ACT NOW is a
human rights
Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...
campaign group founded by former British humanitarian aid workers from
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
against human rights abuses towards
Tamil people
The Tamil people, also known as Tamilar ( ta, தமிழர், Tamiḻar, translit-std=ISO, in the singular or ta, தமிழர்கள், Tamiḻarkaḷ, translit-std=ISO, label=none, in the plural), or simply Tamils (), are a Dravi ...
.
History
ACT NOW campaigned for a ceasefire against Tamil internment and later led an international boycott campaign until in Sri Lanka to end human rights abuses against Tamil people. It is headed by director
Tim Martin a former Aid worker and assistant director Sockalingam Yogalingam. It also raises and sends aid to Tamils in Sri Lanka
The campaign oversaw the launch of the Mercy Mission to Vanni Aid ship and took part in the
2009 Tamil protests. ACT NOW has received the support of 55 British MPs and Members of the European Parliament.
Public figures including
Bob Geldof
Robert Frederick Zenon Geldof (; born 5 October 1951) is an Irish singer-songwriter, and political activist. He rose to prominence in the late 1970s as lead singer of the Rock music in Ireland, Irish rock band the Boomtown Rats, who achieved ...
,
Joanna Lumley
Dame Joanna Lamond Lumley (born 1 May 1946) is an English actress, presenter, former model, author, television producer, and activist. She has won two BAFTA TV Awards for her role as Patsy Stone in the BBC sitcom ''Absolutely Fabulous'' (1992 ...
,
Brian May
Brian Harold May (born 19 July 1947) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and astrophysicist, who achieved worldwide fame as the lead guitarist of the rock band Queen (band), Queen. May was a co-founder of Queen with lead singer Fredd ...
,
M.I.A.,
Massive Attack
Massive Attack are an English trip hop collective formed in 1988 in Bristol by Robert "3D" Del Naja, Adrian "Tricky" Thaws, Andrew "Mushroom" Vowles and Grant "Daddy G" Marshall.
The debut Massive Attack album ''Blue Lines'' was release ...
,
Sian Evans
Sian Evans is a Welsh singer. Throughout the 2000s, she was front woman and singer-songwriter of the band Kosheen, a trip-hop/drum & bass group that, during that decade, placed two albums within the Top Ten of the UK Albums Chart. She has also ...
,
Chris Steel
Christopher James Steel (born 15 May 1986) is an Australian politician. He has been a Labor member of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly since 2016, representing the electorate of Murrumbidgee and currently serves as a Cabi ...
,
Jasmine Guinness
Jasmine Leonora Guinness (born 28 September 1976) is an Irish designer and a fashion model active since 1994. She is also an Beneficiary, heiress to the Guinness family, Guinness brewing fortune.
Personal life
She is the daughter of Patrick Gui ...
, and
Jade Parfitt have supported ACT NOW's campaign for Tamil victims.
References
External links
ACT NOW Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Act Now
Human rights in Sri Lanka
Imprisonment and detention
Human rights organisations based in the United Kingdom