Tell President Obama to release Shaker Aamer

I am painfully familiar with the realities of being held without charge. When I began to speak out against discrimination and segregation under the apartheid policies of my native South Africa in the early 1980s, I was targeted by my own government. I was first held in solitary confinement in local police cells and later transferred to the North End Prison in Port Elizabeth, where I spent three and a half months. It was upon leaving prison that I understood the power of international advocacy: My release was secured in part with the help of a worldwide letter writing campaign spearheaded by Amnesty International.

Commitments like this from complete strangers to fight for everyone's rights reassure detainees that they are not forgotten and remind human rights violators that their actions are not hidden. They also bring public pressure on officials who would rather keep human rights abuses quiet, and frequently lead to action that would have been impossible in the absence of such attention.

Aamer's case deserves that kind of spotlight. Unlike many other detainees at Guantánamo, no one in a position of authority is willing to say why he's still in custody. Aggravated by the conditions of his confinement and alleged torture, his health has deteriorated over the years. He suffers from diabetes, extreme kidney pain and arthritis.

In the wake of the 9/11 attacks, we all seek justice as well as security from future violence. But justice and security come from upholding human rights and the rule of law. Under the certification process for transfers of detainees and the national security waiver to that process that exists in current U.S. law, Aamer could and should be on his way home today. Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, wrote a letter to the White House explaining that the national security waiver was intended to provide "a clear route for the transfer of detainees to third countries in appropriate cases, i.e., to make sure the certification requirements do not constitute an effective prohibition" on transfers.

Every year on Human Rights Day, hundreds of thousands of people take action on behalf of someone they have never met by writing to government officials and individuals at risk and demanding that human rights be respected. It might be hard to believe that in 2013 something as modest as writing a letter can change a life, but sometimes just a glimmer of hope, or the hint of a spotlight, can make a world of difference. My own experience and work has led me to understand the immense power of such simple acts.

As the Board Chair of Amnesty International USA, I, too, will be sitting down this month with pen and paper to engage in an act of letter-writing, as part of our annual Write for Rights campaign. I will be writing to tell the world the truth about Aamer. I remember my own struggle, the impact those letters had on my case and how meaningful they were for me.

It is absolutely vital that we let the world's governments know that we will not stand by idly and, more importantly, that we let Aamer and other unlawfully held prisoners around the world know that we care. This December, join activists from around the world to make your voice is heard, and tell President Obama to return Shaker Aamer to the UK.