Amnesty International was in the news recently when it slammed Egypt’s “execution spree”, which resulted in dozens of people losing their lives, and when it urged Sri Lanka to conduct an impartial probe into the unrest in prisons following a spike in coronavirus cases in its facilities. What is Amnesty International and what are its objectives?
Objectives of Amnesty
Amnesty International is a U.K. –based non-government organisation that works to protect human rights and prevent injustices. It operates in over 150 countries and has over 4.5 million supporters. Its main objective is to campaign for a world where everyone enjoys human rights and to expose violations of rights by governments and entities.
Its beginning
It was established in London in 1961 by British lawyer Peter Benenson to campaign for the release of “prisoners of conscience” (those imprisoned for their political views) around the world. But it soon widened its focus to deal with death penalty, torture, restrictions on speech and expression, and other human rights violations. This Nobel Peace Prize-winning organisation works independently, thriving mainly on donations from individuals. Amnesty has been publishing its annual report on human rights, since 1962, to mobilise public opinion. Besides thousands of campaigns against right abuses, Amnesty counts among its achievements in efforts towards establishing the International Criminal Court and towards abolishing death penalty in over 100 countries. The organisation has its share of controversies too. It has been accused of working for western powers, instigating trouble in countries it reports on and financial mismanagement within the organisation.
Shuts shop in India
Amnesty halted its operations in India in September 2020 following freezing of its bank accounts by the government, 54 years after it had established its first office in the country. According to reports, while Amnesty said it was being subjected to “incessant which hunt” over unfounded allegations, the BJP government said it had charges relating to the foreign funding of the organisation and its interference in India’s internal affairs. The group had raised questions about the alleged human rights violations in J&K following withdrawal of its special status and the recent Delhi riots over Citizenship Law. It had a troubled relationship even with the earlier UPA government.
Amnesty International has had problems with the governments of several countries such as Israel, Turkey and Nigeria, but the only other country where its office was shut, besides was in Russia in 2016.
Picture Credit : Google
