Amnesty International (commonly known as Amnesty and AI) is an international non-governmental organisation A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted, non-governmental organization created by natural or legal persons with no participation or representation of any government. In the cases in which NGOs are funded totally or partially by governments, the NGO maintains its non-governmental status by excluding government representatives from. Its stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses Abuse is the improper usage or treatment for a bad purpose, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit, physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, sexual assault, violation, rape, unjust practices; wrongful practice or custom; offense; crime, or otherwise verbal aggression. Abuse can come in many forms of human rights Human rights are "rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled." Proponents of the concept usually assert that everyone is endowed with certain entitlements merely by reason of being human and to demand justice Justice is the concept of moral rightness based on ethics, rationality, law, natural law, religion, fairness, or equity, along with the punishment of the breach of said ethics for those whose rights have been violated."[2]

Founded in London in 1961, AI draws attention to human rights abuses and campaigns for compliance with international laws International law is the term commonly used for referring to laws that govern the conduct of independent nations in their relationships with one another. It differs from other legal systems in that it primarily concerns provinces rather than private citizens. However, the term "international law" can refer to three distinct legal and standards. It works to mobilise public opinion Public opinion is the aggregate of individual attitudes or beliefs held by the adult population. Public opinion can also be defined as the complex collection of opinions of many different people and the sum of all their views. The principle approaches to the study of public opinion may be divided into 4 categories: to exert pressure on governments that perpetrate abuses.[2] The organisation was awarded the 1977 Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel for its "campaign against torture",[3] and the United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights The United Nations Prizes in the Field of Human Rights were instituted by United Nations General Assembly resolution 2217 in 1966. They are intended to "honour and commend people and organizations which have made an outstanding contribution to the promotion and protection of the human rights embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human in 1978.

In the field of international human rights organisations (of which there were 300 in 1996),[4] Amnesty has the longest history and broadest name recognition, and "is believed by many to set standards for the movement as a whole."[4]

Contents

History

1960s

Amnesty International was founded in London in July 1961 by English labour lawyer Peter Benenson. According to his own account, he was travelling in the London Underground The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and neighbouring areas of Essex, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire in the UK. Despite the name, it is not the only underground railway to have been built in London - there was also the now defunct London Post Office Railway, Kingsway Tramway Subway and Tower on 19 November 1960, when he read of two Portuguese students from Coimbra Coimbra is a city in Coimbra Municipality in Portugal. It served as the country's capital during the first dynasty, in the High Middle Ages, and remains home to the University of Coimbra, established in 1290, the oldest academic institution in the Portuguese-speaking world and one of the oldest in Europe and the World who had been sentenced to seven years of imprisonment for allegedly "having drunk a toast to liberty".[a][5] In 1960, Portugal was the last remaining European colonial power Colonialism is the building and maintaining of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. Colonialism is a process whereby sovereignty over the colony is claimed by the metropole and social structure, government and economics within the territory of the colony are changed by the colonists. Colonialism is a certain set of unequal in Africa, ruled by the authoritarian Estado Novo Estado Novo (Portuguese for "New State", pronounced [ʃˈtadu ˈnovu]; also known as the Second Republic) is the name of the Portuguese authoritarian regime installed in 1933, following the army-led coup d'état of 28 May 1926 against the democratic First Republic. The "Estado Novo" ("New State"), greatly inspired by regime. Anti-regime conspiracies were vigorously repressed by the Portuguese state police and deemed anti-Portuguese. In his significant newspaper article "The Forgotten Prisoners", Benenson later described his reaction as follows: "Open your newspaper any day of the week and you will find a story from somewhere of someone being imprisoned, tortured or executed because his opinions or religion are unacceptable to his government [...] The newspaper reader feels a sickening sense of impotence. Yet if these feelings of disgust could be united into common action, something effective could be done."[6]

Benenson worked with friend Eric Baker Eric Baker was one of the founders of the human rights group Amnesty International and the second general secretary of the organisation. He was also a founder of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. Baker was a member of the Religious Society of Friends The Religious Society of Friends is a Christian religious movement, whose members are known as Friends or Quakers. The roots of this movement lie in 17th century English dissenters, but the movement has since branched out into many independent national and regional organizations, often called Yearly Meetings, which have a variety of names, beliefs who had been involved in funding the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament is an anti-nuclear organization that advocates unilateral nuclear disarmament by the United Kingdom, and for international nuclear disarmament and tighter international arms regulation through agreements such as the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. It opposes military action that may result in the use of as well as becoming head of Quaker Peace and Social Witness, and in his memoirs Benenson described him as "a partner in the launching of the project".[7] In consultation with other writers, academics and lawyers and, in particular, Alec Digges, they wrote via Louis Blom-Cooper to David Astor, editor of The Observer The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In about the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper newspaper, who, on 28 May 1961, published Benenson’s article "The Forgotten Prisoners". The article brought the reader’s attention to those "imprisoned, tortured or executed because his opinions or religion are unacceptable to his government"[6] or, put another way, to violations, by governments, of articles 18 and 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 10, 1948 at the Palais de Chaillot in Paris. The Declaration has been translated into at least 375 languages and dialects, making it the most widely translated document in the world. The Declaration arose directly from the(UDHR). The article described these violations occurring, on a global scale, in the context of restrictions to press freedom, to political oppositions, to timely public trial Public trial or open trial is a trial open to public, as opposed to the secret trial. The term should not be confused with show trial before impartial courts, and to asylum. It marked the launch of "Appeal for Amnesty, 1961", the aim of which was to mobilise public opinion, quickly and widely, in defence of these individuals, who Benenson named "Prisoners of Conscience". The "Appeal for Amnesty" was reprinted by a large number of international newspapers. In the same year Benenson had a book published, Persecution 1961, which detailed the cases of several prisoners of conscience Prisoner of conscience is a term coined by the human rights group Amnesty International in the early 1960s. It can refer to anyone imprisoned because of their race, religion, color, language, sexual orientation, belief, or lifestyle so long as they have not used or advocated violence. It also refers to those who have been imprisoned and/or investigated and compiled by Benenson and Baker.[8] In July 1961 the leadership had decided that the appeal would form the basis of a permanent organisation, which on 30 September 1962 was officially named 'Amnesty International' (Between the 'Appeal for Amnesty, 1961' and September 1962 the organisation had been known simply as 'Amnesty'.)[9]

What started as a short appeal soon became a permanent international movement working to protect those imprisoned for non-violent expression of their views and to secure worldwide recognition of Articles 18 and 19 of the UDHR. From the very beginning, research and campaigning were present in Amnesty International’s work. A library was established for information about prisoners of conscience and a network of local groups, called ‘THREES’ groups, was started. Each group worked on behalf of three prisoners, one from each of the then three main ideological regions of the world: communist, capitalist and developing Developing country is a term generally used to describe a nation with a low level of material well-being. Since no single definition of the term developed country is recognized internationally, the levels of development may vary widely within so-called developing countries, with some developing countries having high average standards of living.

By the mid-1960s Amnesty International’s global presence was growing and an International Secretariat and International Executive Committee was established to manage Amnesty International’s national organisations, called ‘Sections’, which had appeared in several countries. The international movement was starting to agree on its core principles and techniques. For example, the issue of whether or not to adopt prisoners who had advocated violence, like Nelson Mandela Bantustan · District Six · Robben Island , brought unanimous agreement that it could not give the name of 'Prisoner of Conscience' to such prisoners. Aside from the work of the library and groups, Amnesty International’s activities were expanding to helping prisoner’s families, sending observers to trials, making representations to governments, and finding asylum or overseas employment for prisoners. Its activity and influence was also increasing within intergovernmental organisations; it would be awarded consultative status by the United Nations, the Council of Europe The Council of Europe is one of the oldest international organisations working towards European integration, having been founded in 1949. It has a particular emphasis on legal standards, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation. It has 47 member states with some 800 million citizens. It is distinct from the and UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations established on 16 November 1945. Its stated purpose is to contribute to peace and security by promoting international collaboration through education, science, and culture in order to further universal respect for justice, the rule of before the decade ended.

1970s

Leading Amnesty International in the 1970s were key figureheads Sean MacBride and Martin Ennals. While continuing to work for prisoners of conscience, Amnesty International’s purview widened to include "fair trial The right to fair trial is seen as an essential right in all countries respecting the rule of law. A trial in these countries that is deemed unfair will typically be restarted, or its verdict quashed" and opposition to long detention without trial (UDHR Article 9), and especially to the torture of prisoners (UDHR Article 5). Amnesty International believed that the reasons underlying torture of prisoners, by governments, were either to obtain information or to quell opposition by the use of terror, or both. Also of concern was the export of more sophisticated torture methods, equipment and teaching by the superpowers to "client states", for example by the United States through some activities of the CIA.

Amnesty International drew together reports from countries where torture allegations seemed most persistent and organized an international conference on torture. It sought to influence public opinion in order to put pressure on national governments by organising a campaign for the 'Abolition of Torture' which ran for several years.

Amnesty International’s membership increased from 15,000 in 1969[10] to 200,000 by 1979.[11] This growth in resources enabled an expansion of its program, ‘outside of the prison walls’, to include work on “disappearances” A forced disappearance occurs when a person is secretly imprisoned or killed by agents of a state or other organization, but the organization does not admit that they have carried out this act, thereby placing the victim outside the protection of law, the death penalty and the rights of refugees. A new technique, the 'Urgent Action’, aimed at mobilising the membership into action rapidly was pioneered. The first was issued on 19 March 1973, on behalf of Luiz Basilio Rossi, a Brazilian academic, arrested for political reasons.

At the intergovernmental level Amnesty International pressed for application of the UN’s Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners and of existing humanitarian conventions; to secure ratifications of the two UN Covenants on Human Rights The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights is a multilateral treaty adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 16, 1966, and in force from March 23, 1976. It commits its parties to respect the civil and political rights of individuals, including the right to life, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of in 1976); and was instrumental in obtaining additional instruments and provisions forbidding its practice. Consultative status was granted at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in 1972.

In 1976 AI started a series of fund raising events informally known as The Secret Policeman's Balls. Initially they were staged in London primarily as comedy galas featuring popular British comedic performers such as members of Monty Python Monty Python were a British comedy group that created the influential Monty Python's Flying Circus, a British television comedy sketch show that first aired on the BBC on 5 October 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four series. The Python phenomenon developed from the television series into something larger in scope and impact, spawning, later expanding to include leading musical performers. The series was created and developed by Monty Python alumnus John Cleese John Marwood Cleese is a British actor, comedian, writer, and film producer. He achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and as a scriptwriter on The Frost Report. In the late 1960s he became a member of Monty Python, the comedy troupe responsible for the sketch show Monty Python's Flying Circus and the four Monty Python films: And Now and entertainment industry executive Martin Lewis working closely with Amnesty staff members Peter Luff (Assistant Director of Amnesty 1976–1977) and subsequently with Peter Walker (Fund-Raising Officer from 1978). Cleese, Lewis and Luff worked together on the first two shows (1976 and 1977).

The organisation was awarded the 1977 Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel for its "campaign against torture"[3] in 1978.[12]

1980s

1986 Faroe b. ^ The Faeroes, Greenland and Iceland were formally Norwegian possessions until 1814 despite 400 years of Danish monarchy beforehand postage stamp celebrating AI's 25th anniversary – Painting by 11 year old Rannvá Kunoy

By 1980 Amnesty International was drawing more criticism from governments. The USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the Russian: Союз Советских Социалистических Республик (help·info), tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, IPA [sɐˈjʊs sɐˈvʲeʦkʲɪx səʦɪ alleged that Amnesty International conducted espionage Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it is known that the information is in unauthorized, the Moroccan government denounced it as a defender of lawbreakers, and the Argentine government banned Amnesty International’s 1983 annual report.[13]

Throughout the 1980s, Amnesty International continued to campaign for prisoners of conscience and torture. New issues emerged, including extrajudicial killings Extrajudicial punishment is punishment by the state or some other official authority without the permission of a court or legal authority. The existence of extrajudicial punishment is considered proof that some governments will break their own legal code if deemed necessary, military, security and police transfers, political killings; and disappearances.

Towards the end of the decade, the growing numbers worldwide of refugees was a very visible area of Amnesty International’s concern. While many of the world’s refugees of the time had been displaced by war and famine A famine is a widespread scarcity of food that may apply to any faunal species. This phenomenon is usually accompanied by regional malnutrition, starvation, epidemic, and increased mortality, in adherence to its mandate, Amnesty International concentrated on those forced to flee because of the human rights violations it was seeking to prevent. It argued that rather than focusing on new restrictions on entry for asylum-seekers, governments were to address the human rights violations which were forcing people into exile.

Apart from a second campaign on torture during the first half of the decade, the major AI event of the 1980s was the 1988 Human Rights Now! tour. Designed to increase awareness of Amnesty and of human rights on the 40th anniversary of the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 10, 1948 at the Palais de Chaillot in Paris. The Declaration has been translated into at least 375 languages and dialects, making it the most widely translated document in the world. The Declaration arose directly from the (UDHR), it featured some of the most famous musicians and bands of the day playing a series of concerts on five continents over six weeks.

1990s

Throughout the 1990s, Amnesty International continued to grow, to a membership of over 2.2 million in over 150 countries and territories,[14] led by Senegalese Secretary General Pierre Sané. AI continued to work on a wide range of issues and world events. For example, South African groups joined in 1992 and hosted a visit by Pierre Sané to meet with the apartheid Bantustan · District Six · Robben Island government to press for an investigation into allegations of police abuse, an end to arms sales to the African Great Lakes The Great Lakes of Africa are a series of lakes in and around the geographic Great Rift Valley formed by the action of the tectonic East African Rift. They include Lake Victoria, the second largest fresh water lake in the world in terms of surface area, and Lake Tanganyika, the world's second largest in volume as well as the second deepest. The region and the abolition of the death penalty Capital punishment, or the death penalty, is the execution of a person by judicial process as a punishment for an offense. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from Latin capitalis, literally "regarding the head" . Hence, a capital crime was originally one. In particular, Amnesty International brought attention to violations committed on specific groups, including refugees Under the United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees from 1951, a refugee is a person who , "owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality, and is unable to or, owing to such, racial/ethnic/religious minorities, women and those executed or on Death Row Death row is the place, often a section of a prison, that houses individuals awaiting execution. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting execution , even in places where a special facility or separate section of a prison does not exist. After individuals are found guilty of an offense and sentenced to death, they will. The death penalty report When the state kills (ISBN 0691102619) and the ‘Human Rights are Women's Rights’ campaign were key actions for the latter two issues. During the 1990s, Amnesty International was forced to react to human rights violations occurring in the context of a proliferation of armed conflict in Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city. The exclave province of Cabinda has a border with the Republic of the Congo and the, East Timor East Timor, also known as Timor-Leste is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor. The small country of 15,410 km² (5,400 sq mi) is located about 640 km (400 mi) northwest of, the Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula. Historically and commonly known as the Persian Gulf, this body of water is sometimes controversially referred to as the Arabian Gulf or simply The Gulf by most Arab states, and Gulf of Basra by Turkey, although none of the, Rwanda The Republic of Rwanda , known as the Land of a Thousand Hills, is a landlocked country located in the Great Lakes region of eastern-central Africa, bordered by Uganda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tanzania, and the former Yugoslavia Yugoslavia is a term that describes three political entities that existed successively on the western part of Balkan Peninsula in Europe, during most of the 20th century. Amnesty International took no position on whether to support or oppose external military interventions in these armed conflicts. It did not (and does not) reject the use of force, even lethal force, or ask those engaged to lay down their arms. Instead, it questioned the motives behind external intervention and selectivity of international action in relation to the strategic interests of those sending troops. It argued that action should be taken to prevent human rights problems becoming human rights catastrophes, and that both intervention and inaction represented a failure of the international community The international community is a vague term used in international relations to refer to all the governments of the world or to a group of them. The term is used to imply the existence of common duties and obligations between them, frequently in the context of calls for the respect of human rights and for action to be taken against repressive.

Amnesty International was proactive in pushing for recognition of the universality of human rights. The campaign ‘Get Up, Sign Up’ marked 50 years of the UDHR. Thirteen million pledges were collected in support, and the Decl music concert was held in Paris on 10 December 1998 (Human Rights Day The date was chosen to honor the United Nations General Assembly's adoption and proclamation, on 10 December 1948, of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights , the first global enunciation of human rights. The formal establishment of Human Rights Day occurred at the 317th Plentary Meeting of the General Assembly on 4 December 1950, when the). At the intergovernmental level, Amnesty International argued in favour of creating an United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights is a United Nations agency that works to promote and protect the human rights that are guaranteed under international law and stipulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948. The office was established by the UN General Assembly on 20 December 1993 in the wake of (established 1993) and an International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court is a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression (although it cannot currently exercise jurisdiction over the crime of aggression) (established 2002).

After his arrest in London in 1998 by the Metropolitan Police The Metropolitan Police Service is the territorial police force responsible for policing within Greater London, excluding the 'square mile' of the City of London which is the responsibility of the City of London Police, Amnesty International became involved in the legal battle of Senator Pinochet, a former Chilean President, who sought to avoid extradition to Spain to face charges. Lord Hoffman had an indirect connection with Amnesty International and this led to an important test for the appearance of bias in legal proceedings in UK law. There was a [15] of the decision to release Senator Pinochet, taken by the then British Home Secretary Mr Jack Straw, before that decision had actually been taken, in an attempt to prevent the release of Senator Pinochet. The English High Court refused[16] the application and Senator Pinochet was released and returned to Chile. This legal challenge was a novel attempt to use legal process to challenge a decision before it was taken and could be seen as hard to reconcile with the rule of law, as it was predicated on a presumption that the Home Secretary had erred in law whatever the reasons were for the decision.[citation needed]

2000s

After 2000, Amnesty International’s agenda turned to the challenges arising from globalisation and the reaction to the 11 September 2001 attacks in the United States. The issue of globalisation provoked a major shift in Amnesty International policy, as the scope of its work was widened to include economic, social and cultural rights, an area that it had declined to work on in the past. Amnesty International felt this shift was important, not just to give credence to its principle of the indivisibility of rights, but because of what it saw as the growing power of companies and the undermining of many nation states as a result of globalisation.[citation needed]

In the aftermath of the 11 September attacks, the new Amnesty International Secretary General, Irene Khan, reported that a senior government official had said to Amnesty International delegates: "Your role collapsed with the collapse of the Twin Towers in New York".[17] In the years following the attacks, some[who?] believe that the gains made by human rights organisations over previous decades had possibly been eroded. Amnesty International argued that human rights were the basis for the security of all, not a barrier to it. Criticism came directly from the Bush administration and The Washington Post, when Khan, in 2005, likened the US government’s detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to a Soviet Gulag.[18][19]

During the first half of the new decade, Amnesty International turned its attention to violence against women, controls on the world arms trade and concerns surrounding the effectiveness of the UN. With its membership close to two million by 2005,[20] AI continued to work for prisoners of conscience.

In 2007, the organisation appeared to endorse pro-choice for abortion.[21] However, the organisation responded by saying that it had only done this for limited situations.[22]

Amnesty International reported, concerning the Iraq war, on 17 March 2008, that despite claims the security situation in Iraq has improved in recent months, the human rights situation is disastrous, after the start of the war five years ago in 2003.[23]

In 2008 Amnesty International launched a mobile donating campaign in the United States, which allows supporters to make $5 micro-donations by sending a text message to the short code 90999 with the keyword RIGHTS. Amnesty International’s mobile fund raising campaign was created in partnership with Mgive and the Mobile Giving Foundation.[24]

In 2009 Amnesty International accused Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement of committing war crimes during Israel's January offensive in Gaza, called Operation Cast Lead, that resulted in the deaths of more than 1400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis.[25] The 117-page Amnesty report charged Israeli forces with killing hundredcivilians and wanton destruction of thousands of homes. Amnesty found no evidence of Palestinian militants using human shields to stop Israeli attacks, but accused the Israel Defence Forces of launching attacks from buildings in which Palestinian civilians were sheltering. A subsequent United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict was carried out; Amnesty stated that its findings were consistent with those of Amnesty’s own field investigation, and called on the UN to act promptly to implement the mission's recommendations.[26]

2010s

Main article: Gita Sahgal: Amnesty controversy; Moazzam Begg and Cageprisoners

In February 2010, Amnesty suspended Gita Sahgal, its gender unit head, after she criticized Amnesty for its links with Moazzam Begg, Director of a campaign group called Cageprisoners. She had called the links "a gross error of judgment" that risked Amnesty's reputation on human rights, and said it was wrong to ally with "Britain's most famous supporter of the Taliban".[27][28][29][30] Amnesty responded that Sahgal wasn't suspended "for raising these issues internally... [Begg] speaks about his own views ..., not Amnesty International’s."[31] Among those who spoke up for Saghal were Salman Rushdie ("Amnesty ... has done its reputation incalculable damage.... It looks very much as if Amnesty's leadership is suffering from a kind of moral bankruptcy, and has lost the ability to distinguish right from wrong"), Member of Parliament Denis MacShane, Joan Smith, Christopher Hitchens, Martin Bright, Melanie Phillips, and Nick Cohen.[32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39]

Work

“ Amnesty International’s vision is of a world in which every person enjoys all of the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights standards.

In pursuit of this vision, Amnesty International’s mission is to undertake research and action focused on preventing and ending grave abuses of the rights to physical and mental integrity, freedom of conscience and expression, and freedom from discrimination, within the context of its work to promote all human rights.

 ”

—Statute of Amnesty International, 27th International Council meeting, 2005

Amnesty International primarily targets governments, but also reports on non-governmental bodies and private individuals ("non-state actors").

There are seven key areas which Amnesty deals with:

Some specific aims are to: abolish the death penalty, end extra judicial executions and "disappearances", ensure prison conditions meet international human rights standards, ensure prompt and fair trial for all political prisoners, ensure free education to all children worldwide, decriminalise abortion,[40] fight impunity from systems of justice, end the recruitment and use of child soldiers, free all prisoners of conscience, promote economic, social and cultural rights for marginalized communities, protect human rights defenders, promote religious tolerance, stop torture and ill-treatment, stop unlawful killings in armed conflict, uphold the rights of refugees, migrants, and asylum seekers, and protect human dignity.

To further these aims, Amnesty International has developed several techniques to publicise information and mobilise public opinion. The organisation considers as one of its strengths the publication of impartial and accurate reports. Reports are researched by: interviewing victims and officials, observing trials, working with local human rights activists, and monitoring the media. It aims to issue timely press releases and publishes information in newsletters and on web sites. It also sends official missions to countries to make courteous but insistent inquiries.

Campaigns to mobilise public opinion can take the form of individual, country, or thematic campaigns. Many techniques are deployed, such as direct appeals (for example, letter writing), media and publicity work, and public demonstrations. Often, fund-raising is integrated with campaigning.

In situations which require immediate attention, Amnesty International calls on existing urgent action networks or crisis response networks; for all other matters, it calls on its membership. It considers the large size of its human resources to be another of its key strengths.

Country focus

Rank Country #Press Releases % Total
1 United States 136 4.24
2 Israel (inc. West Bank and Gaza Strip) 128 3.99
3 Indonesia and East Timor 119 3.71
3 Turkey 119 3.71
4 People's Republic of China 115 3.58
5 Serbia and Montenegro 104 3.24
6 United Kingdom 103 3.21
7 India 85 2.65
8 USSR and Russian Federation 80 2.49
9 Rwanda 64 2.00
10 Sri Lanka 59 1.84
Source: Ronand et al. (2005:568)[4] Data for 1986–2000
Rank Country #Reports % Total
1 Turkey 394 3.91
2 USSR and Russian Federation 374 3.71
3 People's Republic of China 357 3.54
4 United States 349 3.46
5 Israel (inc. West Bank and Gaza Strip) 323 3.21
6 South Korea 305 3.03
7 Indonesia and East Timor 253 2.51
8 Colombia 197 1.96
9 Peru 192 1.91
10 India 178 1.77
Source: Ronand et al. (2005:568)[4] Data for 1986–2000

AI reports disproportionately on relatively more democratic and open countries,[41] arguing that its intention is not to produce a range of reports which statistically represents the world’s human rights abuses, but rather to apply the pressure of public opinion to encourage improvements. The demonstration effect of the behavior of both key Western governments and major non-Western states is an important factor: as one former AI Secretary-General pointed out, "for many countries and a large number of people, the United States is a model," and according to one AI manager, "large countries influence small countries."[4] In addition, with the end of the Cold War, AI felt that a greater emphasis on human rights in the North was needed to improve its credibility with its Southern critics by demonstrating its willingness to report on human rights issues in a truly global manner.[4]

According to one academic study, as a result of these considerations the frequency of AI's reports is influenced by a number of factors, besides the frequency and severity of human rights abuses. For example, AI reports significantly more (than predicted by human rights abuses) on more economically powerful states; and on countries which receive US military aid, on the basis that this Western complicity in abuses increases the likelihood of public pressure being able to make a difference.[4] In addition, around 1993–94, AI consciously developed its media relations, producing fewer background reports and more press releases, to increase the impact of its reports. Press releases are partly driven by news coverage, to use existing news coverage as leverage to discuss AI's human rights concerns. This increases AI's focus on the countries the media is more interested in.[4]

AI's country focus is similar to that of some other comparable NGOs, notably Human Rights Watch: between 1991 and 2000, AI and HRW shared eight of ten countries in their "top ten" (by AI press releases; 7 for AI reports).[4] In addition, six of the 10 countries most reported on by Human Rights Watch in the 1990s also made The Economist's and Newsweek's "most covered" lists during that time.[4]

Organisation

Amnesty International Sections, 2005 The AI Canadian headquarters in Ottawa.

Amnesty International is largely made up of voluntary members, but retains a small number of paid professionals. In countries in which Amnesty International has a strong presence, members are organised as 'sections'. Sections coordinate basic Amnesty International activities normally with a significant number of members, some of whom will form into 'groups', and a professional staff. Each have a board of directors. In 2005 there were 52 sections worldwide. 'Structures' are aspiring sections. They also coordinate basic activities but have a smaller membership and a limited staff. In countries where no section or structure exists, people can become 'international members'. Two other organisational models exist: 'international networks', which promote specific themes or have a specific identity, and 'affiliated groups', which do the same work as section groups, but in isolation.

The organisations outlined above are represented by the International Council (IC) which is led by the IC Chairperson. Members of sections and structures have the right to appoint one or more representatives to the Council according to the size of their membership. The IC may invite representatives from International Networks and other individuals to meetings, but only representatives from sections and structures have voting rights. The function of the IC is to appoint and hold accountable internal governing bodies and to determine the direction of the movement. The IC convenes every two years.

The International Executive Committee (IEC), led by the IEC Chairperson, consists of eight members and the IEC Treasurer. It is elected by, and represents, the IC and meets biannually. The role of the IEC is to take decisions on behalf of Amnesty International, implement the strategy laid out by the IC, and ensure compliance with the organisation’s statutes.

The International Secretariat (IS) is responsible for the conduct and daily affairs of Amnesty International under direction from the IEC and IC. It is run by approximately 500 professional staff members and is headed by a Secretary General. The IS operates several work programmes; International Law and Organisations; Research; Campaigns; Mobilisation; and Communications. Its offices have been located in London since its establishment in the mid-1960s.

Amnesty International is financed largely by fees and donations from its worldwide membership. It does not accept donations from governments or governmental organisations.

General Secretary Office
Peter Benenson 1961–1966
Eric Baker 1966–1968
Martin Ennals 1968–1980
Thomas Hammarberg 1980–1986
Ian Martin 1986–1992
Pierre Sané 1992–2001
Irene Khan 2001–2010
Claudio Cordone 2010-2010
Salil Shetty 2010 –

Criticism

Main article: Criticism of Amnesty International

Criticism of Amnesty International (AI) includes claims of selection bias, ideological/foreign policy bias against either non-Western countries[42] or Western-supported countries, criticism of AI's policies relating to abortion,[43] assertion that "defensive jihad" is not antithetical to human rights,[44] and organisational continuity.[42][45] Governments who have criticised AI include those of Israel, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo,[46] the People's Republic of China,[47] Vietnam,[48] Russia[49] and the United States,[50] for what they assert is one-sided reporting or a failure to treat threats to security as a mitigating factor. The actions of these governments—and of other governments critical of Amnesty International—have been the subject of human rights concerns voiced by Amnesty. The Catholic Church, among other institutions, has also criticized Amnesty for its support for access to abortions in cases of rape, incest, violence or when pregnancy jeopardizes a mother's life or health and its opposition to criminal sanctions for those who undergo or perform abortions.[43]

See also

Notes

a. ^ Anthropologist Linda Rabben refers to the origin of AI as a "creation myth" with a "kernel of truth": "The immediate impetus to form Amnesty did come from Peter Benenson’s righteous indignation while reading a newspaper in the London tube on 19 November 1960."[51] Historian Tom Buchanan traced the origins story to a radio broadcast by Peter Benenson in 1962. The 4 March 1962 BBC news story did not refer to a "toast to liberty", but Benenson said his tube ride was on 19 December 1960. Buchanan was unable to find the newspaper article about the Portuguese students in The Daily Telegraph for either month. Buchanan found many news stories reporting on the repressive Portuguese political arrests in The Times for November 1960.[52]

References

  1. ^ "History – The Meaning of the Amnesty Candle". Amnesty International. http://www.amnesty.ca/about/history/history_of_amnesty_international/meaning_of_the_Amnesty_candle.php. Retrieved 4 June 2008.
  2. ^ a b "About Amnesty International". Amnesty International. http://www.amnesty.org/en/who-we-are/about-amnesty-international. Retrieved 20 July 2008.
  3. ^ a b Human Rights
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j James Ronand, Howard Ramos, Kathleen Rodgers (2005), "Transnational Information Politics: NGO Human Rights Reporting, 1986–2000", International Studies Quarterly (2005) 49, 557–587
  5. ^ Elizabeth Keane (2006). An Irish Statesman and Revolutionary: The Nationalist and Internationalist Politics of Sean MacBride. I.B.Tauris. ISBN 1845111257.
  6. ^ a b Benenson, Peter (28 May 1961). "The forgotten prisoners". The Observer. http://www.amnestyusa.org/about/observer.html. Retrieved 19 September 2006.
  7. ^ Benenson, P. (1983). Memoir
  8. ^ Buchanan, T. (2002). "The Truth Will Set You Free': The Making of Amnesty International". Journal of Contemporary History 37 (4): 575–97. doi:10.1177/00220094020370040501. http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0022-0094%28200210%2937%3A4%3C575%3A%27TWSYF%3E2.0.CO%3B2-J.
  9. ^ Amnesty International Report 1962. Amnesty International. 1963.
  10. ^ Amnesty International Report 1968-69. Amnesty International. 1969.
  11. ^ Amnesty International Report 1979. Amnesty International. 1980.
  12. ^ United Nations Prize in the field of Human Rights
  13. ^ Amnesty International is accused of espionage
  14. ^ "Who we are". Amnesty International. http://www.amnesty.org/en/who-we-are. Retrieved 20 July 2008.
  15. ^ "Legal lessons of Pinochet case". BBC News. 2 March 2000. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/617425.stm. Retrieved 23 April 2010.
  16. ^ uncredited (31 February 2000). "Pinochet appeal fails". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/625198.stm. Retrieved 9 February 2009.
  17. ^ Amnesty International Report 2002. Amnesty International. 2003.
  18. ^ "'American Gulag'". The Washington Post. 26 May 2005. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/25/AR2005052501838.html. Retrieved 2 October 2006.
  19. ^ "Bush says Amnesty report 'absurd'". BBC. 31 May 2005. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4598109.stm. Retrieved 2 October 2006.
  20. ^ Amnesty International Report 2005: the state of the world’s human rights. Amnesty International. 2004.
  21. ^ "Amnesty International Becomes a Pro-Choice Organization". Archive.newsmax.com. 21 August 2007. http://archive.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2007/8/21/153220.shtml. Retrieved 18 March 2010.
  22. ^ http://www.amnestyusa.org/women/pdf/SRR_Resource_Toolkit.pdf
  23. ^ "Reports: 'Disastrous' Iraqi humanitarian crisis". CNN. 17 March 2008. http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/03/17/iraq.humanitarian/index.html. Retrieved 17 March 2008.
  24. ^ "Mobile Giving Foundation- Charities". Mobilegiving.org. http://www.mobilegiving.org/Charities.aspx. Retrieved 18 March 2010.
  25. ^ "Israel used human shields: Amnesty". Fairfax Digital. 3 July 2009. http://www.theage.com.au/world/israel-used-human-shields-amnesty-20090702-d6j2.html. Retrieved 3 July 2009.
  26. ^ "UN must ensure Goldstone inquiry recommendations are implemented". 15 September 2009. http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/news/israel-gaza-implementation-un-fact-finding-mission-recommendations-crucial-justi.
  27. ^ Aaronovitch, David, "How Amnesty chose the wrong poster-boy; Collaboration with Moazzam Begg, an extremist who has supported jihadi movements, looks like a serious mistake," The Times, 9 February 2010, accessed 10 February 2010
  28. ^ ""Amnesty chief suspended after attacking group's links to 'Britain's most famous Taliban supporter'", Daily Mail, 9 February 2010, accessed 10 February 2010". Dailymail.co.uk. 9 February 2010. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1249649/Amnesty-turmoil-suspending-chief-attacked-groups-links-Muslim-jihadists.html. Retrieved 18 March 2010.
  29. ^ "Bright, Martin, "Gita Sahgal: A Statement", ''Spectator'', 7 February 2010, accessed 10 February 2010". Spectator.co.uk. 7 February 2010. http://www.spectator.co.uk/martinbright/5759197/gita-sahgal-a-statement.thtml. Retrieved 18 March 2010.
  30. ^ "Joan Smith: Amnesty shouldn't support men like Moazzam Begg; A prisoner of conscience can turn into an apologist for extremism," The Independent, 11 February 2010, accessed 11 February 2010
  31. ^ ""Amnesty International on its work with Moazzam Begg and Cageprisoners," 11 February 2010, accessed 11 February 2010". Amnestyusa.org. 11 February 2010. http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGNAU2010021115380&lang=e. Retrieved 18 March 2010.
  32. ^ "Salman Rushdie's statement on Amnesty International", The Sunday Times, 21 February 2010
  33. ^ MacShane, Member of British Parliament, Denis (10 February 2010). "Letter To Amnesty International from". http://www.human-rights-for-all.org/spip.php?article11. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
  34. ^ Phillips, Melanie (14 February 2010). "The human wrongs industry spits out one of its own". The Spectator. http://www.spectator.co.uk/melaniephillips/5774326/the-human-wrongs-industry-spits-out-one-of-its-own.thtml. Retrieved 23 February 2010.
  35. ^ Smith, Joan, "Joan Smith: Amnesty shouldn't support men like Moazzam Begg; A prisoner of conscience can turn into an apologist for extremism", The Independent, 11 February 2010, accessed 17 February 2010
  36. ^ Hitchens, Christopher, "Christopher Hitchens: Amnesty International's suspension of conscience", The National Post, 17 February 2010, accessed 17 February 2010
  37. ^ Bright, Martin, "Amnesty International, Moazzam Begg and the Bravery of Gita Sahgal", The Spectator, 7 February 2010
  38. ^ "Misalliance; Amnesty has lent spurious legitimacy to extremists who spurn its values," The Times, 12 February 2010, accessed 17 February 2010
  39. ^ Cohen, Nick, "We abhor torture – but that requires paying a price; Spineless judges, third-rate politicians and Amnesty prefer an easy life to fighting for liberty," The Observer, 14 February 2010, 17 February 2010
  40. ^ "Amnesty International defends access to abortion for women at risk". 14 June 2007. http://news.amnesty.org/index/ENGPOL300122007.
  41. ^ Amnesty International "Amnesty International response to Andrés Ballesteros et al.", AMR 23/006/2007, 21 February 2007. Retrieved on 4 February 2009.
  42. ^ a b Bernstein, Dennis (2002). "Interview: Amnesty on Jenin – Dennis Bernstein and Dr. Francis Boyle Discuss the Politics of Human Rights". Covert Action Quarterly. Archived from the original on 5 August 2009. http://www.webcitation.org/5infq6M8l. Retrieved 5 August 2009.
  43. ^ a b Crary, David (26 July 2007). "Furor Over Amnesty's Abortion Stance". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/news/topstories/2007-07-26-1742525477_x.htm. Retrieved 9 February 2009.
  44. ^ Hasan Suroor (2 April 2010). "The Hindu : News / International : Row over support for “defensive jihad''". Beta.thehindu.com. http://beta.thehindu.com/news/international/article364915.ece. Retrieved 8 April 2010.
  45. ^ CNSNews.com – Top Human Rights Group Blasted for ‘Defensive Jihad’ Comments
  46. ^ DR Congo blasts Amnesty International report on repression, The Namibian, 14 January 2000. Retrieved 15 May 2006.
  47. ^ The U.S. and China This Week, U.S.-China Policy Foundation, 16 February 2001. Retrieved 15 May 2006.
  48. ^ "The Cream of The Diplomatic Crop from Ha Noi.", THIÊN LÝ BỬU TÒA. Retrieved 15 May 2006.
  49. ^ "Russian official blasts Amnesty International over Chechnya refugees", Human Rights Violations in Chechnya, 22 August 2003. Retrieved 15 May 2006.
  50. ^ Press Briefing By Scott McClellan, The White House, 25 May 2005. Retrieved 30 May 2006.
  51. ^ Rabben, Linda (2001). "Amnesty International: Myth and Reality". AGNI (Boston, Massachusetts: Boston University) (54). http://www.bu.edu/agni/essays/print/2001/54-rabben.html. Retrieved 25 September 2008.
  52. ^ Buchanan, Tom (October 2002). "'The Truth Will Set You Free': The Making of Amnesty International". Journal of Contemporary History 37 (4): 575–597. doi:10.1177/00220094020370040501. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3180761. Retrieved 25 September 2008.

Further reading

External links

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Laureates of the Nobel Peace Prize

Betty Williams / Mairead Corrigan (1976) · Amnesty International (1977) · Anwar El Sadat / Menachem Begin (1978) · Mother Teresa (1979) · Adolfo Pérez Esquivel (1980) · United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (1981) · Alva Myrdal / Alfonso García Robles (1982) · Lech Wałęsa (1983) · Desmond Tutu (1984) · International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (1985) · Elie Wiesel (1986) · Óscar Arias (1987) · UN Peacekeeping Forces (1988) · Tenzin Gyatso (14th Dalai Lama) (1989) · Mikhail Gorbachev (1990) · Aung San Suu Kyi (1991) · Rigoberta Menchú (1992) · Nelson Mandela / F.W. de Klerk (1993) · Yasser Arafat / Shimon Peres / Yitzhak Rabin (1994) · Pugwash Conferences / Joseph Rotblat (1995) · Carlos Belo / José Ramos-Horta (1996) · International Campaign to Ban Landmines / Jody Williams (1997) · John Hume / David Trimble (1998) · Médecins Sans Frontières (1999) · Kim Dae-jung (2000)
· · ·
Olof Palme Prize laureates

Cyril Ramaphosa (1987) • UN Peace Keeping Operation (1988) • Václav Havel (1989) • Harlem Désir, SOS Racisme (1990) • Amnesty International (1991) • Arzu Abdullayeva, Anahit Bayandour (1992) • Students for Sarayevo (1993) • Wei Jingsheng (1994) • Fatah Youth, Israeli Labor Young Leadership, Peace Now (1995) • Casa Alianza, Bruce Harris (1996) • Salima Ghezali (1997) • Veran Matić, Senad Pecanin, Victor Ivancic (1998) • Kurdo Baksi, Björn Fries, Klippan Parent Group (1999) • Bryan Stevenson (2000) • Fazle Hasan Abed (2001) • Hanan Ashrawi (2002) • Hans Blix (2003) • Lyudmila Alexeyeva, Sergei Kovalev, Anna Politkovskaya (2004) • Aung San Suu Kyi (2005) • Kofi Annan, Mossaad Mohamed Ali (2006) • Parvin Ardalan (2007) • Denis Mukwege (2008) • Carsten Jensen (2009)

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