Amnesty International and Human Rights

1 Amnesty International and Human Rights Amnesty International was launched in 1961 and its main purpose is to uphold human rights all over the world. Currently Amnesty International is campaigning for poverty eradication and upholding of human dignity, abolishment of death penalty, controls of arms, respect of human rights, end of violence against women and freedom of prisoners of conscience.

Amnesty International has managed to release many prisoners of conscience since it was founded. 1,000 prisoners of conscience had been released by 1966 since the inception of Amnesty International and a further 1500 prisoners adopted in 1966. In 1969, 2000 prisoners were released, and a further 520 prisoners and 700 prisoners in 1970 and 1971 respectively were also released through their efforts. During the1960s, the United Nation and UNESCO organizations granted amnesty international a consultative status due to its remarkable success in fighting human rights.

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2 Through the successes of Amnesty International, they managed to win an award in 1977, the Nobel Peace Prize, for its facilitation of freedom, justice and peace in the world. It further won the UN human rights prize for its outstanding contributions in the human rights field in 19781.

In the past fifty years of Amnesty International, they have managed to free many prisoners of conscience who were unjustly imprisoned. They have also facilitated change of government policies in many countries to ensure that human rights are protected.

Among the many successes of the organization, Amnesty International facilitated the release of two doctors Arash and Kamiar who were imprisoned in 2008. Arash and Kamiar were interrogated for four months while in solitary confinement without access to a lawyer; they were also given an unfair trail. Arash and Kamiar were imprisoned for their internationally recognized work on HIV/AIDS. The government convicted them of cooperating with an enemy country, although neither of them was involved politically.

Amnesty International intervened and campaigned for the release of both doctors.

Amnesty International considered them as prisoners of conscience. On August 2011, Arash was released along with other 100 prisoners who had been detained without a fair trial. Both doctors and other unlawfully detained prisoners were released through the effort of Amnesty International. Many prisoners of conscience are still held in Iran today but Amnesty International is working relentlessly for their immediate and unconditional release2.

Italian Government has been called on by the Amnesty International to abolish discriminatory measures against the Roma community. The Italian government had set up 1 2

Amnesty International. Learn about human rights. n.d. Retrieved on November 23, 2011, from http://www.amnesty.org/ Ibid.

3 a ‘Nomad Emergency’ decree in May 2008 which led to the forceful eviction of Roma families and other Human rights violations. The ‘Nomad Emergency’ decree was declared unlawful by Italy’s highest administrative court after the outcry of amnesty international to change policies to prevent the violation of human rights of the Roma community. Amnesty International is now pushing for the end of discriminatory policies set by the Italian government that are a catalyst of human rights violations3.

Another success story of the Amnesty International includes the story of Jean Minami a Burundian prisoner. Jean Minani a peasant farmer from Burundi along other 80 people was arrested with allegations of murdering a lieutenant-colonel Lucien Sakubu in 1995. They were imprisoned and tortured and held for three years without being given any trial. Amnesty International adopted Jean Minami, and submitted evidence that he was unlawfully tortured and forcefully made to admit his involvement of the murder charges during his trial. Through the struggle by Amnesty International they managed to obtain a fair trial for the prisoners in Burundi, Jean Minami and other prisoners except twelve were acquitted of all the charges through the support of Amnesty International4.

Sri Lanka’s civil war for many years between a Guerilla group and Liberation of Tamil Eelam had torn apart the country. Amnesty International continually criticized both parties for violation of human rights. They pushed for the exhumations of mass graves providing evidence that human rights were violated in Sri Lanka. They also successfully pushed the government to prosecute the perpetrators of the human rights violations.

Through their relentless effort, Amnesty International was able to persuade the Sri Lankan government to change its policies to favor and uphold human rights. Other 3

4

Ibid.

Jonathan, Power. Like water on stone: The story of Amnesty International. (London, England: Amnesty International, 2001), 23.

4 countries that subsequently benefited from changing policies through the effort of Amnesty International are Morocco, Columbia, and the United Kingdom5.

In Morocco 1991, Amnesty International made a great success by releasing more than three hundred political prisoners who had been detained secretly for more than nineteen years under appalling conditions. Many had been killed in the sub-Saharan country and about half of the total number of prisoners had been killed. Amnesty International constantly pressurized the Moroccan government to release its political prisoners and for human rights to be upheld in the sub-Saharan country. Moreover, Amnesty International also managed to expose arms sales by Britain which were used to perpetrate violence in various countries in the world. British arms exports had been very loose and the weapons were used to commit serious human rights violations for a long time. Through the effort and criticism of the government by Amnesty International, they managed to stop the loose sale of arms by the British government and facilitated formulation of policies that control the arms trade6.

In Myanmar, political prisoners were freed by the new government after a long effort by Amnesty International. 120 prisoners were released and a further estimated 2000 prisoners are also to be released according to the Amnesty International. The Amnesty International even dubbed it “a minimum first step towards unconditional release of political prisoners”7.

The US Supreme Court ruled that Troy Davis would be executed. Although they went a head and executed him; Amnesty International stepped up its campaign against

5 6

7

Ibid, 23 Ibid, 24 Post-gazzette.com. Political prisoners freed. October 13 2011. Pittsburgh post-gazette.

5 death sentence. Jurors have subsequently reduced death sentences by at least two thirds since 19948.

Amnesty International also put pressure on the Nigerian government and Shell Oil Company to solve the issue of pollution that had been caused for thirty years by Shell Oil Company. 2000 people had been killed and 80,000 members of the Ogoni community were displaced from the oil rich Niger delta. Human rights activists Ken Saro Wiwa along other eight people were executed and there were claims that the Shell Oil Company was involved in the environmental and human rights violations. Amnesty International was able to facilitate their campaigns through the media and support by the people despite many difficulties to try and resettle the displaced community9.

A Mexican journalist Lydia Cacho had created many enemies through her exposure of child sex trafficking facilitated by the Mexican government officials. She was kidnapped, tortured and arrested for exposing the perpetrators and because of her fight for the women and children rights. Through the outcry of the Amnesty International Lydia Cacho was immediately released and her charges were cleared10.

8

9

Ibid.

James, Russell M. “The ambivalence about the globalization of telecommunications: the story of Amnesty International, Shell Oil Company and Nigeria.” Journal of Human Rights 1.3 (2002), 406.

10

Kim, J. “Mexican journalist released.” June 02, 2011.Amnesty International Magazine.

6 Bibliography Amnesty International. Learn about human rights. n.d. Retrieved on November 23, 2011, from http://www.amnesty.org/ Kim, J. “Mexican journalist released.” June 02, 2011. Amnesty International Magazine.

Post-gazzette.com. Political prisoners freed. October 13 2011. Pittsburgh post-gazette.

Power, Jonathan. Like water on stone: The story of Amnesty International. London: England, 2001.

Russell, James M. “The ambivalence about the globalization of telecommunications: the story of Amnesty International, Shell Oil Company and Nigeria.” Journal of Human Rights 1.3 (2002): 405–416.