'Animals' take to streets over human rights abuses

Amnesty International activists promote their cause on Queen St. Photo / Kenny Rodger

A group of "animals" came out in central Auckland yesterday to protest on behalf of humans.

The aim was to raise awareness of Amnesty International's Freedom Week, the organisation's annual street appeal, said protest spokeswoman Pui-yi Cheng.

Ten people dressed as farm animals highlighted the issue of rising human rights abuses around the world.

"New Zealanders are really good at standing up for animal rights, so animals came out in a role reversal to stand up for human rights," Ms Cheng said. "There was a pretty good, positive response and we got a few donations, so it went well."

Freedom Week runs from August 2 to 8, and Amnesty International NZ chief executive Patrick Holmes said it was a chance for New Zealanders to celebrate the freedoms they enjoyed every day. He said 2009 was proving to be a bad year for human rights.

"Besides the economic crisis, the world is faced with a human rights crisis in the form of increasing violations from Gaza to Suva, from Tehran to Sri Lanka," he said. "In these difficult economic times, many of us face tougher circumstances, but in New Zealand we're incredibly fortunate to have the freedom to live and express ourselves."