Human rights come under the spotlight in Oxford this week when members of Amnesty International mark the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights, writes ROY COOPER.

A film festival is being staged in the city and members of the Oxford branch will be attending a conference in Westminster Central Hall in London on Friday and Saturday.

The conference will also feature New York singer Suzanne Vega, who is an activist for Amnesty International.

In December, top Oxfordshire rockers Radiohead will also be backing Amnesty International - by heading a massive Paris concert, the largest human rights concert anywhere in the world in a decade.

A spokesman for the band said: "The Amnesty International Human Rights concert in Paris will be our only European appearance this year. "We hope that this is an effective way to support Amnesty International in their positive work to promote the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights."

Also appearing at the Paris concert will be Alanis Morissette, Asian Dub Foundation, Peter Gabriel and Tracy Chapman. The concert is on December 10. the anniversary will be marked in Oxford by a march on December 5.

From Friday until October 22, a short season of films will be shown at the Human Rights film festival at the Phoenix Picture House, Oxford.

The festival aims to explore different aspects of human rights and will include the Oxford premiere of Men With Guns, directed by John Sayles and starring Federico Luppi and Mandy Patinkin. See the panel for details.

For details of local Amnesty events, ring Cait Morrison on 01865 721537.

Human Rights Film Festival Phoenix Picture House, Walton Street, Oxford, October 16-22. (This short season of films will be marking Amnesty's Get Up, Sign Up campaign).

Men With Guns

(Oct 16-22 4pm, 9.15pm)

Death and the Maiden

(Oct 16, 11.30pm)

Fahrenheit 451

(Oct 17, 11.30pm)

The Conformist

(Oct 18, 2pm)

The Battle of Algiers

(Oct 22 1.30pm and 6.30pm)

STAR SUZANNE DOES HER BIT

Suzanne Vega, who has just released Tried and True: The Best of Suzanne Vega, is a strong supporter of Amnesty International.

She will perform a short set of songs at Westminster Central Hall on Friday and speak at the conference the next day.

In an exclusive interview with the Oxford Mail, she spoke of how she became involved with Amnesty, her memories of Oxford and how her daughter Ruby has changed her life.

Speaking from her home in New York, Suzanne, famous for songs like Marlene on the Wall, Luka, and Tom's Diner, said: "My involvement goes back ten years when I was asked by Peter Gabriel to join the Human Rights Now tour with Peter Gabriel, Sting and Bruce Springsteen. I agreed, but sadly found myself dropped from the line-up."

Despite the setback, she has worked for them since, allowing Amnesty stalls at her concerts.

The singer, whose hit Luka deals with child abuse, also campaigns for the British-based group Children's Human Rights. She is looking forward to visiting England again this week, after a series of memorable tours.

The 39-year-old recalls her concert at the Oxford Apollo in 1986. "Oxford is a beautiful city with lots of rivers and canals. I walked around a lot and visited the book shops which were wonderful."

Playing Glastonbury in 1989 proved more memorable, however, after someone issued a death threat against her. She ended up playing strapped into a bullet proof vest which was three sizes too big.

Four years ago, her life changed when her daughter Ruby was born. Ruby's father is record producer Mitchell Froom, who produced Suzanne's two last albums and has also worked with Crowded House, Elvis Costello and Chrissie Hynde.

She says: "I take Ruby to school in the morning and the day begins and ends with her. She's my little anchor."

Her next step? Promoting the new retrospective album with a short European tour and then publishing a book of essays, poems, lyrics and fiction.

Suzanne's star sign is Cancer and she says: "Yes, I'm a pretty typical Cancer, moody, sensitive, protective and crabby."

*Suzanne is playing London's Shepherds Bush Empire on October 20, and will be performing at the BBC Radio Theatre in Broadcasting House the day before. The BBC concert will be transmitted on Radio 2 on October 24.

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