Amnesty International

What is Amnesty International?

It's a world-wide movement which is independent of any government, political party, ideology, economic interest, or religious belief. It's activities focus strictly on prisoners:

It seeks the release of "prisoners of conscience". These are men and women imprisoned for their political beliefs, race, or religion and who are not guilty of any violence.

It demands fair and early trail for such prisoners.

It opposes the death penalty and torture or any other kind of inhumantreatment or punishment of all prisoners.

It tries to find out about people who have disappeared because a government find them or a member of their too critical.

Prisoners of conscience are held in nearly half the countries of the world. In 50 of these, people can be put in prison without trial. The death penalty is still carried out in 94 nations, and prisoners are tortured in one out of every countries.

Where do the prisoners come from?

Prisoners of conscience are held in nearly half the countries of the world. In 50 of these, people can be put in prison without trial. The death penalty is still carried out in 126 nations, and prisoners are tortured in 1 out of 3 countries.

When did it start?

On the 10 of December in 1948 a revolution took place in Paris. Under the shock of war and crime against humanity the Declaration of Human Rights was passed by the General Assembly of the United Nations. This declaration should be the beginning of a new era. It laid down the rights of everyone and told governments to respect and protect these rights.

But about 50 years later the Declaration of Human Rights is more than only a patient paper.

What we imagine of a human life is written in this declaration: for example protection against horrible treatment, torture and humiliation, respect for our thoughts, religion and private life, and the right for food and a roof above our head. In other words, freedom.

At the beginning there were two imprisoned Portuguese students, the healthy anger of a British lawyer and a newspaper article.

On the 28^th of May in 1961 newspapers all over the world wrote about Peter Benenson's appeal for the "forgotten prisoners". The fate of two Portuguese students was the reason for the appeal of the lawyer: The young men were convicted to seven years. Their crime: They clinked glasses and raised a toast to their freedom.

Benenson wanted people all over the world to stand up impartially and peacefully for the release of non-violent political prisoners. In only one month more than 1000 people wanted to help. And so Amnesty International was founded on the principle that people have fundamental rights that transcend national, cultural, religious, and ideological boundaries. It worked to obtain prompt and fair trials for all prisoners, to end torture and executions, and to secure the release of prisoners of consciens.

Amnesty International's Mandate was based on the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

How does it work?

When news of an arrest reaches Amnesty, the facts are examined to find out if the person arrested is a prisoner of conscience. The prisoner is then adopted by one of the world-wide Amnesty groups. Letters are sent to government, leading newspapers, and the prisoners family and friends. Members collect signatures for international petitions and raise money to send relief, such as medicine, food and clothing, to the prisoners and their families. It gets the money from private donations and doesn't take money from governments.

If prisoners are tortured or facing the death penalty, Amnesty organises a flood of telegrams and letters to be sent to the government responsible.

The money

a.i.'s funding reflects its independence and its reliance on broad public support. The organisation gets no money from governments. The hundreds of thousands of donations that sustain a.i.'s work come from the pocket of its members and the public, organisations, foundations and companies.

The international budget is spent on professional research by a.i. staff into human rights violations world wide, on delegations that observe trials and make representation to governments, and on the movement's international public information campaigning and development activities.

The money is spent on research and action, campaigning Publication & Translation costs, human rights Education & Promotion International Meetings, Administration cost of planning and audit, Human Technology Facility costs and on families, who are effected by human rights violations.

3.2. What does a.i. do with the money?

Membership Support 2,486,700.00 13%
Campaigning Activities 1,811,200.00 10%
Publications and Translation 2,487,200.00 13%
Research and Action 5,065,100.00 26%
Deconcentrated Offices 1,246,300.00 7%
Research and Action Support 2,615,900.00 14%
Administrative Costs 3,247,200.00 17%

In addition, relief payments to victims of human rights violations and their families totalled £125,000 during the same period.

3.3. Who works for a.i.?

Men and women who want everyone to be free to express their own political opinion and to practise their religion in their own way. Amnesty International members include: politicians, factory workers, doctors, housewives, lawyers, farmers, journalists, teachers and students.

Against the death penalty

The death penalty is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment.

At the dawn of the 21st century, the death penalty is considered by most civilized nations as a cruel and inhuman punishment. It has been abolished de jure or de facto by 106 nations, 30 countries have abolished it since 1990. However, the death penalty continues to be commonly applied in other nations. China, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the United States and Iran are the most prolific executioners in the world. Indeed, the US is one of six countries (including also Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Yemen) which executes people who were under 18 years-old at the time they committed their crimes.

While international documents have restricted and in some cases even banned the death penalty, its application is still not against customary international law. Much debate continues in the US as to whether it constitutes an appropriate punishment, at least to the most heinous crimes. In recent years, the debate has been further fueled by the use of new technologies which have shown that a large proportion of people sentenced to death are, indeed, innocent.

Some facts

Over half the countries in the world have now abolished the death penalty in law or practice.

Amnesty International's latest information shows that:

countries and territories have abolished the death penalty for all crimes

countries have abolished the death penalty for all but exceptional crimes such as wartime crimes

countries can be considered abolitionist in practice: they retain the death penalty in law but have not carried out any executions for the past 10 years or more and are believed to have a policy or established practice of not carrying out executions

making a total of 111 countries which have abolished the death penalty in law or practice.

other countries retain and use the death penalty, but the number of countries which actually execute prisoners in any one year is much smaller.

Against torture

Torture is abhorrent. Torture is illegal. Yet Torture is inflicted on men, women and children in well over half the countries of the world.
Despite the universal condemnation of torture, it is still used to extract confessions, to interrogate, to punish or to intimidate. In Police stations and prison cells, on city streets and in remote villages, torturers continue to inflict physical agony and mental anguish. Their cruelty kills, or leaves scars on the body and mind that last a lifetime.

The victims of torture are not just the people in the hands of the torturers. Friends, families and the wider community all suffer. Torture even damages and distorts the hopes of future generations.
Amnesty International and other organisations have been campaigning against torture for almost 40 years. Take a Step to Stamp Out Torture and One Click To Stamp Out Torture are boosts to the continuing work against torture. They are global campaigns, launched simultaneously in more than 60 countries. They utilise Amnesty International's experience in gaining media coverage, in publications and in lobbying, as well as mobilising the million individual members Amnesty International has worldwide.

"Racism and the administration of justice"

In 1994 up to a million men, women and children were slaughtered in Rwanda in just 100 days. The genocide showed how quickly racism - in this case in the form of ethnic hatred - can erupt into bloodshed and despair, particularly when it is fuelled by those in power or those seeking power.

Racism, to varying degrees and in various forms, infects virtually every country of the world. The law and its administration, which should uphold the values of justice and equality, is one of the primary forces in opposing the effects of racism. Yet justice systems all too often fail in this purpose and instead mirror the prejudices of the society they serve.

This report illustrates how racial discrimination in the administration of justice systematically denies certain people their human rights because of their colour, race, ethnicity, descent (including caste) or national origin. Based on research conducted by Amnesty International in recent years, it shows that members of ethnic minorities often suffer torture, ill-treatment and harassment at the hands of the police. In many parts of the world they face unfair trials and discriminatory sentencing which puts them at increased risk of harsh punishments, including the death penalty.

Action to combat racism is needed urgently. This report concludes with recommendations on how governments can work to end racism in the administration of justice. It is a contribution to the struggle against racism and specifically to the debate centred on the 2001 World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance. It is also a contribution to Amnesty International's worldwide campaign against torture.