will help students connect and make an impact. 

Students can look forward to a food and clothing drive in the coming weeks, along with a soccer fundraiser.

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